I am looking to put a 6" lift on my 05' Chevy 2500HD Crew Cab Duramax, and I have been looking into a BDS kit for it... I would like my truck to ride a little bit nicer then it does right now. (I have the torsion bars cranked up for more beef with the snow plow on the front) But at the same time I need something that is strong enough to take the abuse that a snow plow will dish out. I have also been looking into getting traction bars with the lift, BDS charges over $500 for this option. Are traction bars worth it? I was also wondering about Tires...I figured I would get the Pro Comp all terrains. But again I was hoping that you guys could shed some light on what tires I need. I am constantly driving on snow and ice in winter because of plowing snow, I will run my stock rims in the winter but will want taller tires to fill the void in the wheel wells. in the other seasons I tend to do a little off-roading but stick mostly to the pavement and I figured I would run a 17" or 18" rim. any information you guys can give is appreciated. thankyou

I am looking to put a 6" lift on my 05' Chevy 2500HD Crew Cab Duramax, and I have been looking into a BDS kit for it... I would like my truck to ride a little bit nicer then it does right now. (I have the torsion bars cranked up for more beef with the snow plow on the front) But at the same time I need something that is strong enough to take the abuse that a snow plow will dish out. I have also been looking into getting traction bars with the lift, BDS charges over $500 for this option. Are traction bars worth it? I was also wondering about Tires...I figured I would get the Pro Comp all terrains. But again I was hoping that you guys could shed some light on what tires I need. I am constantly driving on snow and ice in winter because of plowing snow, I will run my stock rims in the winter but will want taller tires to fill the void in the wheel wells. in the other seasons I tend to do a little off-roading but stick mostly to the pavement and I figured I would run a 17" or 18" rim. any information you guys can give is appreciated. thankyou

CST or Cognito

Cognito, I did a ton of research befor I bought mine and road in about a dozen diffrent trucks. The cognito lift rides the best and has the best setup. It wont brake in 20k and easily upgradable.

cognito or cst. and i would suggest a 35" bfg all terrain since your in the snow and do some mild offroading.

thanks a ton guys I will definetly take a look at Cognito and CST anybody know a good website for both of these? I appreciate it. BFG's make my favorite all terrain. and I know three different people that have put them on their 2500HDs stock and have really worn through the tires fast.... about 20,000 miles before they are looking at getting replaced. But one of the guys has had good luck with them replaceing them if they go bad prematurly. this whole problem was the reason that I thought the procomp all terrains would be a safe bet with the 50,000 mile warranty. But I do love the BFG's. anybody have any input on traction bars? I don't know a hole lot about them.

ya i would go with the cognito or CST just make sure you don't go cheap on the shocks that is the real thing that will make the ride that much better. i had the BFG all-terrains once and i wouldn't go back with them they did wear to fast for me. i had really good luck with the toyo open country at i had about 30k on them before i got my lift and the guy i sold them to has put another 15k on them and they still look good and they have good traction i don't know about snow where i live that just dosen't happen but i know in the mud they worked better then the BFGs did. on the traction bars you could make a set that will work good and be cheaper. oh ya make sure you get the cognito braces they will help alot

If you lift the rear with block, instead of replacement springs then i would say get the trac bars because some people, including myself, have a problem with getting some bad wheel hop in the snow sometimes. I dont have a lift, mine is stock and I still have it sometimes. I would agree with judgie though, make some if you can. It sounds like you dont need extra beefy ones since you wont be wheelin' it too much. Good luck.

Check out Nor-Cal in the vendors section at top of screen. Cive Nick a call

:ro) Thanks vrodman


Here is the link to the Cognito write ups:

http://www.norcaltruck.com/cognito.html




Nor-Cal Nick

Around this area alot of poeple seem to be set on the RCD lifts..

Tuff Country is another good one. I installed mine at 35000 miles and have had no issues.

rob1966 is right the RCD is a good lift for the money and the shocks are great but if you are going to install the lift yourself i would go with the cognito it seems to be the easiest lift to put on but it is one of the more expensive lifts but you can get all the little upgrades with that lift like the braces the upper control arm

Is the cognito going to work with a plow up front though how this guys would like it? or is he going to have to make custom brackets to make the plow work?

Is the cognito going to work with a plow up front though how this guys would like it? or is he going to have to make custom brackets to make the plow work?


I am not sure about that...I know that my brackets for my blade simply bolt into the existing holes for the recovery hooks and the hole in the frame on the bottom. I really don't want to have to modify that bracket because it already takes one hell of a beating

Im running a 6" RCD lift and it is good but i wish i did more research. If i had i would have chose the cognito. I dont like that the torsion bars have to cranked up all the way for the truck to sit level.

I Talked to a rep from CST today. He said that you don't have to do that for their 6" because of the fact that it drops it 6" but if you want the 8" then you would have to get different key holes or crank it up more. I am really only interested in 6" as I am worried about the drive shaft...I am starting to lean towards CST over Cognito because of the fact that CST keeps the Track width stock. and that 1/2 inch that cognito widens, although better then most is a chance for premature CV ware....At least that is what I am thinking, Someone please correct me if I am wrong. Can I also use the Cognito Idler arm and Pitman arm brace with the CST? seems like that would be the best of both worlds (no space in CV joints, but also the brace) I am just guessing all of this from what I have read about both. is there any other reason to pick Cognito over CST? I would like to install this myself but, I am scared to death of putting holes in my frame. I am afraid I will put one in the wrong spot! I know the rep from CST said that there are bushings that can go bad, and that they are not covered under Warranty. Does Cognito have this same policy on bushings? What kind of warranty do they offer? Anybody have a number for them?

