Good to know and what may be a nice piece to the puzzle of why some can get a tire to fit w/o rubbing while others, with the same set up can't...

 

please post more info on this.......

 

 

there are bolts on the lower control arms with radiuses (offset washer like things)on them so you can position the arm in or out, in the rear if you turn it to full out and the forward one to full in you actually move the tire forward by a few inches. I did just that, moved it all the way forward, then had the allignment guy keep as much as the +caster (tire forward) as possible while getting it alligned perfectly, he had to back it off a bit but still plenty of room. I'll post up the numbers later for those interested.

 

the final #'s are what i was looking for. i am more curious to see what they came up with on yours. mine are already set to the max, from the last alignment after the lift and going to 295/75-16's. now i'm going to 315's and will need every bit of clearence i can get. oh and i did my mounts a long time ago.

scotty

 

great info to know . i have wanting to do the mount chop but really didnt want to this helps alot ! :clap: :cheers:

 

Great tip, thanks! How far is Icon from you?

 

did you get any bump steer after doing this ? my alingment guy said he would think it might cause some bump steer .

 

MUCH less bump steer than I had before.
heres the #'s

caster Toyota specs min2.3 max 3.3
Mine 4.1 left
4.2 right
Camber specs -0.4 to 0.6
mine 0.5 left
0.5 right
toe specs 0.00 to 0.05
mine 0.00
__________________

 

I hate to ask this way but, Are you sure? Last year I installed a ready lift spacer kit to deal with bumper/winch weight, etc... When re-aligning we were unable to make much adjustment at all while still maintaining near zero toe and slight (.2-.3) negative camber. I also wonder about less bump steer with agressive caster settings. My experience with high caster settings (5.7-6.0) on an autocross car resulted in more bump steer in daily driving situations. Those settings also caused steering to be more difficult, making the power steering pump work harder.

So, the next queston is, HOW? If it can be done I definitely want to do the same. Also, do the ICON coilovers play any part in the caster adjustability?

Eric

 

So in theory, we should be able to take your #'s, throw 285's on a stock suspension, and it should work...?
This is great!

 

it should work.

 

This is such good info, Thanks men!!

 

Are u getting any pull to the right with those #'s?

 

Thats what she said....

 

nope, dead straight.

 

With the DR/Icon upper a arm you can throw a turn or two to compensate as well.
Just watch your coil clearance.

 

Well on my recent trip up to Icon this week The guys there taught me some cool stuff about our suspention I never knew before. There is a HUGE amount of caster adjustment on the FJ that can be used to compensate for the body mount rub, Like almost 4 inches of play!!.(and according to them you want some positive caster anyway for track), So today I bought new tires and while they were being mounted on the rims I tried out the adjustment and sure enough not even close to rubbing, It did throw the toe way out but I was getting an allignment today anyway so it was not an issue, I told the allignment tech to leave as much positive caster as possible while getting the toe and camber in spec. He did and it is awesome, I have well over an inch between my tire and the body mount now when turned. The drawback is it decreases your turning radius but it's so slight it makes no difference.
OH BTW for refrence I'm running 33x12.5 r17 Mickey thompson Baja claws

EDIT###
caster Toyota specs min2.3 max 3.3
Mine 4.1 left
4.2 right
Camber specs -0.4 to 0.6
mine 0.5 left
0.5 right
toe specs 0.00 to 0.05
mine 0.00
__________________

This would explain what just happened to me today. I put on a 3 inch lift and 32.5" tires over the weekend. I test drove over the weekend and had no rubbing lock to lock.

I had the post lift kit installation alignment done today. While driving in the lot after the alignment, I noticed rubbing noise at about 3/4 turn. Checked it out in the parking lot and I rub on both sides well before lock.

Going in for a redo on Thursday!

 

The FJ was back in the shop today to fix the alignment done earlier this week and I brought the factory specs in and numbers from this thread. When they maxed out the caster, the camber and toe would go out of spec. When the camber and toe were brought back into spec, the castor changes back to a lower angle.

The adjusters on the lower control arm are for camber and caster. Since camber is far more important for tire wear, you are stuck with caster value that results from achieving a zero camber unless you are OK with uneven tire wear. Those numbers might be acheivable with no lift, but the shop I went to couldn't make it happen on a lifted FJ with stock control arms.

Another thread in this forum talks to caster not being adjustable http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/161726-post6.html.

 

Yup, pass the word print the specs and insist they do it, you will not be dissapointed!!!
caster Toyota specs min2.3 max 3.3
Mine 4.1 left
4.2 right
Camber specs -0.4 to 0.6
mine 0.5 left
0.5 right
toe specs 0.00 to 0.05
mine 0.00
Come to find out Fjamming discovered this a LONG tme ago and it was overlooked. He hasn't had an issue with it and neither have I.

 

You adjusted your caster on your own and told them to leave it as much as they could while still being able to get the alignment?

 

I just realized that the alignment shop used the specs from the lift kit instructions. The instructions state that the specs are:

Caster 1.5
Camber 0
Toe in .03

 

Have u drove it much with these new alignment specs. I would imagine with the caster being more on the positive side there would be more bumps transmitted to the driver.

Im going in for an alignment tomorrow because of my rub with only 285/75/16's. Im thinking if your caster is set @ 4.1 and 4.2 for 33x12.50's a lot of people could get by with less. Maybe on the high end of toyota specs..... 3.2 and 3.3 or so.

 

FJFunJunkie said that FJammin had increased his caster on his for over a year. Has had no related problems.

 

think i can fit 35's then if i have a 3inch lift?? lol

 

That would be a dream come true. =)

 

Thanks for the info FJ FunJunkie (well bringing it up again )

Gonna try my regular place tomorrow, if they give me a funny look I"ll look for another shop.

 

I'm just about due for an alignment, I may try these numbers (even though I still only have 265's) to see hot it feels.
Killer!

 

Thanks for posting this info, I'll get my alignment adjusted next time and use this numbers.

 

Edit, Forgot to mention aftermarket UCA is a critical item to match the specs

 

Edit, Post withdrawn

 

It was a Monroe shop but the manager is my contact and friend who has been in the business for a long time as well. He had nothing to gain or lose and did not charge me a thing.

The part that has been missing from Post #1 is the fact that you have aftermarket UCAs which allow more manipulation of the alignment. Those of use that only have the lift were foaming at the mouth reading the first post.

BTW, my camber and toe are both in spec with the lift and stock UCA/LCA, which puts the caster out on the low end..........which requires a BMC to run my tires/rim combo.

 

Again no disrespect meant, Just opinions and foolin around. What lift are you running where a stock uca allows camber to be in spec? Every lift I had so far had modified specs that got the camber close but not within spec. This is one of the main reasons for an aftermarket UCA, besides the other benifits of travel and life of product.