Just got back from Cognito Motorsports in Bakersfield, Ca. The owner, Justin, is quite a nice guy. He is a degreed Mechanical Engineer so we could speak the same language. He was quite busy selling and manufacturing lift kits. He is also building, at a feverish pace, the HD leveling kit which is what I had installed on my truck.

The weather was raining today so pictures were not the best. Justin took some and I am not sure if they will get on his website anytime soon. I will take some when the weather clears.

I had them install:

CM's HD Leveling Kit
CM's dual shock kit
Idler/Pitman arm upgrade
6 New Bilstein shocks
New keys
Frontend re-aligned

Appearance: The Kit is very well designed and made. It was all painted black. Everything was installed by one guy in about 5 hours including alignment.

Performance: I was lucky as I had a long drive home after install (251 miles) so I got to test the new set up, All I can say is WOW!!!!! What a difference. Driving down with me was my Dad. With T Bars cranked up 7 turns and my new 298lb Reunel Frontend replacement and M15000 Warn Winch hanging out on the nose, it bounced alot going there. I had Rancho 9000 shocks. I asked my Dad to notice the drive there so we could compare on the way back. We were both amazed. On the way back the truck drove totally different. The truck now sits perfectly level. It runs true and straight down the road. When I hit sections of Interstate 5 where it would have previously waffled and bounced around before, now was a clean, crisp transition. I used to feel the truck "Bottom" out when I would go over dips in road, with his HD leveling kit that is all gone. The Dual Shock kit up front looks very nice and functions well. Justin showed me where the GM front suspension is weak and prone to wear out in stock form, He also showed where this process is accelerated when T Bars are cranked up. As an owner of a K3500 Dually, and wanting to keep full functionality of the truck, this kit is perfect. The truck front was raised nearly 3". All the alignment specs were right on mark.

I highly recommend this kit.

:nopics:

I'd really like to see some pics of the setup when you can.

SP33d,

I will take some tomorrow and post. Sorry about that, I know it needs Pics. Just wanted to post as I promised I would for some people that knew I was having kit installed today.

Where do you buy this kit and how much?

As promised. You can order the kit from CognitoMotorsports. com. Ask for Justin. tell Jeff sent you.

:thumb: That looks good! Thanks for the pics.

Looks good! Its nice to see pics of an actual install of this kit.

I see it changes the mounting postion of the shocks to the upper arm....

Tom :pig:

Knew you would like it...its amazing what a couple shocks and new uca's can do.

8.1 Gasser,

Yep. It was like night and day. Cranking the T Bars is definitely not the answer. It works for looks but has a short term gain. Plus the Idler/Pitman arm upgrade kit that was also added really helped the slop in the steering. I noticed it turns more responsive.

D. Dually-


Truck looks way nice now, I really like how it sits. If I were to do this I would do the same set up as you, especially the dual front shock kit, since I will be either purchasing or building a front bumper for my rig too. Did that Justin mention anything about how far this kit allows the CV's to move? Is it possible to drop in a deep hole with the front tires and over-extend anything?? Just curious. Thanks for the info, and again, truck looks very good!:ro)

J-HEFF

J Heff,
Thanks for comments.
I would call Justin for actual suspension travel. I would think you would be back to a factory expectation. Again, I am not a serious off road guy where this would have an effect on me. I tow various trailers, head up logging roads to bring back firewood, do some volunteer fireman stuff and help people out that get stuck on snowy roads.


Regards

Jeff

I'll try to give him a call today, I assume the number is on the website huh? Did he ever mention the big difference between the blistein's and the pro-comb shocks? I assume the the blisteins perform better, anyway, thanks again!


J-HEFF

Duramax Dually-They have a pic of your truck on their website, on the page for the dual shock hoop...

Nar,
Well Hot Dang.....:cool2:

Sure is a nice upgrade without having to install a full on lift kit to get the benefit of a dual shock application. It made a significant difference in the ride quality of the truck.

Duramax Dually-

Have you taken this off-road? I am looking at this kit with H2 rims and wheels.

Thanks

Airskeeter...

Well "Off Road" is tough to define in the eye of the general public....):h . However maybe this will at least give you some ideas of what I use the truck for, I usually drive along old fire roads getting to places to take off on ATV. I also go along these roads to gather firewood. These roads are not the best but are not anything close to an off road jamboree. The 3500 Dually is not the best for that. I have not done anything close to the GMC commercial on TV where the Sierra is flogging through the mud with a payload in back. I have towed tractors up dirt roads and been out in duck fields cleaning up the club. I have not done any duck club stuff yet with the new kit but have done the tractor and fire roads. Again, night and day difference. Very nice. I like the general better response of the truck. Before I had to slow down a bit more to avoid the severe bouncing, now it is very clean and crisp.

Hope this helps.

Did you have to have it aligned after installing the cognito kit? I guess you would have to if you had installed the green keys and cranked the bars, along with the Cog. kit.DEWFPO

i just e-mailed them their quick and answered my questions with anough details for me to understand but it wasnt a novel either. sounds like a good company. i think this kit is a asap deal if its as good as it sounds.

does the truck ride something like stock? well not exacly like stock but closer to it? the kit will cost me about 800 is it worth it or not? does it handle all the bumps better?

Answering some of the other questions below my last post


Yes you have to have it aligned...Most definitely

As for the ride quality, it is "crisper" in road transitions, and does not exhibit anymore of that bouncing. The truck does not bounce where you feel like you are in a big rig. It still retains the GM comfortable ride. As for the price, I looked at Lift kits and they range anywhere from $3-4K. As a Dually owner and with a larger family, I did not want to have the truck so high that it would be a huge inconvenience to get in and out of. I wanted a bit of height and to level out the truck. At the same time I wanted to stop the bouncing and support the additional weight of the frontend replacement and winch. All of this is accomplished with the kit and I am not out the big Money.

Before anybody fires back about lift kits I just want to state that everybody has their own applications and preference. Lift kits are cool, and I like them, but I need my truck to remain fully functional as a Dually. Cannot afford to have a one dimensional truck....

So am i right in thinking that this kit gives you lift without using your t-bars? Does it have any long term ill effects like using the bars? could this be a home install? So far this kit looks like a great alternative to a full blown lift!

Jared

Anybody got Cognitos email address, I couldnt find it on their website?

info@cognitomotorsports.com