One more UCA to throw into the mix. I've read all about the 3.5" Readylift Lift kit that comes with the top hat spacer, UCA, diff drop, and sway bar bracket. I could also just buy this package, not use the top hat spacer, and instead use the peak 3" suspension. So, is their UCA comparable to DirtKing and BajaKits? What I like about Readylift is they come with a powertrain warranty in case I run into any manufacturer denials of powertrain warranty work. I'll have to contact ReadyLift to see if they'd still honor that if I made that change, but it would certainly have some value to me if it still applies.

I really wish BDS would make a 3 - 3.5" lift for us, since they also have the powertrain warranty. I don't think Peak or BajaKits has that.

 

Baja designs and dirtking both have high angle uniballs that the ready lift and freedom off-road kits do not. Baja and Dirtking will be more performance oriented vs the other ones that are more for correcting angles. If you want to wheel and don’t mind the extra bit of maintenance, go with either Baja or dirtking. If you are worried about stock UCA angle and don’t plan on off-roading hard, I would go with freedom off-road.


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Good response from Skrongbed. I'll basically echo that and advise you that the uniballs on those arms will start to squeak (probably every 20k miles or so) and need to be replaced. If you mainly use your truck for offroading and don't mind the mx, full send. If you want something in the middle (Like I did), check out SPCs UCAs. 86490.

Specialty Products Company | SPC Alignment | The Automotive Alignment Leaders

Specialty Products is the pioneer in the automotive alignment parts business and is the preferred brand by professional installers. Proven Quality, Performance Parts, Technical Training and Support.

www.spcalignment.com

Not affiliated, and I bought mine for well under that listed MSRP (which is ridiculous IMO).

 

Thanks! Yes, those are pricey, but I'm going to look into it some more. So, maintenance will either be replacing the ball joints on uniballs or greasing the others and keeping an eye on the boot and bushings?

 

I believe Icon makes them too.

 

Personally,.. I'd be looking at maintenance free rubber bushings i.e. freedom off-road or SPC .

I was looking at icons but don't feel like loosening / greasing / re tightening the bushings periodically

 

In fairness the SPC's sealed boots are supposed to get a few pumps of fresh moly grease every 3k miles. Still the best option I think for heavy road grit environments plus the adjustability is really nice.

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I just watched a video on adjusting it, and there's a little star plate that gets locked into about 8 different choices of positions. I think I understand it now. Thanks, guys. SPC might be the way to go for me so that I don't get OCD about cleaning dirt out of the uniball versions.

 

+2 on the SPC I've been looking at them since my Tacoma days. Will be picking up a set asap. The tech is just what we need to center the wheel in the wheel well..

 

The slots allow for Camber adjustment and the rotation of the star nut allows for adjustment of Caster (aka canting the wheel forward/backward in the wheel well).

You can lift your truck without increasing travel, aka a preload spacer (the spacers that require spring removal) or coil spacer (leveling puck, etc...). Those will actually usually reduce travel.

A suspension lift will increase travel through a longer shock/coilover and control arm (minus the rear of our trucks, in which case the leaf springs act as both axle control and also springs).

 

The slots allow for Camber adjustment and the rotation of the star nut allows for adjustment of Caster (aka canting the wheel forward/backward in the wheel well).

You can lift your truck without increasing travel, aka a preload spacer (the spacers that require spring removal) or coil spacer (leveling puck, etc...). Those will actually usually reduce travel.

A suspension lift will increase travel through a longer shock/coilover and control arm (minus the rear of our trucks, in which case the leaf springs act as both axle control and also springs).

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I don't contest anything you said and all good info, but just about every single aftermarket UCA you lookup will mention increased suspension travel and improved geometry for lifted vehicles. Just making sure SPC is designed for that and not just more alignment adjustments.

If you and I are the same height, but my arms are longer than yours, and we stand facing a chalkboard and each draw a straight line up and down, my line will be longer than yours.

 

Also, cannot recommend Filthy Motorsports enough. Throughout the entire ordering process, complete expertise and professionalism package. Even after ordering timely responses to my emails with technical questions.

 

@ARCowboy , I have lifetime alignments too at Firestone .
Would those folks adjust the SPC control arms or just the normal alignment cams on the truck . I suspect just the latter but was curious .

 

@ARCowboy , I have lifetime alignments too at Firestone .
Would those folks adjust the SPC control arms or just the normal alignment cams on the truck . I suspect just the latter but was curious .

Firestone had no issue adjusting my SPC arms.

@ARCowboy It's all good, I still like the SPC. Just thought the answer to my earlier question was going to be "Yes, it's longer than stock." I think some of them do extend farther away from the vehicle than stock (longer arm), but some of the increased travel might just be from the increased range (articulation) of the ball joint (like a wrist vs. no wrist at the end of our arms in my previous analogy). So, maybe that's the answer to my question.

Haha sorry, I'm not an expert, just trying to learn as much as I can and pass on what I have learned.

 

@ARCowboy It's all good, I still like the SPC. Just thought the answer to my earlier question was going to be "Yes, it's longer than stock." I think some of them do extend farther away from the vehicle than stock (longer arm), but some of the increased travel might just be from the increased range (articulation) of the ball joint (like a wrist vs. no wrist at the end of our arms in my previous analogy). So, maybe that's the answer to my question.

 

I installed Peak Suspension on my 19 Z71 last year - better ride than stock. Kit came with Dirt King control arms. Go for it.
But… I took it to the Chevy dealer for inspection and it didn’t pass because of a “bad” ball joint… because they never saw anything like it… I got it inspected elsewhere and it passed.

 

I installed Peak Suspension on my 19 Z71 last year - better ride than stock. Kit came with Dirt King control arms. Go for it.
But… I took it to the Chevy dealer for inspection and it didn’t pass because of a “bad” ball joint… because they never saw anything like it… I got it inspected elsewhere and it passed.

Ah, that sucks. Fortunately, I'm not in an "inspection" state. Growing up in VA we had those, but not here in SC!

 

+1 on SPC control arms, installed them on my 2017 LT and they're great. The adjustability, durability, function, and price are unmatched.