KORE leveling kit

[ohnoitsyu]

Kent,

I am very interested in the stock height system. However, I do a fair bit of offroad driving (including in Baja) as well as commuting with my truck. My key limiting factor is height, as I mentioned in a previous post on this thread.



I would like stiffer springs up front, and I can afford (and desire) about an inch or so of lift up front (two inches is out of the question). Are the OE snow plow prep springs what I may be looking for? Any other suggestions?



I've seen many references to the lift of your mini-pack with various comments on how much it adds to the lift (there may be different versions over the years), and now I don't know what lift it provides. I'd ideally like zero lift, but the benefit of the improved ride. Is there any lift, and if there is, can it be reduced?



Also, you mentioned that KORE will have a light bar after the first of the year, such as the aluminum version at the Offroad Expo in Pomona. Is that still going to happen? Any new details on it? For the most part, I like the DRC bar, but it extends too far forward for my tastes.



Thanks,

Lee

 

[Bob4x4]

I suppose I should also mention that we have another new system that will be available late March.



Your Dodge will have more wheel travel than your motocross bike.

2nd gen??? Oo.



Bob

 

[Lorenz]

I would like stiffer springs up front, and I can afford (and desire) about an inch or so of lift up front (two inches is out of the question). Are the OE snow plow prep springs what I may be looking for? Any other suggestions?

Snow plow springs are about 2. 25" of lift and 447# rate vs standard CTD springs. Notice your findings may differ depending on how broke in your current stock springs are and if you get a new set vs a used set of snow plow prep springs. Sound like snow plow prep springs are not what your looking for?

 

[DWeiler]

Contol arms

Wow somemore great stuff to look forward to in the new year. Right now i am trying to gather as much info as possible so i hopefully make an informed decision on what version to buy. The entry level "pace" system is what i have been interested in a while now,not much offroading for me,a little when i am hunting,but thats what my quad is for, truck is used mostly for towing. The new "chase"system with the fox shocks looks promising too,but maybe overkill for me personally. If i do go with the "pace version,will i or should i upgrade the upper and lower contol arms(i think thats what there called),the KORE ones are way too much$$$ for me,maybe KORE could come up with a budget version to go with the "pace" system. The ones that they have now are probable the best and top notch,but are overkill for what i am doing with my truck. Right now DT PROFAB has a set for are trucks that you can get in a upgrade stock length or half inch longer version over stock. Should i budget for the new control arms as well or just leave the stock ones alone. I am not trying to promote DT Profab in anyway,just want to know what to do and do it right the first time. I think i have all the sterring problems associated with the second genner fixed(DSS sterring bar/track bar kit etc). To the members/ Kent/Greg what whould you suggest?Thanks for time and patience from someone who doesn't really know but is not afraid to ask.

 

[Tomeygun]

Gents,

In February, we’ll be offering the shocks alone for stock height and 4. 5” lift kit (non-KORE) applications as well.



Cheers,



Kent Kroeker

Do you think the shock alone would be great for a truck that thinks its a corvette? - I mean I will not see much off road at all, but I would like a bit more handling ability on-road

 

[CCool]

control arms

Kent/Greg

With the new control arms both "race" and "chase" is there any added wandering due to the "johnny joint" ? I mean wandering because of the added flex or movement of the joint? How much More steering control do the steel arms give over the stock units? With the new track bar, and the steel arms is the performance same as stock or far better? I am getting ready to order both when I return and I am looking for your thoughts on doing so for my daily driver/weekend trail truck. Just me picking brain housing groups.



CCool

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

Curtis,

The Johnny Joint is more of a generic term for a spherical ball. These are made by a different company and are a little more abuse friendly. There is literally no play in the front and the rear is designed to absorb Noise, Vibration, and Harshness. (NVH)..... It is also a size of joint that is built custom to KORE specs. Not available to other vendors.



To shed a little light on how they worked for me, I have a little story.

