just had alignment done after lift, serious caster changes made. what you guys think?

i installed my OME 3.5" lift, drove the jeep for a week, everything seemed fine in relation to the death wobble that people talk about here, drove well, tracked well, some vibes though..

when i installed my lift it was recommended to me that i adjust my LCA 5/16" longer over stock as a starting point, i have stock upper arms at the moment and JKS lowers.(JKS uppers coming soon)

this is a 2001 XJ, LP D30. No T case drop.
according to my print out my jeep was spot on at 8.5° caster when it showed up at the alignment shop (the shop aligns tons of jeeps for a local off road jeep only business, so i was inclined to trust what this guy was doing)

so 8.5° initial, 4.9° after alignment
min to max range on print out is 5.7° to 7.2° (up county spec it says on sheet)
the shop said my LCA's were too long, and that they shortend them up.
they also said that they set it at 4.9 as a trade off of caster and pinion angle IIRC.

i must say that the jeep feels smoother under my feet while driving..i assume my pinion angle must have been off to the point of front driveline vibes, and now that the caster has been reduced, my pinion is pointing more towards where it should be?

i would say that the ride/vibe has improved..im just trying to figure out why..exactly, and wondering what the gurus say about 4.9° caster at 3.5" lift??

my camber is now set at -0.6° left and right.

i should add that i have read through 10 pages of searched results.

do things seem right to you guys?
thanks

No problem with my 2000 LP D30 set at about 4*.

thanks, am i correct in assuming that installing adjustable UCA's will allow me to keep my caster in the correct range but also allow me to center my axle to my liking?

i really just wanted the JKS upper arms so that i had articulating arms top and bottom, but now that my lower arms have been shortend, it almost looks like my axle could be moved forward just a hair in the wheel well..
i could be trippin but it does not look the same as it did before IMO..and i think it looked more centered before the alignment adjustments.

thanks again

Your right in thinking that the axle may not centered in the wheel well. As you lift the front suspension the axle travels in an arc that pulls back at the top and bottom. As you move the axle down away from the body it will draw back in that arc effectively shortening the wheelbase. You can move it forward to a point with adjustable upper and lower arms depending how much adjustment they have.

As for the smoother ride higher caster will transmit more of the road feel into the lower control arm causing you to feel more bumps and bangs thru the suspension. By lowering the caster number it allows the suspension to move upward rather than rearward.

i will order up some upper arms once i recover from christmas.. try to get the axle looking right once they show up.

for now i will be happy with the new smoother ride.

thanks