Attention: TDR Forum Junkies This is only my story with KORE not my opinion or anything aiming towards them but just wanted to tell my experience.
I work in the oil & gas industry in the desert of Northwest New Mexico in the San Juan Basin as a service contractor for some of the major oil & gas companies in the country. We drive in some of the worst road conditions imaginable everyday from gas well to gas well.
It was time to buy another new truck to replace my old truck since it was wore out, I bought my first diesel over a year ago. I’ve had a 94’ Dodge 360 motor 4:10s & a 03’ Hemi (which was gutless wonder & a mistake) with 3. 73s. Usually we add more springs or buy aftermarket lifts that make your truck rough as hell. We usually keep our work trucks for about 70,000 miles then get a new one, by then the truck is so wore out fenders falling off, stick a fork in it. It don’t matter what brand of truck you buy they get pounded by our work roads since 75% or more of its life is spent on rough, muddy dirt roads. It’s bad when after 5 to 6 thousand miles brakes need replaced because of the mud ate them up. I spend 10 to 15 hours & drive 100 to 300 miles of dirt road every day in my CTD. I decided I spent the coin on this truck & live in this truck every day for this long I wanted to get the best ride available. I wanted the top of the line suspension to make the truck last longer & keep it for a high mileage since this is my money maker. Just like a wrench is to a mechanic my truck is my main tool to get me to the field to make money.
Did the research to see what was out there, every search came up was KORE. That Baja proven race suspension for extreme off-road use I was reading about sounded like what I needed, since these are the type of conditions I drive in day to day. So I called KORE and then over $3500 later it all started. I asked about the front springs since there was 2 choices HD or standard(whatever they were called). They said the HD coils are for a truck that is going to have a big front bumper. My truck was never going to have a big front bumper, the stock bumper was going to stay on the front of it so I got the standard front coils with KORE’s recommendation with the Race Suspension also didn’t need to worry about bottoming out in the front only if extreme jumping I did not plan to do that since I spent all the money for the truck.
Finally after a couple of weeks it came. Lucky for me I have access to a shop with all the tools & a truck lift which made the install go smooth. It took me by myself a good evening installing this awesome looking equipment. The front end measured just shy of 2 ¾ taller from a measurement point on the truck before I took out the stock stuff. The rear was 1 inch. Since I carry nitrogen on my truck for calibrating gas measurement equipment getting nitro was no problem to charge up the FOX 2. 5 Shox to 200 psi. Then it was time for the off-road testing. Drove to the closest dirt road I new of. Very impressed at first on a typical washboard dirt road but when I got in more rough terrain with bigger dips & cross bumps front end would bottom out. Yes I was driving faster than I normally did but some of these bumps I couldn’t believe I was hitting bottom. Stock springs also would hit bottom but I thought this was Baja stuff. But for the most part I was riding in style then the front shox started leaking badly on the remote reservoir’s on the hose side of the cap not the Schrader valve side. Also there was oil in the nitro chamber of both shocks when I would check the PSI. They were loosing a lot of oil so I called KORE told them about the leaks. One was really bad & other wasn’t as bad but leaking. KORE told me it was normal I told them no way this could be normal if this keeps up there would not be no oil in a couple of weeks. Their response was they have a lot of oil in them shox.
Finally they said send them the 1 that was leaking bad & the other was fine. Then this means I would have to drop the front end again to take the shox out since the shock towers bolt from in the spring bucket & put in the stock stuff back in then send the shox off, wait for the shox to come back then drop the front again take out the stock stuff put the KORE equipment back in. I asked about getting just a replacement shox NO they could not do that. What ever I told myself after I got off the phone with them I called FOX’s service center told them my problem. I had took pictures of both shox to send them to FOX service tech & told them that KORE said it was normal for the 1 to leak & the other needed to be rebuilt. I will post those pictures. He said they should never leak. So I sent them to him.
I thought maybe that’s why I was bottoming out so easy because of the shox were leaking. Got them back re-installed all the equipment still was hitting the bump stop fairly easy. Remember I am not jumping or thrashing my truck by no means just normal driving in the field. Most roads are maintained by the county so there are 40 mph speed limits which are enforced by the law & most of the companies I work for have strict policies about speed limits. There are a few roads a guy can open up his truck to let it all hang out. For the most part we are driving 35 to 40 mph in most of the roads when the road graders have smoothed them out because of the use caused by so much vehicle traffic & the mud causes them to get rough/rutted up. Did not like the bottoming out thing called KORE back up told them this is not working for me, they sold me the HD coils. Got those put them in. Went out to test them WOW I wasn’t hitting the bottom. I let KORE know that I was happy now. That lasted for a couple of weeks. I guess the springs finally broke in but it was not as bad as it used to be. The ride was pretty sweet though on normal washboard roads.
Then 30,000 miles later I noticed I was hitting the bump stops harder than normal. I thought I would check the nitro pressure there was 200 psi in them but noticed when I pulled off my certified calibrated gauge I use for work oil would mist out along with the pressure. Oil is leaking back into the nitro chamber again in both shocks. Gave KORE benefit of the doubt to back up their products called them told them about my findings about the oil in the nitro. Just like I figured that’s normal sir for them to have oil in the nitro chamber. I also mentioned about how easy it was to bottom out they wanted to sell me the new VR Coils. That would solve my problem. That means more money. I don’t think so.
