Analysis Paralysis

[ratled]

More like sensory overload. I’m wanting to get the rake out of the Jeep and compensate for the weight of the dual battery kit, winch, and Hi Lift. I’m not looking for much of a height gain and am not looking to go up in tire size. I lifted the Jeep on the frame and 3" in the front gets me level. My original short list, in no order, is the AEV 2.5”, Mopar 2” and the OME 2”.

I went to my local off road shop and he back with the Rancho 2” Sport lift with the 9000 shocks. But I know nothing of these, especially since this is the new and improved version and supposed to have only been out a short time.

I went to the chain store here in town and they said the Rubicon Express 2.5” lift. I know nothing of these either.

I went to check on some reviews and opinions on mild lifts. DANG, my head hurts. For every review that XX is the greatest thing since sliced bread there is more than one for what is wrong with it. And there always at least two other yet unnamed recommendations.

I just want a one and done buy and install. One of the local shops or my mechanic will have to be willing to install it as I no longer have the physical ability to do it myself.

How does one choose in the sea of options?

ratled

 

[Mitch502]

Are you referring to a JK?

I've NEVER heard anything bad about OME, and from what people say it seems those are geared more towards your goal--supporting weight over lift.

 

[rubicon91]

I have the aev 2.5 and it holds the weight nicely. That was one of my concerns. The springs are definitely heavy duty. The ome from what I know will also be good. They are designed for people leaving stuff in the jeep and having the weight. Put into perspective I have genesis dual battery tray, goose gear floor plate and side cubbies, arb fridge 50qt and slide that live full time in my Jeep. Along with a heavy spare tire carrier and all. No sagging at all. I don't think you can go wrong at all with the aev one. Second pic has my old gobi rack kayak and a 5 gallon road shower mounted awning and the rear was fully loaded when I did a trip in Sept. Gives you an idea of how it sat.

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[rubicon91]

And lastly which I forgot to say I am completely and totally happy with my choice. I would do the aev all over again if I had to do it

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[quark]

I've had the AEV 2.5" for close to 2 years now, it's held up really well. I've added and removed a cargo rack, added bumpers, winch. The lift has no issues with any of it. I've also heard nothing but good things about OME. They were my 2nd option.

 

[ratled]

Thanks guys for the replies. Yes, 2017 JKU HR. I was surprised how many of the "newest and greatest" crowd jumped on the OME and the AEV. I was also caught off guard with the amount of lift folks said they were getting with the AEV - >4.5" and that the front was so high they were getting a reverse rake. Also the flak that was given on the AEV geo correction arms. For the price point and the history I know of the AEV seemed like a no brainer. Same discontent for the Mopar, came down to fan boys and hatters only. Of course the disdain for only a 2- 2.5" ish lift raised few noses.

ratled

 

[unkamonkey]

Thanks guys for the replies. Yes, 2017 JKU HR. I was surprised how many of the "newest and greatest" crowd jumped on the OME and the AEV. I was also caught off guard with the amount of lift folks said they were getting with the AEV - >4.5" and that the front was so high they were getting a reverse rake. Also the flak that was given on the AEV geo correction arms. For the price point and the history I know of the AEV seemed like a no brainer. Same discontent for the Mopar, came down to fan boys and hatters only. Of course the disdain for only a 2- 2.5" ish lift raised few noses.

ratled

You worry a lot about nothing. One of my Jeeps sits a bit low in the rear and the other is about an inch high in the rear. It has no effect on how they do their job, then again, I never park them in malls.

 

[rubicon91]

Thanks guys for the replies. Yes, 2017 JKU HR. I was surprised how many of the "newest and greatest" crowd jumped on the OME and the AEV. I was also caught off guard with the amount of lift folks said they were getting with the AEV - >4.5" and that the front was so high they were getting a reverse rake. Also the flak that was given on the AEV geo correction arms. For the price point and the history I know of the AEV seemed like a no brainer. Same discontent for the Mopar, came down to fan boys and hatters only. Of course the disdain for only a 2- 2.5" ish lift raised few noses.

ratled

For what I have used mine for so far and what I plan to do in the future this lift is perfect for me. I also have a HR front bumper on the jeep as well now. Sits perfectly level. I even did 2 of the 3 difficult trails in Uwharrie no problem with the lift. When my j30 comes I may have to add a little help in the rear but I will cross that bridge when I get there. It even drives imo better than the stock set up and the geo brackets definitely go into making it that way.

