JKU suspension upgrade needed - Opinions Welcome

[St8ton]

Do you have both front and back Hellwig sway bars? Or just the rear? Hellwig told me to only purchase the rear one, but I’m hoping it makes a noticeable difference since that’s where all the cargo, roof tent, spare wheel, hi-lift jack, fridge, etc are.

Rear Only.

 

[Mrknowitall]

As to AEV 2.5 vs 3.5, the retail literature states for both that they are intended for additional weight carrying. I would definitely communicate with them directly if you were leaning toward the 2.5 but thought the 3.5 offers better load capacity.
Otherwise the OME suspension with the 2620 springs will give you a 200lb spring rate instead of the stock 120lb. I like how you can taylor the OME for lad with the appropriate spring, but then they match it with the same shock, regardless. That's fine, if you're spending big BP51 money, but that's a little too rich for my blood, not to mention high big offering to the salt gods.
I'll probably go with the AEV 2.5 for our '14 JKU-R, since its a very comprehensive kit, tuned to maintain or even improve on-road characteristics.

 

[MattJ]

Found this article, which reviews the Hellwig with a 3.5" lfit and fully-loaded overlanding rig:

http://vagabondexpedition.com/hellwig-heavy-duty-sway-bar/

 

[MattJ]

Hellwig sway bar is installed. I won't have the hard top and roof top tent back on until after August, when better camping weather returns. But I can definitely feel the difference. Much stiffer in the back end. I also had the EVO rear shock mounts installed, which increase clearance by 1.5 inches and seemed to raise the back end a bit, similar to the effect a spacer would have.

Now I just need to get take all the Bilstein shocks off, scrape off the horrible rust and coat them with metal protectant. Great way to spend a summer weekend . . .

 

[jadmt]

the evo wont raise your rear but it will give you more downward travel and less upward travel. I love the aev diff cover. I got to see the very first one before it was even coated, one nice thing about living close to aev r&d. beefy. I had them on my last rig and things are beasts.

 

[Vamos]

Hey man... I've got nearly the exact setup you do and went through this same question last year. Wife and I did about 90 nights last summer in the Ursa Minor... We stopped off at my folks' house mid-trip to upgrade the suspension because it just felt squishy with all the weight on the stock suspension.

So I'm rolling with the J30 (#221), Trekboxx alpha storage system, ARB fridge, AEV rear tire carrier, 35"s, 7 gallons of water, food, more food, firewood int eh trasharoo, plus always have our laptops, camera gear, 4 tripods, lights, etc. We do YouTube stuff on the road.

I went with the AEV 2.5" kit and added their 1" spacer on the rear and Bilstein shocks. Drives like a DREAM!

Now a year later, about 12,000 miles and 40 nights or so in the J30 since the upgrade, I'm super glad I went with this setup!

Canyon roads all loaded up are super stable and fun again... Just bombed through Missoula on the way to Spokane and the windy ass section of 90 following the Clark Fork river with 80mph speed limits was fun as can be. We were loaded up this trip, too. Lol...

Empty, no fridge, no gear, just the Trekboxx and J30, it feels great and has a tiny bit of a raked look that I personally like.

Does great off road and rock crawling, too... Broken Arrow loop in Sedona is one I hit often... Handles it like a champ.

 

[jadmt]

I live in Missoula and have family in Spokane so go to Spokane a lot. What windy section you talking about? I90 windy? You want windy take hwy 12 from Lolo to Lewsiton Id.

 

[MattJ]

Look what I found on the AEV website and installation manual: my installer skipped both of these steps, which I now have to deal with a year later:

 

[Boat.man]

Okay I better throw in my set up! we have a J30 fridge and all the stuff. looking at all the options I looked outside of the box a little bit and found the ORO Airock suspension system. http://offroadonly.com/airock/ This is a full suspension system that utilizes air springs, engine driven compressor, ride hight sensors and a very smart brain box. This replaces your springs and shocks with air springs, think over the road truck or bus. They ALL ride on air suspension.
I can say that it has completely transformed the jeep. No matter how much the load is it will go to a preset ride hight, nice and level. You have a on road, off road and active modes. in active mode above 30MPH the computer automatically keeps the jeep level. It is amazing how well it works on twisty mountain roads! When you get to your can site you can level the jeep using the control pad, no more driving up on rocks! It also has an easy exit mode that will drop it all the way down to the bump stops when you turn off the jeep. It is expensive compared to a just a lift kit, but the whole package has been the best money spent so far on the jeep... well maybe just behind the J30

