Tortion bars, keys, both or Cognito kit?

[w0lf]

OK,

Thanks to all the good advice i've gotten here, i've selected tires Toyo MT's 285/75/16 for my 2005 Silverado 2500HD and found a local place to install them for a great price. The last question i have is what to do to gain the needed space and maintain the best ride possbile (even thought the thing rides like a tank already.

It seems like there are 3 options

1 - Tortion bars only
2 - Tortion bars + keys
3 - Cognito leveling kit

A lot of people seem to bo all of these, so i imagine the answer is it depends.

So, i have 2 questions basically.

Q1 - if i get the leveling kit, do i have to do anything else? Several other people talk about longer shocks or shock extension brackets. Is that right?

Q2 - For the cost, is it really worth it for a truck that rides so rough already?

Thnx
wolf

 

[iwaxmyjimmy]

go to unlimited offroads website and u will find leveling kits for the HD. around $500 including shocks. keys will raise the truck w/o causing a harsher ride b/c it doesnt add tension to the torsion bar itself. its just a reindexed key so it just sits higher. and u should be able to clear those tires in stock form. and possibly 305s w/ the keys and maybe some spacers, or aftermarket rims.

 

[sweetk30]

go to unlimited offroads website and u will find leveling kits for the HD. around $500 including shocks. keys will raise the truck w/o causing a harsher ride b/c it doesnt add tension to the torsion bar itself. its just a reindexed key so it just sits higher. and u should be able to clear those tires in stock form. and possibly 305s w/ the keys and maybe some spacers, or aftermarket rims.

how do you think it lifts the truck? it reindexes it the bar location. so you can crank it the same amount but get more lift. thay ride close to stock but harder. the offroad unlimited kit is about the best as it gives you new shocks. and start spraying the bar ends with pb blaster now if thay are getting changed. thay rust in quick around hear.

 

[iwaxmyjimmy]

it lifts the front of truck 1-2 inches w/o turning up the bars (thats where the reindex part helps), and 2 inches and the truck sits level(thats why is called a leveling kit).

 

[6.2Blazer]

it lifts the front of truck 1-2 inches w/o turning up the bars (thats where the reindex part helps), and 2 inches and the truck sits level(thats why is called a leveling kit).

As already mentioned, this is impossible to do. You really need to learn how a torsion bar setup works. The only difference the keys have is that they allow you to "turn up" the torsion bars more than the factory keys (they will run out of adjustment sooner).

Some of the aftermarket kits do help because they relocate the bumpstop, otherwise if you turn up the torsion bars you have no down travel because the a-arms are resting against the stop, and therefore any pothole you hit would be bone jarring.

 

[gmc4cw]

OK,

Thanks to all the good advice i've gotten here, i've selected tires Toyo MT's 285/75/16 for my 2005 Silverado 2500HD and found a local place to install them for a great price. The last question i have is what to do to gain the needed space and maintain the best ride possbile (even thought the thing rides like a tank already.

It seems like there are 3 options

1 - Tortion bars only
2 - Tortion bars + keys
3 - Cognito leveling kit

A lot of people seem to bo all of these, so i imagine the answer is it depends.

So, i have 2 questions basically.

Q1 - if i get the leveling kit, do i have to do anything else? Several other people talk about longer shocks or shock extension brackets. Is that right?

Q2 - For the cost, is it really worth it for a truck that rides so rough already?

Thnx
wolf

start by cranking your bars. it's the cheapest way. You will need to get an alignment afterwards because as you go up in height it leans the top of the tire out. on a 2500 that is all you should need to do to clear 285's. A guy that uses our service department is running 305's on 8" wheels with just the bars cranked. If you need more height then just cranking will get you then I would recommend a body lift.

as stated before you will run out of down travel the higher you go. the ride gets stiffer, more then 1.5" of adjustment up and you should look into longer shocks. for $200 you can buy a 2-3 inch bodylift and put it on in your driveway with handtools in a day/weekend depending on your skill level. buy a case of beer and invite your friends over to help.

 

[01maroonz71]

i have a set of "green" keys for youir truck, which are what you need...they're the stock 1500 keys and are exactly the same as the lift ones that you will buy online somewhere....if you install them and only crank a bit, you won't need new shocks, and it will bring the front up to match the rear...i can sell them to you for 65 shipped if you'd like them...let me know. you will also probably have to have a shop install them for you and use the torsion bar unloading tool since you don't know alot about this type of suspension(no offense) but it's not really somthing you can do on your own...i have a friend who lost 2 fingers b/c he hooked up a 2 jaw gear puller to his instead of the correct tool, well it broke, took out the crossmember, and the rest is history.

 

[sweetk30]

body lifts in those trucks non turbo desile are easy.

