Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
I know leveling kits have been beaten to death on the forum, and I have read a lot of the threads. Now it's time for my specific circumstance, and I would like to have an opinion from others. After five years in the Nevada sun, my stock Michelins are nearing the end (55k w/ an easy 10k left if it weren’t for side-wall cracking) and will be replaced by tires that are about 34” on the stock rims. I want to bring up the front end. My thought process went something like this: get the $60 steel coil spring spacers on eBay, but shoot, I can get some springs for not too much more … well, you know, the shocks are getting old too … it’s a lot of labor to put any of those items in, I only want to do it once … maybe I should hold out for a better-engineered solution, but I’m on a serious budget … I can’t see doing front shocks w/o rear shocks … I know I’ll be much happier with the on and off-road ride improvements of a “real” system … but decent systems are out of my budget … wow, KORE is selling a leveling kit for $385 … if I factor my labor at even $20 an hour, the KORE would actually pay me in the long run, because I would not install crappy spacers, remove them later, and then install an engineered system. I’m not sure that my brain’s processing makes sense to anybody reading this, but hopefully it’s understood better than by my wife when I proclaimed that a $385 purchase is almost free! Well, it went on from there. Now I’m pretty sure I’ll do the rear too, or at the very least, add Bilstein 5100s to match the front. If you add the shocks, I’m into about $545, but for $670 I can get the entire KORE HD suspension (VR front coils, billet track bar drop blocks, 4 Bilstein 5100s, and mini leaf packs). So the addition of the spring packs is around $125. I don’t see an individual price for the mini packs on the KORE web site, but Lorenz asks $400 for a similar product when purchased separately. If price were no object, I would be going down a different path. Based on feedback from forums, I would probably pick a higher-end Lorenz or Carli system if I had the coin to drop. Lorenz’s similar system (5100) would set me back $415 more. Lorenz’s quality and support might be better, but I’m already jumping from $60 to $670; another 60+ percent is not in the cards. So here’s my question: how can I go wrong with this set-up at this price?
One more question: If I were to do the front now and save my $$ to buy full replacement rear leafs, such as Lorenz’s Dual Purpose leafs or KORE’s Prerunner Series leafs, would I be compromising load capacity? I use my 3500 at GVWR often, and will only consider mods that maintain or enhance stock load capacity. I want to be confident about both real function and the legal aspects. KORE seems sort of vague on whether their full leafs retain stock load capacity, and Lorenz is confusing by saying “3/4 ton capacity” is maintained (I consider a 3500 a one-ton) but also says “intended for use up to the GVWR set forth by Chrysler. ” I recall Carli making a clear statement that their full leafs do indeed relinquish stock capacity in order to attain the best off-road performance possible. I’m thinking that my capacity expectations may not be met by full replacement springs, but I am enticed by the prospect of ride improvement that is not likely from just mini-packs. Is anybody with full leafs hitting the scale close to 9900 lbs. in a 3500 SWR? Thanks.
One more question: If I were to do the front now and save my $$ to buy full replacement rear leafs, such as Lorenz’s Dual Purpose leafs or KORE’s Prerunner Series leafs, would I be compromising load capacity? I use my 3500 at GVWR often, and will only consider mods that maintain or enhance stock load capacity. I want to be confident about both real function and the legal aspects. KORE seems sort of vague on whether their full leafs retain stock load capacity, and Lorenz is confusing by saying “3/4 ton capacity” is maintained (I consider a 3500 a one-ton) but also says “intended for use up to the GVWR set forth by Chrysler. ” I recall Carli making a clear statement that their full leafs do indeed relinquish stock capacity in order to attain the best off-road performance possible. I’m thinking that my capacity expectations may not be met by full replacement springs, but I am enticed by the prospect of ride improvement that is not likely from just mini-packs. Is anybody with full leafs hitting the scale close to 9900 lbs. in a 3500 SWR? Thanks.