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[quark]

I ended up not using the AEV geometry correction brackets. Mine drives better than stock and havent had any alignment/vibration issues. I think if you keep your lift to under 2.5 inches, you're good. I have 35's on it now and they fit with pretty much no rubbing. Like you, I wanted to keep the lift as low as possible but high enough to be functional. I did a 5,000 mile trip in a little under 2 weeks and had no complaints whatsoever about handling, and that was with a trailer.

[/url]IMG_20170905_110053 by Conor Maguire, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[ratled]

AEV is the top of my list followed by the Mopar. Do the lift and then, and only if needed the geo brackets and front track bar. I only got about 40 days out last year but this coming year just became wide open so who knows just how much I can get in!

ratled

 

[vtsoundman]

AEV is the top of my list followed by the Mopar. Do the lift and then, and only if needed the geo brackets and front track bar. I only got about 40 days out last year but this coming year just became wide open so who knows just how much I can get in!

ratled

I have the Mopar lift...and with an empty (stock bumpers, no rails etc) jeep it rides great.

The primary benefit for the Mopar lift is that it maintains the factory warranty or maxcare service contract without question...

I run the Rancho Geo correction brackets and an adjustable front/rear track bars. The Geo brackets made a tremendous difference in steering performance... Before it was flighty and now it tracks true.

After 10K miles or so, I installed the rear track bar to address axle offset and 'wiggle' under full compression /rebound. I installed a shorter rear Superlift track bar and raised the axle side mounting point to the upper position on the Mopar bracket. This resulted in less body roll on curvy roads. There's a thread over on Wrangler Forum about this mod.

The adjustable front track bar was installed to address flexing of the OEM bar (it replaced a relatively new OEM bar so I know the bushings weren't the culprit)

Any sort of weight (towing, camping gear etc), the back end bottoms out pretty easily going over bumps, on or off the road. This can happen for one of two reasons: the springs are too soft or the shocks need re-valving. My conclusion is that this lift has both lower rate springs (factory?) and softly valved shocks.

(As a side note, I really love the sumosprings as a budget speed bump stop.)

Per the product manager at Fox shocks, the Mopar lift has a very soft valving profile.... Softer than their off-the-shelf standard Jeep tune. Are the softly valve shocks the primary culprit? Not sure yet...

Regardless, the fox shocks are still the best that I've run for far (Factory red Rubi shocks, Rancho rs9000, Munroe cheapy Sensatracs...). I have about 40k miles on this lift and my jeep has about 130 k on it at this point.

I think the springs are pretty soft because moderate weight results in a decent loss of right height. A direct comparison to my OEM springs is not possible for two reasons: my springs were shot after 70k miles and in 2007, Jeep JKU Rubicons were using lighter rate coils.

Lately, I've been focused on other projects so this has taken a back burner. I'm on the fence regarding multi-rate / progressive coils or linear's. On my shortlist for spring replacements are AEV coils, Synergy Springs, and JKS. Valving shocks for multi-rate springs is a compromise unless you get into the big dollar big diameter shock bodies... but I like multi-rate's ability to handle varying loads without too much change ride height.

My gut tells me that a revalve and new springs will get the ride dialed in.

Keep in mind that the geo brackets, adjustable track bar Etc are all to restore factory geometry and angles... I'm currently lifting yet another 4x4 and I decided to make all of these corrections immediately rather than piecemeal it...

If I were to do it all over again I would immediately install the adjustable track bars and the geo brackets.

 

[ratled]

THANKS soundman, that was useful information!

ratled

 

[rsbmg]

Metalcloak is designed specifically to maintain the listed height of the lift loaded. I have the 3.5 on mine but I'm on 37's you might take a look at the 2.5. You will not find better customer service.