Cognito brace vs All season brace

TROJAN366

Gold Rush
Jan 13, 2012
2,474
1
38
MASS
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.
Mine did the same thing with the cognitos and had very similar 60 ft times. The all seasons is a ton smoother and first time out I cut a 1.70 60ft. If I had a little more time to dial in tires pressures and the balls to build a few pounds more boost I know it had 1.6s in it.
 

mike diesel

I'm alright.
Sep 6, 2012
4,005
0
36
SLC, Utah
Mine did the same thing with the cognitos and had very similar 60 ft times. The all seasons is a ton smoother and first time out I cut a 1.70 60ft. If I had a little more time to dial in tires pressures and the balls to build a few pounds more boost I know it had 1.6s in it.

1.7's would be great ha.
 

Chevy1925

don't know sh!t about IFS
Staff member
Oct 21, 2009
21,684
5,838
113
Phoenix Az
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:

Thats cause under higher HP situation or where 4wd is used quite a bit the cognito braces still allow centerlink flex and will wear the idler/pitman arm. Then when you go trying to launch the truck, centerlink twists and you get torque steer. been down that road loooong ago when everyone said the cognito braces were the end all to steering wear issues. they didnt work for me.

throwing the all seasons brace on there without making sure your idler/pitman arm are in good shape will only lead to the nylon wearing out faster but at first, you will feel all the benefits of a centerlink that doesnt twist.

NONE OF THESE STEERING SETUPS IN THEM SELVES WILL DECREASE 60ft TIMES IF THE IDLER/PITMAN ARM ARE IN NEW SHAPE BEFORE AND AFTER SWAPPING PARTS!

Sorry guys, not trying to pick apart this thread but some people just buy things without first understanding what all these parts do and how they affect the truck and 60ft times. All im trying to do is keep the air clear. (just reread my last sentence and i guess it could be taken as a dig at you Mike, not my intention at all. this is a good thread)
 

TROJAN366

Gold Rush
Jan 13, 2012
2,474
1
38
MASS
I'm not sure if I am misreading your post James but I guess my point was that just replacing the cognitos with all seasons resulted in less torque steer which allowed me to leave with more boost and reduced the 60ft times.
 

Chevy1925

don't know sh!t about IFS
Staff member
Oct 21, 2009
21,684
5,838
113
Phoenix Az
I'm not sure if I am misreading your post James but I guess my point was that just replacing the cognitos with all seasons resulted in less torque steer which allowed me to leave with more boost and reduced the 60ft times.

What im pointing out is if your idler/pitman arm are brand new on either setup, you will notice 0 diffence between them assuming all other variables are consistant. if you do notice a difference, it is due in part to the cognito braces allowing wear to happen in the idler/pitman arm and then flexing under a 4wd launch. the All Seasons brace will take all that slop out due to the nylon but you still have worn idler/pitman arms and in time, this will speed up the wear on the nylon.

the only way to check for bad idler/pitman arms on a rig with cognito braces is to actually take the braces off, put a nut on the idler/pitman arm to keep them tight in the center link and then lift one tire off the ground and try to turn the tire to the left and right while watching that center link for any kind of movement.
 

DMAXchris

It’s only temporary!
Apr 28, 2009
2,273
2
38
44
Natrona Heights PA
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

They did the same thing on mine. I finally got sick of it and left them off when I changed the idler/pitman. I noticed zero difference without them. My truck will still cut 1.6x 60' with nothing done to front end besides Fabtech tie-rods and the keys the whole way down.
 

Tony Burkhard

Allseason Diesel Per.
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
Everyone want the cost down so this is the best cheapest way to do it. We can make it so it don't but install time and cost of product will go thru the roof... My brace retails at $150.
 

Tony Burkhard

Allseason Diesel Per.
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.

The corner of the diff is cutting the rub plate. Need to round the edges better.
 

Briggs0130

Member
Dec 7, 2010
103
0
16
So far I've got about 30-40 hooks on tony's brace. This past season I stepped up to 35" tires and had zero issues. I've also got about a dozen or so passes at the track and everything seems to be holding up great. :thumb:
 

Utahski

New member
Oct 20, 2008
546
0
0
Northern Utah
My truck is used for hunting and goes offroad but nothing heavy, mostly jeep trails and plonking the sage. It's also seen the dragstrip several times. Checking the Cognito braces after about 4-5yrs and both were broken. I was lucky enough to get some Super Diesel braces which are tricky to install but night and day beefier and tighter fit than Cognito. I wouldn't use Cognito again.
 

country lbz

New member
Feb 28, 2013
60
0
0
Indiana
I think I'm going to buy either rare parts or kryptonites and buy Tonys brace after reading this. O yea, and new idler and pitman.