Leveling Kit for 09
 

Does anyone know of a company that makes a leveling kit for an 09 2500 HD? They all seem to stop at 08.

ready lift.

I don't think there's been any updates to the front end for 09, so they should all work.

That said, unless you are getting a Cognito kit with a new upper control arm, a leveling kit is not necessary or beneficial in my opinon. All they are new keys for your torsion bars. You can just turn the ones you have and get a "free lift". Invest that money then in new Bilsteins for leveled trucks and be a lot happier with your ride.

If you just bought this truck, check out dieselplace.com for some real good advice (just be prepared to want to keep spending more money:evilb:).

Just cranking the torsion bars takes away from suspension travel. New keys are only about $50 and you can use them from 1/2 ton trucks. The Cognito arms and shock extenders is the best way, unless you want new shocks, then get the Bilsteins.

08 and 09 are the same.

Just remember though, when you put bigger tires on these trucks, you put more strain on the Pittman/Idler arm, so you either need to replace those with the Cognito upgraded parts, or save for new ones down the road. The heavy duty tie-rod kit is a good investment too.

New keys = cranking stock keys, there is no difference. They are just two ways of getting the same effect of twisting the torsion bar. The only reason to buy keys or use 1/2 ton or Ford keys is if you're truck can't lift as much as you want with the stock (they all turn up a little different) as they can "rotate" the torsion bar farther.

Rest of what you said is spot on I think.

If you are on the cheap though, my lift shop says they don't have problems with the guys running 12.5 or narrower tires on steering parts any worse than stock really.

Actually, he'd max out his stock keys, as to where the aftermarket or 1/2 ton key wouldn't be. The keys look the same, but they're indexed different.

I put 3/4 ton keys in my wife's 05 Denali to lower it 3".

The cognito kit is the way to go, and add the idler/pitman arm braces as well. If you plan on keeping this truck for any length of time it is money well spent. Not even much money!

That's exactly what I said.:drink:

You can get level on some trucks without new keys, meaning don't buy them till you've tried it. I know this, as I had an 05 I got completely level with stock keys. They all crank up differently.

I sell this stuff for a living... I would highley recommend the cognito idler/pittman arm support kit. The 09 is the same as the 08, if you don't have access to a set of 1/2 ton keys we have them or we can get you a leveling kit. The billsteins will make a leveled truck ride better than stock!! I am a cognito dealer and could have the stuff drop shipped to you. If your interested in any if this stuff or have any questions I do this stuff everyday and would love to help!
Shop# 660-542-0100
Cell# 660-329-2055
Mike, M.W.C.

P.S. I give an extra 5% discount to fellow boaters!:boat:

Thank you. Still looking for the right truck.

drop the rear 2" with a shackle
way easier than lifting front and no down side

Except the looks.......

DONT DO IT! DONT DO IT! DONT DO IT! I hope I got your attention.... I used the new torsion keys on my 02 2500HD with shock adapters. Looked good,3" in front and a 1" block in back. I dont care who says what... your ride will be compromised severly! Your suspension(torsion bars) will be so wound up you will loose all your comfort of the suspension. As I found out after only 18 months with the keys, My upper control arms where on such a steep angle to the knuckle, the upper ball joints,lower ball joints,control arm bushings where waisted!!!! Every little bump you hit will be magnafied to the extreme. Even if you use the cognito upper arms to put a better angle for the upper ball joint it will still ride like a wwI tank!!! Also your alignment will be out for lunch and never come back. This is very important for towing and you will loose alot of caster that the truck needs to tow straight. Dont waste your money,you will only have to do more repairs sooner than later. We all know the 2500hd front ends last almost a lifetime if not messed with.:bigbird:

I agree with above about keeping it stock, once you mess with cranking the torsion bars it really screws up the ride. If you want a lift, do a full 4" or 6" lift that will keep a good ride and alignment specs., plus it looks awesome!!!

I ended up with a 4" tough Country lift kit. It actually came out to 5" total and rides and handles like a new truck!!! My suspension feels like its stock again. We'll see how it tows in 2 weeks....Va. to Ct. about 400 miles pulling a 38 scarab. :coolcowboy:

Pics? It's amazing and most people won't believe that a lift improves the ride.:drink:

None yet... just finished it two weeks ago. Took me about 11 hours but every minute was worth it:evilb: I'll get some up this weekend.

Not to hijack this thread but you guys have me worried now. I just ordered some 285-75-16's to put on my 06 GMC 2500 HD I was going to put a leveling kit on it, What should I do put the Cognito system with the other parts. just put the keys and the leveling kit. Send the tires back? I do not want to mess up the front suspention on my truck and I also don't want it to ride terrible.

Thanks

KN, the 285's should fit on a stock truck. you can tweek the stock torsion bars a bit to rise the front about 1to2 inchs. ride quality will suffer a little but not to much. the align will go out some though.The cognito upper arms will help with the upper ball joint angle to help it wear better(last longer) but it wont be better than a stock truck. the upper cognito arms are like $450 right? thats almost half the price of a lift and a lift (in my opinion)is a way better way to lift your truck and have reliability to.If your gonna tow you kinda want the rear to be higher anyways ....... your call?

Doesn't a lift on a Chevy/GMC cost a couple grand? just for the lift not including any labor. Who makes the best lift kits? I remember seeing an offroad magazine doing a test on a 2500 HD and they picked a 6" lift that was three letter RCR? It was some company with three letters. Who makes a good 4" lift kit? Thanks for the help guys.

Kirk

Probably RCD. Comes with Bilstein shocks and improves the ride 10 fold. Kit is about 1800, and install can be 700-1000 I'd say.

I just had a Zone lift put on my beater truck, and it was 2k installed, and rides OK, not as nice as something with Bilsteins.

Oh, and I'd say go 6 in, as it cost's the same as 4.

For 285's you should fit stock, might need to trip a little and/or turn up the torsion bars a little. It won't affect ride at all until it bottoms out on the drop stops. I had an 05 with the bars turned all the way and it rode pretty much the same as stock.

Personally I'd go with a decent lift like RCD. It looks great and improves the ride. Just be aware with some lifts you can't run stock wheels because of backspacing issues.

It will seem like it rides the same but not really. if you put it on an alignment rack your jaw would drop:eek: the alignment would be pretty far out. I know cuase i work for GMC and Toyota. I did the same thing. My tough country 4" was $1200 shipped with shocks,not Bilstiens though. it was the same price for the 6" one also. The 4" actually came out to 5 inch with a little torsion bar twist.... I mean a little. It went right into align after install. Labor up here in Ct. would tun you about $1000 if you had someone do it. I dont know which lift is the best but I'm sure its the same question like which boat is the best? Everybody will have there opinions.So far I cant complian about mine.... Pics to come soon:grinser010:

You're right, I forgot to mention you definitely need an alignment after turning up the bars as well as after a lift.

The 285's will fit with no rubbing problems. I had them on a stock 2 wheel drive 04'dually. Plenty of room all around.

Little off topic sorry but....
Towed my boat home this weekend,450 miles,38 scarab . about 12k lbs. the truck handled great with the lift!! I think the wider tires kinda acks like a duelly giving it a wider stance. My tires are 33" tall,13.5 wide on 18's so the side wall is pretty small compared to a 15" X 33" tall tire. They are E rated up to 3500lbs each. overall the truck did better than expected.