Alignment Shop Recommendations?

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Permalink Reply by Maximus (Max) on May 11, 2013 at 11:10am

I have lifetime alignments at firestone, cost me like $200 or something at first but i could get an alignment every week if i wanted to

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Permalink Reply by JPN HUMV on May 12, 2013 at 10:56pm

I've read some pretty negative things about Firestone, specifically their lifetime alignment plans.  People claim that after the initial visit, it goes downhill.....the wait is forever and sometimes they just leave your car up there and claim that it's done after several hours.

Any Firestone locations or a contact name from there that you recommend?

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Permalink Reply by Maximus (Max) on May 13, 2013 at 12:19am

ive been to the one in fremont a few times and they have always been good to deal with, always loved to look at the FJ cuz they are used to seeing the soccer mom vans. That sounds pretty awful though ive been needing to go back and get another alignment since its been almost 10k miles since my last, I'm thanking my LR UCAs for keeping my alignment in check. 

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Permalink Reply by JPN HUMV on May 13, 2013 at 12:22am

LOL.  I guess I better not bring my wife's RX there then :)

I'm planning to get a lift in the future for my FJ so I think I might get the lifetime alignment for my FJ there since I heard that an alignment is needed after the lift is installed and probably when it settles?

Is the LR UCAs low maintenance and will the tire guys know how to adjust them?  Sorry, total 4x4 newbie here.

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Permalink Reply by Maximus (Max) on May 13, 2013 at 12:33am

No worries man, I'm not too knowledgeable about alignments but i know once you first put on the LR UCAs you adjust them yourself to a certain setting whether it be more geared toward offroad or highway (i set mine in a kinda medium). Alignments are necessary because getting the lift can throw it out of whack and i think its been a pretty good investment so far as its already paid for itself and any alignment now is basically free! my ride has never been as smooth since i installed the UCAs. Pretty much any offroading or hitting potholes or anything can toss your wheels out of balance and alignments can cost around $80 depending where you get them so i thought it was a good financial choice to get it. sorry if this was a ramble i hope it made sense haha

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Permalink Reply by JPN HUMV on May 13, 2013 at 12:36am

No ramble at all, I greatly appreciate your reply and advice! :)

What lift kit did you get on your rig?  Why did you choose the LR UCA over others?

Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Maximus (Max) on May 13, 2013 at 12:43am

Perfect! lol umm i have bilstein 5100 up front with OME 885 (medium) coils and bilsetin 5125 rear shocks with the toytec super flex coils. its a good lift that i pieced together from a lot of used or on sale parts. and i chose the LR UCAs because a member on here was selling them for cheap and i had to pick them up! a lot of people run a 3in lift with the stock arms with no issues, but if you get a wide wheel and or tire it might rub on the stock arms and at that time you will have to replace to aftermarket!

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Permalink Reply by JPN HUMV on May 13, 2013 at 12:50am

I figure I might as well save up and get everything done at once as I'm not mechanically inclined myself so I don't have the luxury of always taking it apart to install a new part.

I was looking at the Toytec Ultimate 3" Lift Package.  I plan on getting new tires down the line after my current oem ones wear out but if that's the case, might as well install the UCAs while I have everything out since it seems like the ride is much better and no worries on rubbing at all.

Did you install everything yourself?

Thanks for the link to the sheet on the LR UCA adjustments, is the bolt marked so you can tell which way you're turning or is it obvious when you make a turn that the camber is pointing inwards or outwards?

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Permalink Reply by Maximus (Max) on May 13, 2013 at 12:56am

yea its a good idea to save up and do it all at once but the UCAs arent really necessary. I'm in the same boat as you brother lol forum members here have helped me with everything, Bz set up my lift for me and Kevin helped me with my UCAs. I know that if you post up on here someone will chime in and help! Thats a good lift i plan on upgrading my front coilovers to that, its the reason why i got the 5100s. The bolt is pretty obvious once you see it and the description on the sheet really helps!

Permalink Reply by Maximus (Max) on May 13, 2013 at 12:36am

if you scroll down a little bit itll show you the sheet: http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/toytec-lifts/78517-light-raci...

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Permalink Reply by JPN HUMV on May 13, 2013 at 12:59am

If by BZ, you mean John from Alameda, I've met him once when I first got my rig in 2010.  Since then, my wife and I got our first child and nothing has been done to it except the addition of retrofit lights by Nestor.

I hope when the time comes for me to lift my rig, there will still be install days.  I would love to watch and learn.  Will be more than happy to supply the beer :)

Thanks for all your replies!

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Permalink Reply by Maximus (Max) on May 13, 2013 at 1:10am

I mean Brandon lol he works at Shaffer which is right next to Boz (John) shop in Alameda. I guarantee you people will help! I'm glad i could help hopefully i'll see you on the trail or at a meet n greet or install day soon!

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