OME 2" vs AEV 2.5"

[shays4me]

Anyone out there tried them both? Here's what I'm dealing with. I have a stock 13 JKUR auto 4.10 that I'm very pleased with overall, but I want to add a little under body ground clearance as well as increased load carrying capacity to handle my family, winch, rear bumper/tire carrier and possibly a future aux fuel tank. So far I've mounted a Warn winch and have a noticeable nose dive going on. I really am quite happy with my stock tire size (how often do you hear that?) since the Jeep is very capable as is, but may move up one size to 33" down the road. I'm not really looking for 35's or the rock crawler/poser thing, just want a more capable rig. The Jeep is a 95/5 vehicle. 95% of the time I will use it to go to work and driving on the freeway is a must. I don't consider it an expo vehicle if I can't comfortably cruise down the freeway for six hours straight. So that's where you all come in. I've looked at the OME 2" and the AEV 2.5" lifts and just can't decide. They both look like great lifts overall. The AEV is more $, but it includes more stuff. But my question is "will I really need all that extra stuff?" I won't be purchasing right away, so this is not a hurry, hurry, I need advice right now thread! I have to recover from another purchase so it will be a bit. I just want to be fully educated before I make my decision with as much input from others as possible. It would help greatly if I had access to a Jeep with either of these lifts to see how they perform, but I don't, so I'm relying on others to help me out. Thx

 

[rolando]

Subscribed. I have the same question, except that I already did the grade to 285/75/16. They rub a little on full turn when driving backwards (on the plastic dam, so no major worries about that).

 

[m(a)ce]

I've run both!

I have a 2008 JKUR on 35 KM2s.

I've run the OME 616/617 and OME 618/619 with the standard OME shocks.

I've also run the OME 618/619+40 coils with the long travel shocks/setup that Northridge put together.

Once set up with the extras, the OME rode better than almost any other short arm kit I experienced... well until the AEV 2.5 kit came out!

Honestly I like the AEV 2.5 package a lot. Nothing against the OME (its a fine setup on & off road) - but the AEV is quite refined. On road manners are predictable (great DD) and off road it does equally as well. I like how the JK handles whether its loaded with gear and towing a trailer or when its empty.

Anytime people ask me for a lift recommendation for expo or some rock crawling (think blue or blue black trails) I can say 2.5 and know its going to give them excellent on road and off road performance.

Get the 2.5" AEV, add the brackets & enjoy.


Here's another lift thread to check out.

 

[brianjwilson]

I have the AEV 3.5" but can recommend the 2.5". The only difference (other than spring height and shock length) is that the 3.5" came with a flipped drag link and front axle side track bar bracket. Oh, and the control arm brackets. Functionally it's pretty much the same, including the rear track bar and tower.
The spring/shock combo is amazing for the JK. I've put many long days on miles on my 3.5" on 35s very smoothly and comfortably, and it works very well off road too. It articulates just fine, and handles higher speed washboard/unimproved forest service type roads amazingly well, particularly of you air down a little.
However you will want an adjustable front track bar to center the axle (and for the huge steering/handling improvement anyway), and either the control arm brackets or adjustable front control arms. Same goes for either lift though.

My JK weighs in at roughly 5500lbs with me, a full tank of gas, tools, compressor, camper top etc. Handling is great even with my wife and a bunch of additional gear. I have a 100lb front bumper and 80lb winch and the front barely dropped at all. Actually I wish it came down more!

Here is mine, packing around a bunch of weight.

It works just as well off road as on. Though I have upgraded all steering related components up front as the stock parts are terrible for hard use.

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

Sounds like you need a hybrid. Get the AEV for driving dynamics, and change out the bilsteins for Rancho 9000s. You'll have the best of both worlds.

 

[brianjwilson]

Why would you swap out the tuned bilsteins for ranchos?
The bilsteins are tuned FOR those springs and carrying some weight, they work very well.

 

[crawler#976]

We've had the AEV 2.5XT with brackets on the JKUR since April of '12, and have over 20 K on it. It's an outstanding lift - the Jeep handles better on and off road, no brake dive, corners like it's on rails, and soaks up washboard with aplomb. The brackets do limit flex, but this isn't a rock crawler, it's a general use trail machine, and it's done everything we've asked of it with nary a hiccup.