OK...Cognito=$1750, CST=$2600, and Cognito has the braces for the pitman and idler arms!! thats another 200 bucks to add on to CST sooo definetly going with Cognito! best lift for the price hands down! Thanks guys

my t-bars aren't cranked but just a little and that is only to help with the 37" tires now and the truck sits pretty level i mean i have a load in or on the truck most days so the truck sits a little lower then usual but like i said they didn't have to crank them at all for the 35 really i like the little bit of rack that i got

OK...Cognito=$1750, CST=$2600, and Cognito has the braces for the pitman and idler arms!! thats another 200 bucks to add on to CST sooo definetly going with Cognito! best lift for the price hands down! Thanks guys


usmckw00,
I sell both CST & Cognito. If you need help with both pro's and con's I would be more than happy to talk with you. You can reach me at the shop #. Also check out this link on the Cognito kits.

Link:
http://www.norcaltruck.com/cognito.html



Nor-Cal Nick

OK...Cognito=$1750, CST=$2600, and Cognito has the braces for the pitman and idler arms!! thats another 200 bucks to add on to CST sooo definetly going with Cognito! best lift for the price hands down! Thanks guys


Because of the steering setup with the CST, the braces are not needed.


I would choose the CST or procomp because of the track width issue, but you can also use the longer resivoir shocks on the dual shock hoop. The short ones look goofy IMO

I would choose the CST or procomp because of the track width issue, but you can also use the longer resivoir shocks on the dual shock hoop. The short ones look goofy IMO[/quote]


Why is CST so much more then pro Comp?

[quote=usmckw00;1640028;]Ispot! I know the rep from CST said that there are bushings that can go bad, and that they are not covered under Warranty.

I have just over 5k on my truck with a CST 6" and I am replaceing the uniball joints in both upper control arms. I have yet to take the truck off road and only time it spent in 4wd is when it snowed here back in January, So it has not been abused in anyway. The problem I see is that you have the uniball joint that is pressed into the a-arm and left exposed. The water and grime from the road pools up on the top of the joint so when you're driving there is an abrasive sustance wearing on that moving part, constintley. I don't know how there supposed to last? I've also heard that just the overall design of the kit puts alot of load at that point so they just wear faster. I am no expert on the subject, its just my observation and opinion. The rep at CST can't give me any reason they would fail so fast, but talking with them I got the impresion that it is a common problem , and there is a new upper a-arm design in the works that is sealed.

I thought I did enough research on the subject before buying, but now looking back on it and talking with Nick @ Norcal more I would have went with a Cognito. Keeping the stock track width is what pushed me towards the CST. I think it is great looking kit and a quality built product, but if this is not the strongest design, then it's not worth it. NorCal sells both CST and Cognito, look at there gallery and see which lift you see installed more. That might tell you something.

And because of how CST has dealt with my situation I would hesitate to give them my business again. The haven't been horrible to deal with, it just not the service I was expecting with the purchase of a quality product or how I deal with my customers.

I have a BDS lift, and have put over 40K on it with no problems. I'm on 315/70/r17s and the thing actually rides extremely nice.

Truth be told I wish I would have sprung for a 9-11" setup on a 38", but that isn't related to the kit, just the fact that my truck looks small to me now. heh.

I don't know why CST mounts the uniball vertically. Must be so they can use the stock spindle. I think mounting the uniball horizontal like Camburg does on thier kits is a better use of the uniballs strength. It also eliminates the pooling of water described by nws88.

Cognito's kit would be off the chart if they fab'd their spindles and a-arms like camburg does on the ***'d links.

http://www.camburg.com/images/Silverado/Performance%20System/Upperuniball.jpg

http://www.camburg.com/images/Silverado/Performance%20System/SystemFront.jpg

The benifit of how Cognito does thie a-arm to knuckle connection is that it would be relatively easy to replace the ball joints once they wear out since they are a part available at many autoparts stores.

I have the BDS lift. 12k on it now and no problems, granted it's been hardly any off-road. I do wish I would have cranked the t-bars a little to get the front end to sit maybe 1/2" higher...not worth getting it realigned for though. Plus, a lift makes it easier to put in a SCIII ha!

I would choose the CST or procomp because of the track width issue, but you can also use the longer resivoir shocks on the dual shock hoop. The short ones look goofy IMO


Why is CST so much more then pro Comp?[/quote]


I think alot of that is the name. But the I think the CST has a 1 piece subframe. Should be stronger than the procomp. But I have rarely seen complaints with the Procomp

I have just over 5k on my truck with a CST 6" and I am replaceing the uniball joints in both upper control arms. I have yet to take the truck off road and only time it spent in 4wd is when it snowed here back in January, So it has not been abused in anyway. The problem I see is that you have the uniball joint that is pressed into the a-arm and left exposed. The water and grime from the road pools up on the top of the joint so when you're driving there is an abrasive sustance wearing on that moving part, constintley. I don't know how there supposed to last? I've also heard that just the overall design of the kit puts alot of load at that point so they just wear faster. I am no expert on the subject, its just my observation and opinion. The rep at CST can't give me any reason they would fail so fast, but talking with them I got the impresion that it is a common problem , and there is a new upper a-arm design in the works that is sealed.

I am sorry to hear that. the rep from CST told me the same thing about that come to think of it. I had now Idea that it was such a big problem. if your having trouble with it I am sure that I would have a ton of trouble with it with all the time mine spends in salt covered slushy roads and constantly in 4-Wheel during the winter time!

quote]

I have the BDS lift. 12k on it now and no problems, granted it's been hardly any off-road. I do wish I would have cranked the t-bars a little to get the front end to sit maybe 1/2" higher...not worth getting it realigned for though. Plus, a lift makes it easier to put in a SCIII ha!

might sound stupid, but what is a SCIII ?

might sound stupid, but what is a SCIII ?


It's a beefed up Allison tranny by Suncoast....level3.