 

[MattJ]

Okay I better throw in my set up! we have a J30 fridge and all the stuff. looking at all the options I looked outside of the box a little bit and found the ORO Airock suspension system. http://offroadonly.com/airock/

I am all excited to learn more and see some photos and video clips of the system in action, but I couldn't find any on the web page. I figured it was just a glitch with the mobile site, so I tried again on my PC at home. I gave up after a few minutes - am I missing a section of the website that shows all of the features that you are describing? It sounds like a really cool product with very unique capabilities (everything from leveling a roof top tent to adjusting for severe off-camber rock crawling), so I'd love to learn more. But the website seemed really thin on info. Can you post some pics and video of the system? Thanks!

 

[Jay61]

I have the Old Man Emu (OME) 2 1/2 with the heavy duty springs and Fox 2.0 shocks and I am amazed at how good that set up is. It actually handles smoother when it is loaded down to the gills. No sag and offroad it is smooth as whipped butter. On the other hand, it is about as stiff as you would want when you are not loaded down. I got the OME system installed before I even picked my JKUR up from the dealer because I knew I was building an overland vehicle and I was eventually going to get the Ursa Minor J30 top. I researched it for a half a year, talking to anyone who would talk to me about it. By the time I made my decision I knew it was the right one for me and I have been 100% happy with it.

 

[borison]

Hey man... I've got nearly the exact setup you do and went through this same question last year. Wife and I did about 90 nights last summer in the Ursa Minor... We stopped off at my folks' house mid-trip to upgrade the suspension because it just felt squishy with all the weight on the stock suspension.

So I'm rolling with the J30 (#221), Trekboxx alpha storage system, ARB fridge, AEV rear tire carrier, 35"s, 7 gallons of water, food, more food, firewood int eh trasharoo, plus always have our laptops, camera gear, 4 tripods, lights, etc. We do YouTube stuff on the road.

I went with the AEV 2.5" kit and added their 1" spacer on the rear and Bilstein shocks. Drives like a DREAM!

Now a year later, about 12,000 miles and 40 nights or so in the J30 since the upgrade, I'm super glad I went with this setup!

Canyon roads all loaded up are super stable and fun again... Just bombed through Missoula on the way to Spokane and the windy ass section of 90 following the Clark Fork river with 80mph speed limits was fun as can be. We were loaded up this trip, too. Lol...

Empty, no fridge, no gear, just the Trekboxx and J30, it feels great and has a tiny bit of a raked look that I personally like.

Does great off road and rock crawling, too... Broken Arrow loop in Sedona is one I hit often... Handles it like a champ.

I think I got a pic of your rig outside the IHOP near Costco in Spokane. Don’t see a ton of J30s around here. Figured I’d see you here sooner or later. Happy trails.

 

[Vamos]

I think I got a pic of your rig outside the IHOP near Costco in Spokane. Don’t see a ton of J30s around here. Figured I’d see you here sooner or later. Happy trails.

That is awesome!

Indeed I was there a couple weeks ago checking out a couch then circled back with a uhaul to load it up...

Definitely truck country up here! The J30 turns a lot of heads tho.

 

[Vamos]

I live in Missoula and have family in Spokane so go to Spokane a lot. What windy section you talking about? I90 windy? You want windy take hwy 12 from Lolo to Lewsiton Id.

It's not slow hairpins or anything... More of a high speed flowing section along the river. Something I'd love to run flat out with a Z06

Guess I was trying to comment more about how the Jeep can handle the 60mph turns quite well at 70+ with all the weight.

 

[vtsoundman]

Look what I found on the AEV website and installation manual: my installer skipped both of these steps, which I now have to deal with a year later:

The above is common on many JKs...my sway bar smacked the tube from the factory...I have an 07 JKU Rubicon...