As you know, I have never treated my truck like a baby. From towing 20K to Jumping 3 feet in the air, my truck usually has a job to do. Keeping me safe is job 1. After over 15,000 miles of off road abuse, my stock control arms were a little worse for wear. The factory sleeve is held in place by the mounting flange and is vulcanized to a rubber bushing. This is an amazing way to mount a control arm on a factory truck. It really helps control NVH and adds a bit of impact reduction. Now bring in my driving style. I found out that with massive amounts of articulation and heavy impacts of chasing a race truck through Baja, the factory control arms couldn't hold up. In fact I had to replace them with a stock or aftermarket unit due to failure. One arm was bent pretty bad from when I bent my front axle. (driver error :-laf ) and another had a sleeve that was almost ready to rip off the rubber bushing. My truck was a little loose to say the least. With a constant pull to the left and horrible tire wear, I could only hope for the KORE replacements to test.



The install of the KORE arms is pretty straight forward, except for having to remove the exhaust to get to a factory bolt, and only takes me about an hour. I have installed numerous sets on customer trucks but never spend much time in them to form an opinion. After installing them on Big Red, we took a trip to Baja for the 1000 and then to G Bay. Going to G- Bay is the worst road I have ever seen. Not that there isn't worse roads, this one is bad for 2 hours at a 60 MPH average speed. I found that the C arms really helped my truck handle the rough stuff much better. It was very tight for the first time in 20,000 miles. Maybe a stock set could have helped with that to but I have no experience there. The thing that I most noticed was how much smoother my truck was in the Big Bumps ( Vado's). These are washouts in the road that are 4 feet deep and 20 feet across. The do have a radius to them but it is still tracherous to cross at speed. At one point on the way down, Robin Stover ( Four Wheeler Magazine ) was following me at over 90 mph through these Vado's in the darkest of night. I just kept pushing it where I could see clearly and would slow for the big corners that impending doom was leering in the ocean mist. At one point, we encountered a herd of moo cows grazing in the road, in a blind corner, on a cliff. With out the control I have and the 5 Sol Tec HID lights, catistrophic consequences were a lock! That is where the little improvements of a set of control arms come into play in my opinion. Add a good shock, some springs, a track bar, BDB, Steering stabilizer... ... . You get the point. They are all small pieces to a puzzle that make it much better. Not one thing by itself is a monumental improvement but add them up and it is truly phenomenal.



Greg DRC



Tom,

There will be a stock length replacement shock available in Janurary. I will call you when I have them in my hands.....

Greg

 

[GTani]

Greg,for the life of me,I can't figure out what BDB means.

 

[GTani]

Nevermind,just figured it out. Billet Drop Blocks.

 

[Megadesertdiesel]

alignment

if the kore leveling kit uses stock arms and adds 2. 25" to the front height. will i need to have the truck aligned? also does kore offer a megacab specific kit? more weight compared to a quadcab long bed? what am i going to loose in the way of towing 8000# toyhauler? i know i will gain looks and performance in the sand(GLAMIS live the life). :-laf

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

if the kore leveling kit uses stock arms and adds 2. 25" to the front height. will i need to have the truck aligned? also does kore offer a megacab specific kit? more weight compared to a quadcab long bed? what am i going to loose in the way of towing 8000# toyhauler? i know i will gain looks and performance in the sand(GLAMIS live the life). :-laf

MBigley,

Here are a few answers:





KORE isn't a "leveling kit" - it's a complete system, front to rear.



It lifts the truck 2. 5", not 2. 25".



KORE has two specific kits for the Megacab - one for the 1500 and one for the 2500 - each use different coils specifically designed for the application. It's not indicated on the website yet, but we're selling them.



We recommend getting your alignment checked after installation.



And by the way, for a comparison, here's a photo of a set of "# 580" coils taken from a 2nd Gen. Ram with a camper after 10K miles vs. KORE coils from the same after 10K miles. Notice the distinct bow and the loss of height? Also note the number of coils, finish and wire diameter. There's a huge difference in design and quality. And the other guys selling the other stuff know that - which is why they won't let me test their stuff.