My experience with OME was on Tacoma's, and it's a fine product, but I seriously doubt the OME Jeep product can equal the AEV stuff. AEV has all the data the factory does, and the coil/shock tuning is nearly perfect considering the price point.

 

[Rancho]

Sounds like you need a hybrid. Get the AEV for driving dynamics, and change out the bilsteins for Rancho 9000s. You'll have the best of both worlds.

Good call!

Why would you swap out the tuned bilsteins for ranchos?
The bilsteins are tuned FOR those springs and carrying some weight, they work very well.

A lot of people like the adjustability of the 9000's for the JK platform. You can go from a soft "Cadillac ride" on a lower setting (3 or so) and firm it up with a turn of the knob.
Some find a monotube style shock too firm for their tastes, especially if you spend a lot of time on the road.
I run our monotube shock on my JKU, but it is not a daily driver, per se. I do drive it on long trips though with out any issues.

 

[brianjwilson]

We've had the AEV 2.5XT with brackets on the JKUR since April of '12, and have over 20 K on it. It's an outstanding lift - the Jeep handles better on and off road, no brake dive, corners like it's on rails, and soaks up washboard with aplomb. The brackets do limit flex, but this isn't a rock crawler, it's a general use trail machine, and it's done everything we've asked of it with nary a hiccup.

My experience with OME was on Tacoma's, and it's a fine product, but I seriously doubt the OME Jeep product can equal the AEV stuff. AEV has all the data the factory does, and the coil/shock tuning is nearly perfect considering the price point.

I wouldn't say the brackets limit flex. Technically it would be the control arms, if anything, or the lack of aftermarket arms. But mine still travels the full range of the shocks which are the limiting factor. The bushing are less likely to last a long period of time doing this though. Good news is that a set of nearly new control arms can always be picked up for cheap, or you can upgrade to quality adjustable arms in the future.

The bilsteins work well, I put 5k miles on mine in a 2-3 week period, several hundred miles off road, lots of nasty washboard, some rock crawling, carrying tons of gear. Very complaint on road and off. If someone wants to change them out after trying them, by all means go ahead, but I wouldn't advise someone to buy a highly recommended setup and swapping out shocks right out of the gate for no good reason. Otherwise just buy some AEV springs and rancho shocks...?

 

[Rancho]

One draw back to the correction bracket is that it is exposed under a JK, and could get hit.
The advantages are numerous though.

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

We've had the AEV 2.5XT with brackets on the JKUR since April of '12, and have over 20 K on it. It's an outstanding lift - the Jeep handles better on and off road, no brake dive, corners like it's on rails, and soaks up washboard with aplomb. The brackets do limit flex, but this isn't a rock crawler, it's a general use trail machine, and it's done everything we've asked of it with nary a hiccup.

My experience with OME was on Tacoma's, and it's a fine product, but I seriously doubt the OME Jeep product can equal the AEV stuff. AEV has all the data the factory does, and the coil/shock tuning is nearly perfect considering the price point.

If thats your logic, then both Rancho and OME would be far superior to AEV. Rancho is owned by Tenneco, the company that manufacturers OEM suspension. ARB/OME produce some of the best quality and best engineered parts. AEV, unlike the other two, don't produce their own shocks, that is subcontracted to Bilstein built to AEV specs, and again, is a fine shock. They are all great shocks. For many, the bilsteins are simply too stiff, but I assure you, nothing AEV builds is superior in quality to ARB/OME...equal, yes, superior? No.

 

[crawler#976]

Being owned by Tenneco is no great recommendation...

Original equipment shocks are the worst available - they build them to be as cheap as possible to do a passable job on pavement. The Ranchos I've had in the past weren't much better, although it's been years since I spent my money on them. The last set I had turned the shafts blue on my '98 Taco. The RS5000 couldn't keep up with the Sway-A-Way front coilovers. They were replaced with Bilstein 5100, and the difference was night and day. That said, I've not owned a set of the newer series Ranchos, and probably won't - if I upgrade from the Blisteins, it will be King, Fox, or ICON.