Okay wasn't happy with the response from KORE. Then called FOX again they were more than happy to take care of the problem. They wanted me to send the shox to them I told them I do not want to drop the front end 2 more times, if I would send to you. Take the KORE stuff out, put stock back in, take stock back out, put KORE back in same ole process again. One more time was fine by me, I asked if they would send the parts to me instead. They said no problem we will have 5 gallons of FOX 5 Wt. oil & rebuild kits for both shox’s out the door today no charge. I told them I was still hitting the bump stops fairly hard again. FOX recommended revalving to the next level of shims on the compression side. He said I will include the necessary shims for me in the package he was sending me. They paid for the shipping on the last episode also to send to them & back. I have to give FOX credit they stand true to their products 100%.
I seen the new shock towers KORE came out with for their new systems. They use a ring with 3 bolts on it just like the stock towers to mount the towers for easy shock take out. I thought that’s what I need for easy access to my shocks. I thought maybe if I called KORE they might machine my shock towers just like the new ones for a fee or something like that. Of course they said NO they would not machine my towers like the new shock towers. I would have to buy new ones from them. I offered to pay for the machining of my old shock towers. Maybe I was asking for to much. I figured after $3500 and several problems later they would hook me up. So to get out my shox I need to drop the front end every time. You guys buying the newer kits at least have the benefit of the new shock tower removal to get to your shocks for future rebuilding of the shox. All I wanted was easy access to my shocks for maybe future rebuilds if they are needed.
I got the rebuild kits & valving a few days later from FOX. Rebuilt my shox this past weekend. Rebuilding of the shox was super simple. They sent me great step by step instructions. Installing of the new valve was no problem at all. If I new it was that simple to rebuild the shox I would have done that the first time I had problems with them. I think on the KORE installation instructions that I read you did not need to worry about rebuilding them until 100,000 miles. That statement was out the door for me.
After re-installation of my newly re-built & re-valved shox only when I get extreme with the truck will I hit the bottom. Now I know what some of you guys say about the suspension tightening up. I fill that tightening feeling now. The suspension works awesome. My truck sure rides twice as good now.
Out of all this mess, the rear end equipment has really impressed me. The rear shox have held up great. Although the springs have sagged a little bit. Maybe due to the fact of the headache rack, tool boxes, & parts I carry in the bed. I figured an extra 700lbs or less in the bed at all times. The wheel travel in the rear is sweet.
I work in the oil & gas industry in the desert of Northwest New Mexico in the San Juan Basin as a service contractor for some of the major oil & gas companies in the country. We drive in some of the worst road conditions imaginable everyday from gas well to gas well.
It was time to buy another new truck to replace my old truck since it was wore out, I bought my first diesel over a year ago. I’ve had a 94’ Dodge 360 motor 4:10s & a 03’ Hemi (which was gutless wonder & a mistake) with 3. 73s. Usually we add more springs or buy aftermarket lifts that make your truck rough as hell. We usually keep our work trucks for about 70,000 miles then get a new one, by then the truck is so wore out fenders falling off, stick a fork in it. It don’t matter what brand of truck you buy they get pounded by our work roads since 75% or more of its life is spent on rough, muddy dirt roads. It’s bad when after 5 to 6 thousand miles brakes need replaced because of the mud ate them up. I spend 10 to 15 hours & drive 100 to 300 miles of dirt road every day in my CTD. I decided I spent the coin on this truck & live in this truck every day for this long I wanted to get the best ride available. I wanted the top of the line suspension to make the truck last longer & keep it for a high mileage since this is my money maker. Just like a wrench is to a mechanic my truck is my main tool to get me to the field to make money.
Did the research to see what was out there, every search came up was KORE. That Baja proven race suspension for extreme off-road use I was reading about sounded like what I needed, since these are the type of conditions I drive in day to day. So I called KORE and then over $3500 later it all started. I asked about the front springs since there was 2 choices HD or standard(whatever they were called). They said the HD coils are for a truck that is going to have a big front bumper. My truck was never going to have a big front bumper, the stock bumper was going to stay on the front of it so I got the standard front coils with KORE’s recommendation with the Race Suspension also didn’t need to worry about bottoming out in the front only if extreme jumping I did not plan to do that since I spent all the money for the truck.
Finally after a couple of weeks it came. Lucky for me I have access to a shop with all the tools & a truck lift which made the install go smooth. It took me by myself a good evening installing this awesome looking equipment. The front end measured just shy of 2 ¾ taller from a measurement point on the truck before I took out the stock stuff. The rear was 1 inch. Since I carry nitrogen on my truck for calibrating gas measurement equipment getting nitro was no problem to charge up the FOX 2. 5 Shox to 200 psi. Then it was time for the off-road testing. Drove to the closest dirt road I new of. Very impressed at first on a typical washboard dirt road but when I got in more rough terrain with bigger dips & cross bumps front end would bottom out. Yes I was driving faster than I normally did but some of these bumps I couldn’t believe I was hitting bottom. Stock springs also would hit bottom but I thought this was Baja stuff. But for the most part I was riding in style then the front shox started leaking badly on the remote reservoir’s on the hose side of the cap not the Schrader valve side. Also there was oil in the nitro chamber of both shocks when I would check the PSI. They were loosing a lot of oil so I called KORE told them about the leaks. One was really bad & other wasn’t as bad but leaking. KORE told me it was normal I told them no way this could be normal if this keeps up there would not be no oil in a couple of weeks. Their response was they have a lot of oil in them shox.