285 tire is same hight as 305 just the 305 is .5" wider.

and dont swap keys from hd to non hd or visa versa. diffrent positions for the pin/bolt holes. off by about 1/4 " . this will not let the pin/bolt plate sit in the crossmember 100% correctly. as me how i know? i have seen it done it dont look pritty. looks like its going to pop out and drop the bar to the bottom of the adjustment.

 

[supersize75k5]

I was able to more than raise my front end to level mine, 285's no problem and I could still turn they keys another 3/4 inch if I wanted.

the newer hd's have more adjustment in the keys than the older HD'S or older torsion set ups.

 

[JpEater]

I run 315's with only cranking my torsion bars. The biggest thing to keeping the factory like ride is to watch your clearance between your upper control arm and the drop stop. Keep at least 1/2" to 3/4" betwen the two and your ride will stay the same. You will see you will get 569,845 different arguments on the way the same thing which is simply lift the front. You could buy keys but most likely you wont need them unless your trying to go past level or have a heavy bumper. I bought keys for my truck but didn't need them so they are sitting in the shop collecting dust. I cranked my torsion bars, put 315/75R16 BFG mud terrains, and installed a good set of Bilstein shocks the day after I bought my truck new. It has 10K miles now and rides better than it did when it was stock with small tires. Go to THEDIESELPLACE.COM and go to the suspension section. You will find enough info on the subject that you could read till your eyes get blurry. If you want any help or advice then PM me. I have done Suspension/Torsion bar lifts on 6-7 2500HD's.

Oh don't forget to get the Cognito Idler arm and Pitman arm supports. Bigger tires will chew kill Idler/Pitman arms without the supports. You can get the kit from KENNEDYDIESEL.COM.

 

[01maroonz71]

sweetk30 is right about the body lifts...easy piesy!!!!

and the keys are the same, what throws them out of whack is the cranking of them...i currently have ford keys in my half ton, and it doesn't look pretty, but it doesn't go anywhere...i have some 2500 and some 1500 keys, and when put side by side, the bolt holes line up perfectly, just indexed different, which kind of angles the bolt...no biggie though.

 

[muddindirty]

I cranked my torsion bars, put 315/75R16 BFG mud terrains, and installed a good set of Bilstein shocks the day after I bought my truck new. Go to Dieselplace.com and go to the suspension section. You will find enough info on the subject that you could read till your eyes get blurry. If you want any help or advice then PM me. I have done Suspension/Torsion bar lifts on 6-7 2500HD's.

Oh don't forget to get the Cognito Idler arm and Pitman arm supports. Bigger tires will chew kill Idler/Pitman arms without the supports. You can get the kit from KENNEDYDIESEL.COM or CognitoMotorsports.com

The Bilstien's IMO are the best shock you can put on your truck. JP hit the nail on the head in every aspect of what you want to do. I will be putting a 4-6" Cognito kit on my truck in April and will be going with the tubed UCA's (A good idea on even a leveling kit so it won't take out your factory upper ball joints prematurely) and some longer Bilstien's since the ones I have now won't work. ORU's kit is way overpriced IMHO since I bought everything in that kit for a little under 300 bucks elsewhere.

 

[w0lf]

start by cranking your bars. it's the cheapest way. You will need to get an alignment afterwards because as you go up in height it leans the top of the tire out. on a 2500 that is all you should need to do to clear 285's. A guy that uses our service department is running 305's on 8" wheels with just the bars cranked. If you need more height then just cranking will get you then I would recommend a body lift.

as stated before you will run out of down travel the higher you go. the ride gets stiffer, more then 1.5" of adjustment up and you should look into longer shocks. for $200 you can buy a 2-3 inch bodylift and put it on in your driveway with handtools in a day/weekend depending on your skill level. buy a case of beer and invite your friends over to help.

i just got the tires, keys, and they put on a readylift leveling kit, and it is AWESOME looking. thanks for all of the help in making the decisions on what to get.

i need to get rid of my old tires, so if anyone is interested please PM me (i can't post in the classified secton).

Here are the specs for the 4 tires that were on the truck:
Bridgestone Duravis M773II x4 (These come WITHOUT the rims)
245/75/16 – E load rating / M+S
The average tread life is better than 75% and averages 11/32 (original tire depth 17/32)

Here are the specs for the spare tire / rim:
Bridgestone Vsteel R265 / R1B & factory spare rim
245/75/16 – E load rating / M+S

 

[JpEater]

Your M773's are not cheap tires. They sell for $150-$160 each new If I remember correctly so don't let them go too cheap.

 

[w0lf]

Your M773's are not cheap tires. They sell for $150-$160 each new If I remember correctly so don't let them go too cheap.

yeah i looked them up and was surprised to see what they cost. i think what i'm asking is fair, and priced to move. when you factor in the spare tire & rim for free, it's GOT to be a good deal..