Cognito brace vs All season brace

mike diesel

I'm alright.
Sep 6, 2012
4,005
0
36
SLC, Utah
Alrighty...im going to give my review of each to help people make a desicion on which to go with.

I have had the cognito braces on both of my duramax's so far and have zero complaints. Last one was lifted on 35's so the all season brace was not an option. Cognito stuff worked fine.

My current duramax got the cognito stuff the day i bought the truck and have had it on for 2 years. No problems and no complaints. Been to the drag strip countless times and they have worked nice. Well i decided i wanted to try an all season brace and i just so happen to get a hold of a brand new one for a great price. It showed up today and also got it installed. Install is pretty easy on both cognito and all season...All season being easier.

just went out for a drive with the all season brace and also have zero complaints.

I heard some people say that the nylon part sits a hair off the diff. Mine is in constant contact with it unless the wheel is turned. You can see the shavings here...This is from a 10 mile drive. It physically pushed my diff back about 3mm when i tightened the bolts for the brace. Guess once it wears in it will be perfect.

20140118_133139_zpsd6b3324e.jpg


Here you can see the angle it's already worn into the nylon and how it's touching the diff. I even ground the edge of the diff nice and smooth. I'm going to hold onto my congito stuff for a bit just incase.

20140118_133158_zpse30dded1.jpg


So I guess I can sum this up by saying flip a coin and go with whatever one you want. Both seem the exact same to me while 4wd launching.
 

Bustedknuckles

Honey Badger
Sep 25, 2010
1,308
2
38
33
Hagerstown MD
The fact that it rubs the diff at all is gay. What kind of engineering is that??!! Is it cheaper than the cognito?

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
 

mike diesel

I'm alright.
Sep 6, 2012
4,005
0
36
SLC, Utah
It's quite a bit cheaper than cognito. I'm not really worried about it rubbing the diff because there is plenty of nylon there to handle it after it wears down a bit. Once it wears down, it should last forever.
 

03spoolindmax

New member
Nov 9, 2011
674
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36
Mi
I had the cognito brace on my lifter 03 which seemed to work well. My all season brace on my 05 sits slightly away from my diff. Still looks like it'll work well though. Like you had mentioned. Install on the all season brace is way easier. I have no complaints on it though. Can't wait to put it to use.
 

RitzBlitz

Member
May 20, 2010
113
0
16
Ritzville, Wa
UHMW has and extremely low coefficient of friction but high abrasion resistance.

They use it for all kinds of high wear parts, even synthetic ice rinks.
 

mike diesel

I'm alright.
Sep 6, 2012
4,005
0
36
SLC, Utah
UHMW has and extremely low coefficient of friction but high abrasion resistance.

They use it for all kinds of high wear parts, even synthetic ice rinks.

Oh yea I know what your taking about. I'm pretty sure this is just nylon because technically it's not supposed to contact the diff at all unless your doing a boosted launch so it really isn't going to even wear.. Mine just happens to rub. Oh well.
 

Cknight199

New member
Aug 23, 2012
1,827
0
0
Salt Lake City, Utah
Mine sits about 2mm from my front diff, I've heard it fit many different ways and talked to Tony, he said there's no way to guarantee an exact fit, but he hasn't had any figment problems yet.

As far as drag strip, I feel that the allseasons brace works better. I cut my 60' down to 1.7 on a night that the air was 40*-50*f. Track was cold, people slipping all over the place. Even with my cognito braces I saw this picture and saw that I still had some toe in. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1390088445.880877.jpg
 

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Dozerboy

Well-known member
Jun 23, 2009
4,892
470
83
TX of course
I'm all of them have have there issues. I remember several guys broke there Cognito braces when they would contact the frame. Mine hit a little when I turn, but my truck launches straight.
 

TLyons90

New member
Apr 22, 2013
1,631
0
0
Greenville, SC
Cognito braces before and after with my 4wd launches were night and day difference better. I have heard ups and downs to both but in the end they do there job and work!
 

skintback

Take this one to church
Mar 5, 2007
919
0
16
Florida
Does Tony's brace limit the turning radius?

The cognito braces on mine limited my turning radius they hit the frame wasn't very happy about that
 

Chevy1925

don't know sh!t about IFS
Staff member
Oct 21, 2009
21,646
5,787
113
Phoenix Az
Once it wears down, it should last forever.

eh, not really. every time you turn the wheel its trying to rock the centerlink up and back which will push the brace into the diff. every time you hit the brakes, the same occures, every time you launch in or give throttle in 4wd, the same will occure. obviously without turning the wheel, it should last forever but as soon as there is some gap between the diff and the nylon, the idler/pitman arm will start flexing some and you can see where that will go.

Im not saying it will happen right away, lots of people run them. But there are also a few guys i remember a while back who wore through their nylon and needed replacements.

now put a little polished flat plate thats amost the same length of the nylon solid mounted to the diff and i could see it lasting damn near forever
 

chevyburnout1

Fixing it till it breaks
Aug 25, 2008
2,368
1
38
Berthoud, CO
I have about 20,000miles on my allseason brace. The nylon is about half worn down. Worn down enough that it broke off the middle screw that retains it. From day one it rubbed on my diff and when it was new I had a bit of "memory steer" due to it hitting the diff a decent amount. But once it wore in a bit it was good to go. I will say this, if you do a boosted launch with your torsions all the way up it will still bend the bracket where it mounts to the idler/pitman arm. Ask me how I know :D

When I removed the bracket to bend the mounting tabs back I found when at full left turn lock the bracket would hit the extra bolt thread that was the front mounting bolt for the lower control arm. Even after tweaking the bracket back it still hits here and there. HOWEVER upon doing this repair I noticed when I re-installed the bracket I never realized the bracket as a whole sat crooked, as in the idler side was about an inch higher than the pitman side. Turns out my idler shaft was bent. So all of this wear could have been caused by this issue in the first place.
 

mike diesel

I'm alright.
Sep 6, 2012
4,005
0
36
SLC, Utah
My cognito braces never rubbed on anything. They had been on the truck for 2 years and literally look brand new still. The all season braces also does not affect turning radius...or at least it's not supposed to. I can see where it is rubbing the bolt on the lower control arm but mine isn't hardly rubbing it. Rubs just enough that it has scored the powder coating and that's it.

Don't really have much to update. Haven't driven the truck since I installed it. My s10 has been getting a work out.
 

TROJAN366

Gold Rush
Jan 13, 2012
2,474
1
38
MASS
I ran cognito braces for a year and a half. Switched to an All Seasons and cut a tenth off my 60ft without pushing it. With the cognitos it felt like I still had to fight the steering wheel when I launched. With the All Seasons I am able to launch and get right to the nitrous switch:thumb:
 

mike diesel

I'm alright.
Sep 6, 2012
4,005
0
36
SLC, Utah
I ran cognito braces for a year and a half. Switched to an All Seasons and cut a tenth off my 60ft without pushing it. With the cognitos it felt like I still had to fight the steering wheel when I launched. With the All Seasons I am able to launch and get right to the nitrous switch:thumb:

It sucks cause I'm still 2 and a half months th out before our local track opens. I'm dying to test the all season brace out and see if i can get my 600 horse truck to get anything better than a 1.84 60'. It wasn't bad, but even with torsion bars as low as they go and cognito braces, I still had to hold the steering wheel firm or she would hop.