Anyone used Kolak Performance?

[ThundahBeagle]

Before joining here I scanned and lurked other Jeep forums, including JeepForum. Looking for info about lifts for my WJ, as it is clearly less common than doing so for any of the Wrangler line.

There's a dude there who seems prolific, goes by the name Kolak. Kolak Performance and Offroad, out of Arizona, it seems. And I'm dealing with a guy there named Nicolas Ianuzzi.

Anyone here ever deal with him or that company? If so I'm looking for some feedback/ reliability assessment. He does show up in Iron Rock Off road website dealer search, so, I've got that going for me. Anyone?

Tplease and thank you for any feedback or suggestions for a closer IRO and Pro Comp dealer

[ThundahBeagle]

Anyone? Bueller...?

[-HAZARD-]

I've used him for some WJ parts.

Nic is Kolak. Not sure where he gets Kolak from, but people reference him one in the same.

All he is doing is taking your order, and then having manufacturers ship direct to you. He has no overhead that way and can make a few bucks himself, while saving you a few.

The real value in ordering from him, is that he knows what he's talking about when it comes to WJ's. I needed some Bilsteins on my 6.5" long arm, and he immediately knew what to get me. I perhaps saved a few dollars in the process, but getting the right stuff is what mattered to me.

The hassle comes in that you have to call/email him direct to make an order. If I'm ordering online, I prefer to click buttons and know it is ordered. Also, I forgot how I paid him, but that involved some extra steps as well. Like another phone call or something like that.

Other than that, there was no problem and he is genuine and very knowledgeable.

If he has what you want, and you can save a few bucks, I would absolutely not hesitate to get things from him. If you are uncertain of something, he is a good resource and deserves the order once it's figured out.

My understanding is, that he has put some lift and exhaust components together that work good in combination. People then refer to them as a "Kolak Lift" or "Kolak Exhaust". I have no experience with those.

Bottom line, never had a problem with the two or three orders with him.

[ThundahBeagle]

Thank you -HAZARD-

I appreciate the reply and info. Yeah, he suggested Bilsteins if I had the budget, or Pro Comp 9000's if I wanted better than original IRO shocks.

My lift will be minimal to modest, but I still wanted to make sure.

Probably order with him in the next few days.

Thanks

[ThundahBeagle]

Ok, so after a few emails and a phone call, Kolak helped me make some good decisions for my WJ 2" lift. I ordered all new coil isolators, 2" lift IRO coil springs, and the Pro Comp shocks.

I preferred to send him a postal $ order and snapped it off in the mail to him this past Saturday. He received it Monday.

Since there are a few different suppliers, I'll be getting several boxes.

Today (Thursdsy) I already receved 6 out of the 8 isolators....will update here

[ThundahBeagle]

I received all of my parts in mid July and have only recently had time to have them installed. It's a busy time at work and I didn't need any issues arising. So, all told so far it is new isolators by Crown and some Moog, 2"IRO springs, ProComp 9000 series shocks, and stock Moog sway bar links.

Kolak sure pointed me in the right direction. The WJ is sitting nicely. Handles around town very well. Takes all those potholes around town and across train tracks well. Does nice tight circles in the parking lot and reverse curves too. Moves up to highway speed smoothly.

Kolak had suggested other parts be inspected and either changed or bushings changed. I only went with what I just described, only because I have to do the project in stages.

There is wobble that can develop over large patches of potholes at highway speeds, but I thought there would be at this stage - I have not addressed the Panhard rod, ball joints, TRE'so or the steering damper yet. I'm hoping the track bar alone will reduce the wobble greatly.

So everything is performing as Kolak indicated it would and so far I am very pleased.

[-HAZARD-]

Great. The track bar typically is the number one go-to for a wobble issue. Even if it isn't full on death wobble, it will help. Several good aftermarket ones. Did you do anything to recenter the axel, or is it off a bit because of the 2" lift?

I never really had an issue with any sort of wobble, but have changed out everything over the past year anyhow. Beefing up these parts where I could.

[ThundahBeagle]

I've not measured the placement of the axle per se. I presume, as you mention, that it's off a bit as I've not recentered. I'm also presuming that since it is only 2 inches of lift, that a stock track bar will do, and that I should not need an adjustable one. Am I right, there?

[-HAZARD-]

Yeah, at 2" it's probably not that far out of center.

I'm the type that always wants things dialed-in true and centered. That way I can't fault it while chasing other issues.

An adjustable track bar is fairly short money, and allows you to go up in lift in the future [which you will...trust me ].

[ThundahBeagle]

I just poured over the Iron Rock website for all things WJ. I'm gonna go out on a limb and sa that I think a stock bar will do at 2". They offer an adjustable one, but it starts at 3" of lift. I suppose that placing that one on there pushes things just as much in an opposite direction if it's too long, so...

[ThundahBeagle]

-Hazard- you may be right, I may go higher in the future, but for now, I'm still trying to make this measly 2" of lift work correctly. If IRO doesn't make a special track bar for a 2" lift, stock must be ok. Thanks very much for your suggestions and advice

[BlackNBlue-ISH]

Not sure if this is the same for your rig, but often on the smaller lifts, manufacturers recommend you drill a new mounting hole in the axle trackbar bracket to recenter everything. Most adjustable break bars are good from 2-6 inches of lift.

[RandyCarol]

2”? I don’t think it would matter. What would be the rise of a 2” arc on 36” trackbar? Almost nothing

[BlackNBlue-ISH]

Depends on where on the arc it sits. If it’s near parallel to the ground, it’s minimal, but if it’s already 30 degrees down, 2” more vertical increases the travel along the arc more.

[RandyCarol]

Depends on where on the arc it sits. If it’s near parallel to the ground, it’s minimal, but if it’s already 30 degrees down, 2” more vertical increases the travel along the arc more.

True. The JK starts off pretty parallel. At least mine did