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Does the Cognito leveling kit lift the truck 2" in addition to cranked torsion bars?

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22K views 22 replies 14 participants last post by  Nick.V70  
A
#1 ·
Does the Cognito leveling kit lift the truck 2" in addition to cranked torsion bars?

I already have my torsions up 2" (8 turns) for the 33's on stock wheels. Does adding Cognito's leveling kit add another 2" to the front end?
 
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#3 ·
the cognito 2inch lift replaces your stock keys with ones that are off set allowing you to have it 2inch's higher with the bolts in the stock position. you can crank it up higher if you want.
 
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#4 ·
outacontrol450;1640459; said:
the cognito 2inch lift replaces your stock keys with ones that are off set allowing you to have it 2inch's higher with the bolts in the stock position. you can crank it up higher if you want.
Click to expand...

No it doesnt...Cognito lift is UCAs to help get correct alignment and allow more clearance between UCA and frame stop in daily driving for nice ride.
 
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#5 ·
I haven't seen much info on this but doesn't using the torsion bars as a lift stress the CV joints a bit more and cause some accelerated wear? Not trying to steal the post, just think it's related.
 
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#6 ·
UW153;1640636; said:
I haven't seen much info on this but doesn't using the torsion bars as a lift stress the CV joints a bit more and cause some accelerated wear? Not trying to steal the post, just think it's related.
Click to expand...
yea, the higher you crank without dropping the diff, the more intense your cv angles will be. As stated about, the kit does not bolt on to give you 2 inches persay, but it will allow you to crank your keys some more and still have a somewhat liveable ride. A good gauge to see how much more you can crank is that they recommend that you be able to put a finger or two inbetween the upper control arm bumpstop and the frame bumpstop at ride height. Anything less and you will be bottoming out your stops when your suspension droops which brings you back to the problem you set out to solve with the cognito arms.
 
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#7 · (Edited)
Pick me....Pick me...

Ok,

The Cognito UCA kit does not give you lift.

Here is what a stock GM UCA and factory frame stop should look like.
* This space will very on every truck that comes off the show room floor because GM sets there trucks up alittle deferent per what tire package they put on the truck.





After you crank your bars up you start to loose rebound/drop out travel.





When you turn your keys up you limit the travel first with your factory shock. Easy fix with extenders or longer shocks.

​



After the shock you loose drop out travel between the UCA and frame stop. A bad ride at that point, metal to metal. You also get a bad factory ball joint angle that binds and will wear out fast. Also the factory UCA does not allow for correct alignment spec. most of the time.


​




Turning your bars up are the number 1 upgrade GM owners do to get a little bigger tire under there trucks. So Cognito looked at the problems that occur and came up with there Cognito 2-3 leveling UCA kit. The bases is to correct ball joint angle and alignment specs. When testing there set up they found that the factory CV shafts will allow for alittle more drop out than factory allows. So when you find that the stance you get after cranking your bars is where you want your truck to sit and your ride has gone bad then you have ran out of drop out travel, the Cognito UCA will give you 2" more drop out from there to gain your ride back.​









Image


ABOVE -Cognito 2-3" Leveling Kit, Cognito pitman & idler support, Idler pivot w/gusset, Bilsteins 5100's Front/Rear, 285/65r16 BFG M/T's on stock wheels
Image

ABOVE - Cognito 2-3" Leveling Kit, Cognito pitman & idler support, Idler pivot w/gusset, Bilsteins 5100's Front/Rear, Nitto Dune Grapplers ,18" KMC black HOSS wheels


Again does the Cognito UCA kit give you lift? No, it corrects the problems that occur when you level your truck with factory UCA.

- For guys that are drag racing using 4wd and sled pullers, this kit is not for you because the CV angles are greater than you can use at that torq. when in 4wd. A 4" lift with a drop front diff. will work better since you will have level CV angles not cranked up.

- Guys that are every day drivers and regular 4wd offroading, this kit is great for you to get bigger tires under the truck for a better look.

- This kit works best with Bil5100's front and back.
- You can add a rear 1" block and u-bolt to raise the rear as well.

Also look at this link:

http://www.norcaltruck.com/cognito-2-3.html



Hope this helps....


Nor-Cal Nick​
 
#15 ·
I was going to go with the Keys only but after reading this post, the Cognito leveling kit sounds like the way to go. Thanks for the info and Back to the top for post. Thanks
 
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#16 ·
I went for the Cognito UCA's after about the third time I saw Nick post that (took a while to sink in I guess). At least if it gets stickied it might save Nick repeated typing in the future.

