chubbs8697

I have a 2012 F-150 Lariat SuperCrew 4WD.

I currently have Bilstein 5100 leveling shocks installed, set to 2.25" of front leveling. I also have Tuff Country 20935 Upper Control Arms installed, because the stock UCAs were hitting the coil spring on the front strut assembly. I have lower control arm camber bolts installed. I have stock wheels with 1.5" spacers to clear the aftermarket UCAs, and I just installed a set of Nitto Recon Grapplers in 275/65/R20. I took the truck to get aligned right after installing the new tires, because my previous set of tires on the same suspension setup only lasted about 40,000 miles before the outside edge of the tires were bald due to slight positive camber on the front tires. I knew that the truck was slightly out of alignment, with all measurements in spec except for out-of-spec positive camber on both front wheels. At the alignment shop today, they found the same thing, with everything in spec except the positive camber being too far out of spec. Truck drives straight. They said that they can not adjust the lower control arm camber bolts any further to reduce the positive camber.

Here is my question:
On the product listing for the UCAs, it says that they are made for trucks with 1-3" of front leveling. If that is true, why are they pushing out the top of the wheel too much? Because the front wheels still have too much positive camber, even though the truck is only leveled 2.25" and the UCAs are made for 1-3" of front leveling. Is there anything else that I can do to get more camber adjustment for the front tires? I already have lower control arm camber bolts installed. I could potentially go back to the stock UCAs, but then they will probably hit the coil springs. I just want my truck to be aligned better so these new expensive tires will not wear out too early. Any help is appreciated.

Stadt

Its likely NOT the upper control arms. As you lift the vehicle, Positive Camber increase due to the length of the control arms. As the lower control arm rotates down, the camber increases. If possible, post a picture of the alignment sheet they should have given you, showing the readouts of the measurements. If they did not give you this, I'd always asked for it, or maybe go somewhere else that does give it to you.
There are other factors that are likely contributing to your issues.
1. The alignment shop is not properly adjusting the lower control arms to have both the camber and caster in spec. Regardless of what they are doing, I'd recommend that this SPC Alignment Bolt Kit be installed if it hasnt been.
2. You have more than 2.25" of lift. The Bilsteins do max at 2.25, but to make sure, you did not install any spacers. No matter how smalle/large, between the strut mount and the strut mount bucket.
3. Your outer edge wear was more contributed to Toe wear rather than Camber wear. 40K out of light duty truck tires are common, and really well for vehicles that have lift kits/levels. As you increase tire size, and depending on the alignment machine used, the toe measurement begins to have a larger margin of error. This can contribute to toe wear showing over time, despite the "measurements" saying that they are good.

If you can get the alignment print out for your vehicle and post it, that would greatly help narrow down the issue present. I'd also recommend ditching the wheel spacers. You do not need them to clear the upper control arms. Yes it may look close, but it will not rub. I have ran 285/65R20 without any issues, and this is while airing down tires to 15 PSI and severely offroading them, never rubbed.

mass-hole

I dont think your UCA's should have been hitting the springs unless there was also a spacer lift installed above the bilsteins. Regardless of what height you set the Bilsteins at, they will always extend to the same total length, so I find it hard to believe they designed them to allow enough droop to slap the spring. Mine do not have this issue on my 2014.