Cognito Leveling Kit

[Rick Malone]

Who has tried the Cognito leveling kit it looks good and easy to install and makes the upper a-arms stronger more clearence for the bump stops, longer shocks, better wheel travel, i just dont hear much about it good or bad so whats every one thoughts.

[DA BIG ONE]

Keep in mind, as with any leveling kit when you load up the rear the front will be higher and pointing up. Nose down as with the factory suspension will allow the nose to be fairly level with medium loads in rear.

[Kennedy]

If you desire to push the nose up higher than the OE adjusters will take you, then teh Cognito kit is my suggestion. We sell quite a few of them although my own trucks just use stock keys and a bit of crank. I recommend the std yellow Bilsteins regardless of what is used for suspension mods.

[Rick Malone]

Iam not looking to level it out as much, but for better ground clearance and a little larger tire size, i can adujust the rake w/ the keys and still keep it a 1" or so nose down

[Rick Malone]

Kennedy does it change the ride and driveabilty good or bad or any drift w/ the Cognito Leveling Kit.

[Kennedy]

Any change in ride height is done by adding/removing preload to the bars. Just like cranking up the cams on motorcycle/ATV/Snowmobile springs. Added preload can definitely affect ride.

[Rick Malone]

Thanks KD i will be talking to ya when i get ready to order

[DmaxMaverick]

Before you go reaching for your wallet, be sure you really need to.

Try the OEM cams as they are, and adjust them up. If you are able to raise it enough with the OEM's, you won't need any aftermarket "leveling kit". They do the same thing, only the Cognito, and others, enable you to preload the bars at a higher rate, due to the indexing of the keyway. The end result is the same, more torque on the bars. Keep in mind, any more than ~1" increase in height will require an allignment. Also, more lift will increase the angles on the CV joints, and may cause accelerated wear/failure of the boots and joints.

Definately consider a shock upgrade, like Bilstein. Once you adjust the control arm off of the rubber bumper, the jounce level will increase, dramatically.

I had to raise my front end 1 3/4" to accommodate 285/75/16's, and did it with the OEM cams. I was able to level the truck using the OEM's (about 2 1/2"), but didn't need to go that far. There was a noticeable decrease in ride quality, which was nearly eliminated with the addition of Bilstein shocks.

[kylant]

I have the kit. one advantage over just cranking the bars is the new upper control arm. It repositions the bump stop so you still maintain the your downward travel. it also repositions the upper ball joint, it puts it at a better angle, it is also replaceable. it is just bolted in rather than pressed in. the ball joint is moog and can be bought at just about any local auto part store.

good luck

[Buck]

I've had mine for a year now and everything is still working great. I have quite a few pics in my sig. too. I don't have any pics with my airbags. All the pics are with stock rear suspension, so you can notice the nose up stance. I generally run my airbags at 30psi, which puts the rear up 1 1/2" higher than the front. It keeps the springs off the factory overload "bottom leaf". When I have the gooseneck hitched up, I air accordingly to make the truck level. Get the Idler and pitman arm supports, they will help a ton to tighten up the feel of the steering and should help the idler and pitman arm last longer. I have yellow bilsteins on it now, much better than the factory shocks. The ride is firm, the way I like it, but not harsh at all. It still flexes pretty well for IFS.

[Rick Malone]

Whats up with the wheel spacers ( in your web photos) or did you need them for the h-2s and 315's ?, your trk. looks real good w/ that lift, and thanks for the info

[Buck]

Yes, the wheel spacers come with the kit and I did need them with the H2 wheels. They are a 1/4" thick. Clearance between the upper control arm and the wheel is about 3/8" on flat ground, which is pretty tight. Especially when you start flexing things. The factory "PYO" aluminum wheels the 2500HDs come with will work just fine without the wheel spacers. I run them in the winter with 255/85/16 BFG MT. In fact I just took them off last weekend.
Keep your wheel backspacing to less than 5" and you won't need the wheel spacers. FYI, the H2 wheels have a 5 1/2" backspace.

[Rick Malone]

Thanks; thats good to know the backspace, that will help me later down the road when i gather up everything to get started.

[kylant]

my kit didn't ome with spacers, but i don't need them anyway

[Buck]

my kit didn't ome with spacers, but i don't need them anyway

Where did you buy it from? Maybe they don't include them anymore....

[kylant]

Where did you buy it from? Maybe they don't include them anymore....


I bought it directly from Cognito.

[Buck]

HMMM, thats where I got mine to.. Thinking I should go over to there site to see what's new. www.cognitomotorsports.com

FYI, Kennedy Diesel sells the Cognito stuff as well, that is where I got my steering supports.



QUOTE from Cognitomotorsports.com

"Tire and wheel recommendations
It is recommended to use an aftermarket wheel if you are going to run larger than stock tires, but you can run a 285/75/16 or 285/70/17 on the stock wheel. [b] A