Upper control arm bushings?
It’s not really about being lucky, even in perfect condition the stock UCA’s don’t really allow for enough positive caster if you’re running radial tires.
It does depend a bit on the specifics of your car, ride height, factory tolerances etc but with stock UCA’s it can be difficult to get much more than +1.5* caster, which really isn’t much. Maybe for just cruising around it’s ok, but even moderate handling really should have more. Even with the offset bushings it can be difficult to get more than +3.5* of caster, which is fine for narrower BFG’s and things but still isn’t that much if you’re gone 17-18” rims with anything 245 or wider.
The SKOSH chart shows some basic alignment specs for radials, and even it’s pretty conservative regarding positive caster.
Which is understandable, it’s an old chart and really shows about as much as you can reasonably do with stock arms and offset bushings, and was intended for tires like the BFG T/A’s. But on my car with 275’s up front with 200 treadwear tires I run +6.5*, even with manual 16:1 steering. That requires aftermarket adjustable UCA’s.
It’s not really about being lucky, even in perfect condition the stock UCA’s don’t really allow for enough positive caster if you’re running radial tires.
It does depend a bit on the specifics of your car, ride height, factory tolerances etc but with stock UCA’s it can be difficult to get much more than +1.5* caster, which really isn’t much. Maybe for just cruising around it’s ok, but even moderate handling really should have more. Even with the offset bushings it can be difficult to get more than +3.5* of caster, which is fine for narrower BFG’s and things but still isn’t that much if you’re gone 17-18” rims with anything 245 or wider.
The SKOSH chart shows some basic alignment specs for radials, and even it’s pretty conservative regarding positive caster.
Which is understandable, it’s an old chart and really shows about as much as you can reasonably do with stock arms and offset bushings, and was intended for tires like the BFG T/A’s. But on my car with 275’s up front with 200 treadwear tires I run +6.5*, even with manual 16:1 steering. That requires aftermarket adjustable UCA’s.