AEV has all the testing data from Jeep, and can tune the shock to match the resonance inherent to the JK. Old Man Emu builds a fine product, but doesn't have that data, and it makes a difference.

 

[redthies]

I have the OME coils on my '11. They are a vast improvement over stock. Haven't yet had a chance to drive on AEVs, but I would expect equal performance. The one issue I will put out there is corrosion. Both my OME coils, and Bilstein 5100s turned into a disgusting rusty mess after just one winter. To say I'm unimpressed would be an understatement. I wonder how well the AEV pieces fare in areas that see snow/salt? The amount of "beach work" that vehicles do in Oz made me think the OMEs would have had a decent coating...

 

[Rancho]

Another thing to consider,as mentioned, most of these companies that SELL shocks aren't MANUFACTURING shocks. There are only a handful of manufacturers out there. Another thing is that when a shock company makes a shock for a certain vehicle, if done right will be valved/charged to that vehicle. That is where being a part of Tenneco comes in handy. Our engineers can see the "base" info and go from there....

If thats your logic, then both Rancho and OME would be far superior to AEV. Rancho is owned by Tenneco, the company that manufacturers OEM suspension. ARB/OME produce some of the best quality and best engineered parts. AEV, unlike the other two, don't produce their own shocks, that is subcontracted to Bilstein built to AEV specs, and again, is a fine shock. They are all great shocks. For many, the bilsteins are simply too stiff, but I assure you, nothing AEV builds is superior in quality to ARB/OME...equal, yes, superior? No.

As you mentioned the shocks that are OE are being built to a customer's price point. I would hope that a $50 RS5000 can't keep up with a SAW. Also comparing a dual tube to a monotube is comparing apples to oranges two totally different creatures. Some people like the firm, responsiveness of the monotube style shock, while others find them "rough/harsh".

Being owned by Tenneco is no great recommendation...

Original equipment shocks are the worst available - they build them to be as cheap as possible to do a passable job on pavement. The Ranchos I've had in the past weren't much better, although it's been years since I spent my money on them. The last set I had turned the shafts blue on my '98 Taco. The RS5000 couldn't keep up with the Sway-A-Way front coilovers. They were replaced with Bilstein 5100, and the difference was night and day. That said, I've not owned a set of the newer series Ranchos, and probably won't - if I upgrade from the Blisteins, it will be King, Fox, or ICON.

AEV has all the testing data from Jeep, and can tune the shock to match the resonance inherent to the JK. Old Man Emu builds a fine product, but doesn't have that data, and it makes a difference.

Great thread.

 

[shays4me]

Thanks for all the replies! I made the first step the other night and bought the front arm drop brackets. To some people this is a dumb idea due to clearance, but to me it made sense considering my use for my JK. If I want to go out in the really rough stuff I'll take my CJ, but I've always been more of an overlander anyway. I used to tell people that I built my Jeeps "expedition style". This was before the term "overlander" was used and most people had the bigger is better approach to tires and wheels. I still see a lot of that, but at least there is a certain group now that I can identify with. My CJ7 has 33" tires and a Black Diamond 3" lift, which are the tallest I've ever fitted to one of my Jeeps. Most of my CJ's had 31-2" tires with a mild 2.5" Rancho lift and i've found that completely adequate. It won't turn heads down town mind you, but it worked well for the shorter wheelbase Jeeps and got me where I needed to go. The JKU will probably get the AEV suspension. I've recently bought their tire carrier and bumper combo, so if I find it to be a quality accessory (if it ever arrives) I will probably buy their lift as well. The one thing I like from AEV that OME doesn't offer is the dual rate springs. The JK isn't going to be fully loaded all the time and the softer ride in day to day use is a pleasant thought. My only real complaint about AEV is their prices. I realize that they build good quality stuff, but JK aftermarket parts as a whole are out of sight already without the AEV premium added. A TJ is so much cheaper to build, based on the price of bumpers, suspension, etc...