A couple of years ago, I made a set of "580" coils look much worse than these in less than a week - but I threw them in a dumpster, so sorry no photo.



Don't let them pass off the cheap stuff off as "the same" because it's not - same with their leaf packs - not Deaver, no matter what it says on the website.

 

[Megadesertdiesel]

thanks greg, now i have to figure out how to set up air bags to tow toyhauler and not limit rear travel. this is a great place to talk about real world experience and what works and what does not.

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

MBigley,

Feel free to give me a call for a couple of ideas. I have done a couple of different things before!



Greg DRC

 

[Megadesertdiesel]

i will after the 1st of the year. (leaving AZ for PA for a couple of weeks. ) thanks again greg

 

[kentkroeker]

Do you think the shock alone would be great for a truck that thinks its a corvette? - I mean I will not see much off road at all, but I would like a bit more handling ability on-road

Tomeygun,



Better handling and ride quality is exactly why we're offering these new shocks as OE replacement.



Kent Kroeker

 

[kentkroeker]

Kent,

I am very interested in the stock height system. However, I do a fair bit of offroad driving (including in Baja) as well as commuting with my truck. My key limiting factor is height, as I mentioned in a previous post on this thread.



I would like stiffer springs up front, and I can afford (and desire) about an inch or so of lift up front (two inches is out of the question). Are the OE snow plow prep springs what I may be looking for? Any other suggestions?



I've seen many references to the lift of your mini-pack with various comments on how much it adds to the lift (there may be different versions over the years), and now I don't know what lift it provides. I'd ideally like zero lift, but the benefit of the improved ride. Is there any lift, and if there is, can it be reduced?



Also, you mentioned that KORE will have a light bar after the first of the year, such as the aluminum version at the Offroad Expo in Pomona. Is that still going to happen? Any new details on it? For the most part, I like the DRC bar, but it extends too far forward for my tastes.



Thanks,

Lee

Lee,



I think snow plow coils may give you a bit more lift than you want. OE coils don't offer much up-travel, but they're nice and soft. Stock trucks wallow about because the coils aren't damped enough for most people's taste. Put a set of Bilstein 5100's on the front of your truck and you'll notice a distinct improvement in control. It's a really good stock-replacement shock. KORE no longer sells them, but Geno's Garage has OE replacement 5100's in stock. If your driving style requires even more control and resistance to fade, then our remote reservoir stem-top OE replacement may be right for you.



Mini pack height is easily adjusted to taste. They're designed to give about an inch of lift on a new truck but true lift varies depending on the condition of the OE pack. On 3rd Gen trucks you can lower the height of the rear by removing the little spacers that resemble cut leaves. We supply enough thread on our U-bolts to compensate for removal of these parts.



By the way, for a 3rd Gen. truck, that is probably the least expensive "leveling kit" there is. Just remove the two to three little spacers from under your overload leaf and your truck will sit very close to level. As long as you're not towing much it shouldn't affect anything. After the procedure you should use new U-bolts as they are designed to be one-time-use items.



The aluminum light bar is coming. It's designed around a new, very compact, very advanced HID light from Baja Designs that will be coming out this Spring. We may postpone release until after the new optics become available.



Best Regards,



Kent Kroeker

 

[LarryWard]

shock choice delay

My '95 4x4 2500 (8500) deserves new shocks at minimum. The rear spring factory lift block measures 4 3/4" tall from axle up to the spring. Four leaf spring includes the the bottom overload. Its not a factory "camper special". Its never been clear to me if there was several various factory lift block sizes for the 4x4 and if so did the front end always remain the same.



Does the shock choices start with the Bilstein B-5, then 5100, then 7100 for my application? And does that lift block measurement become a critical number in ordering? Installed Velvet Shackles couple years ago and they did help the unloaded ride. Rarely carry much load. There is no rear anti-roll torsion bar. Would the minipacks and new shocks all around counteract much of a need for that when carrying a full size camper?



Will delay decision awaiting new Kore offerings. Hurry up. thks Larry

 

[JDerbedrossian]

look what I found??????

 

[onesloryd]

What about this?