Finally they said send them the 1 that was leaking bad & the other was fine. Then this means I would have to drop the front end again to take the shox out since the shock towers bolt from in the spring bucket & put in the stock stuff back in then send the shox off, wait for the shox to come back then drop the front again take out the stock stuff put the KORE equipment back in. I asked about getting just a replacement shox NO they could not do that. What ever I told myself after I got off the phone with them I called FOX’s service center told them my problem. I had took pictures of both shox to send them to FOX service tech & told them that KORE said it was normal for the 1 to leak & the other needed to be rebuilt. I will post those pictures. He said they should never leak. So I sent them to him.
I thought maybe that’s why I was bottoming out so easy because of the shox were leaking. Got them back re-installed all the equipment still was hitting the bump stop fairly easy. Remember I am not jumping or thrashing my truck by no means just normal driving in the field. Most roads are maintained by the county so there are 40 mph speed limits which are enforced by the law & most of the companies I work for have strict policies about speed limits. There are a few roads a guy can open up his truck to let it all hang out. For the most part we are driving 35 to 40 mph in most of the roads when the road graders have smoothed them out because of the use caused by so much vehicle traffic & the mud causes them to get rough/rutted up. Did not like the bottoming out thing called KORE back up told them this is not working for me, they sold me the HD coils. Got those put them in. Went out to test them WOW I wasn’t hitting the bottom. I let KORE know that I was happy now. That lasted for a couple of weeks. I guess the springs finally broke in but it was not as bad as it used to be. The ride was pretty sweet though on normal washboard roads.
Then 30,000 miles later I noticed I was hitting the bump stops harder than normal. I thought I would check the nitro pressure there was 200 psi in them but noticed when I pulled off my certified calibrated gauge I use for work oil would mist out along with the pressure. Oil is leaking back into the nitro chamber again in both shocks. Gave KORE benefit of the doubt to back up their products called them told them about my findings about the oil in the nitro. Just like I figured that’s normal sir for them to have oil in the nitro chamber. I also mentioned about how easy it was to bottom out they wanted to sell me the new VR Coils. That would solve my problem. That means more money. I don’t think so.
Okay wasn't happy with the response from KORE. Then called FOX again they were more than happy to take care of the problem. They wanted me to send the shox to them I told them I do not want to drop the front end 2 more times, if I would send to you. Take the KORE stuff out, put stock back in, take stock back out, put KORE back in same ole process again. One more time was fine by me, I asked if they would send the parts to me instead. They said no problem we will have 5 gallons of FOX 5 Wt. oil & rebuild kits for both shox’s out the door today no charge. I told them I was still hitting the bump stops fairly hard again. FOX recommended revalving to the next level of shims on the compression side. He said I will include the necessary shims for me in the package he was sending me. They paid for the shipping on the last episode also to send to them & back. I have to give FOX credit they stand true to their products 100%.
I seen the new shock towers KORE came out with for their new systems. They use a ring with 3 bolts on it just like the stock towers to mount the towers for easy shock take out. I thought that’s what I need for easy access to my shocks. I thought maybe if I called KORE they might machine my shock towers just like the new ones for a fee or something like that. Of course they said NO they would not machine my towers like the new shock towers. I would have to buy new ones from them. I offered to pay for the machining of my old shock towers. Maybe I was asking for to much. I figured after $3500 and several problems later they would hook me up. So to get out my shox I need to drop the front end every time. You guys buying the newer kits at least have the benefit of the new shock tower removal to get to your shocks for future rebuilding of the shox. All I wanted was easy access to my shocks for maybe future rebuilds if they are needed.
I got the rebuild kits & valving a few days later from FOX. Rebuilt my shox this past weekend. Rebuilding of the shox was super simple. They sent me great step by step instructions. Installing of the new valve was no problem at all. If I new it was that simple to rebuild the shox I would have done that the first time I had problems with them. I think on the KORE installation instructions that I read you did not need to worry about rebuilding them until 100,000 miles. That statement was out the door for me.
After re-installation of my newly re-built & re-valved shox only when I get extreme with the truck will I hit the bottom. Now I know what some of you guys say about the suspension tightening up. I fill that tightening feeling now. The suspension works awesome. My truck sure rides twice as good now.
Out of all this mess, the rear end equipment has really impressed me. The rear shox have held up great. Although the springs have sagged a little bit. Maybe due to the fact of the headache rack, tool boxes, & parts I carry in the bed. I figured an extra 700lbs or less in the bed at all times. The wheel travel in the rear is sweet.
, not even close to an s-10 :-laf