After running cranked bars for over a year I can attest that the Cognito UCA's made a world of difference.
 
O
#18 · (Edited)
Alignment specs for Cognito levelling kit

Hi Nick,

I just installed the kit,shock extenders and green keys and got the ride height I was after, but when I had the truck aligned the tech said he couldnt get the specs outlined in the Conito instructions.He couldnt get the camber right because there was no more adjustment in the UCA.Is this a common problem? Should I be worried about this? Here is the specs we have: Camber Left is -.13 right is -.5 Cognito says +.25 Caster left + 5.22 right + 5.44 Cognito says +4.0 to +5.0 Toe is .12 degrees which is pretty close to 0 to 1/16"

I dont know much about this stuff so your opinion is greatly appreciated.This kit is very expensive in Canada so I want to make sure that everthing is right and nothing will void my warranty.

THX,Shawn
 
#23 ·
Alot of guys calling that have this quistion so.....

:cool: Alot of guys calling that have this question so


T.T.T :D :D :D :D



1sic250;1641068; said:
Ok,

The Cognito UCA kit does not give you lift.

Here is what a stock GM UCA and factory frame stop should look like.
* This space will very on every truck that comes off the show room floor because GM sets there trucks up alittle deferent per what tire package they put on the truck.



[URL="http://www.norcaltruck.com/cognito-2-3/42.jpg"]
(Image has been resized. Click it for full size.)
[/URL]


After you crank your bars up you start to loose rebound/drop out travel.



[URL="http://www.norcaltruck.com/cognito-2-3/33.jpg"]
(Image has been resized. Click it for full size.)
[/URL]


When you turn your keys up you limit the travel first with your factory shock. Easy fix with extenders or longer shocks.



[URL="http://www.norcaltruck.com/cognito-2-3/31.jpg"]
(Image has been resized. Click it for full size.)
[/URL]


After the shock you loose drop out travel between the UCA and frame stop. A bad ride at that point, metal to metal. You also get a bad factory ball joint angle that binds and will wear out fast. Also the factory UCA does not allow for correct alignment spec. most of the time.




[URL="http://www.norcaltruck.com/cognito-2-3/32.jpg"]
(Image has been resized. Click it for full size.)
[/URL]



Turning your bars up are the number 1 upgrade GM owners do to get a little bigger tire under there trucks. So Cognito looked at the problems that occur and came up with there Cognito 2-3 leveling UCA kit. The bases is to correct ball joint angle and alignment specs. When testing there set up they found that the factory CV shafts will allow for alittle more drop out than factory allows. So when you find that the stance you get after cranking your bars is where you want your truck to sit and your ride has gone bad then you have ran out of drop out travel, the Cognito UCA will give you 2" more drop out from there to gain your ride back.​




[URL="http://www.norcaltruck.com/cognito-2-3/36.jpg"]
(Image has been resized. Click it for full size.)
[/URL]




[URL="http://www.norcaltruck.com/cognito-2-3/35.jpg"]
(Image has been resized. Click it for full size.)
[/URL]



(Image has been resized. Click it for full size.)


ABOVE -Cognito 2-3" Leveling Kit, Cognito pitman & idler support, Idler pivot w/gusset, Bilsteins 5100's Front/Rear, 285/65r16 BFG M/T's on stock wheels​

(Image has been resized. Click it for full size.)

ABOVE - Cognito 2-3" Leveling Kit, Cognito pitman & idler support, Idler pivot w/gusset, Bilsteins 5100's Front/Rear, Nitto Dune Grapplers ,18" KMC black HOSS wheels​


Again does the Cognito UCA kit give you lift? No, it corrects the problems that occur when you level your truck with factory UCA.​

- For guys that are drag racing using 4wd and sled pullers, this kit is not for you because the CV angles are greater than you can use at that torq. when in 4wd. A 4" lift with a drop front diff. will work better since you will have level CV angles not cranked up.​

- Guys that are every day drivers and regular 4wd offroading, this kit is great for you to get bigger tires under the truck for a better look.​

- This kit works best with Bil5100's front and back.
- You can add a rear 1" block and u-bolt to raise the rear as well.​

Also look at this link:​




Hope this helps....​



Nor-Cal Nick​
Click to expand...
 
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