Sundance

Looking to raise up an 09 Sahara to fit 35 12.50's Have a winch and heavy bumper up front and will also be carrying a 35 spare. Do long highway trips to 4WD areas and carry some camping gear. Jeep is also a daily driver. Have narrowed kit choices to the AEV 3.5" Premium lift or the Rubicon Express 3.5" Super Flex Kit. I know they are both quality companies and pricing is similar. Anybody have any experience with either kit? Will be done professionally, so difficulty is not a factor.

Flexx

I'm running some OME HD springs fox LT shocks and am happy 2.5" advert 3" actual. Using Currie arms and front trac bar, and some Teraflex parts happy. I just installed a Teraflex frame/trac bar brace and soon to install drag link flip kit happy. If you get into the steering flip kits do some research and you'll find out that one of your listed companies is just reselling a RHD drag link (around $80 from dealership) which is just as weak as LHD ones. Teraflex makes a NEW FORGED drag link very happy, makes the factory one look silly.
And If you plan on doing any off road stay away from cam bolts.

Teraflex makes some really stout stuff. I'd keep researching lift kits and look beyond your selected lifts. my 2 cents.

Sundance

Both you guys, I am sure, are far more knowledgeable than I will ever be. I originally considered Teraflex, since that is the kit that my dealership uses. But I was turned on to a local 4 x 4 shop that all my new Jeepin friends swear by. He only will do RE lifts that he considers the best. I've checked out the reviews of RE bushings and see the potential results. AEV is owned and designed by an ex Jeep engineer and has taken a different approach to lift needs, which seems reasonable to me ???? See

4wdandsport.com/tech/0909_4wd_2007_jeep_wrangler_jk_buildup/index.html

The OME kit put together by Northridge is also appealing, but I am finding difficulty finding someone to install that kit in the Phoenix area. I am 68 yrs. old and my wrenching days are over. Sounds like I should probably go back to the dealer installed Teraflex??

Flexx

Look into the Teraflex if your dealer installs it. It's odd that they install that lift on the "for sale" jeeps because the MOPAR parts "factory" lift kit is a RE kit, so just odd but not out of the normal that they would use Tera. Your dealer should have no problem installing any good quality lift. I'm pretty sure they would put in the Northridge kits if you ordered one. I really don't think you'll be disappointed with Teraflex. Teraflex is one of the few companies that is starting to offer different control arms for the 2dr's and 4dr's as they are finding out that the same part lengths are not happy on both 2/4 dr JK's. Nothing major but they are fine tuning the lengths. Just make sure you get a very complete kit as once one thing changes it really affects most of the other suspension.

Front lower adj control arms
Rear uppers, using the front lowers and rear uppers keeps the wheel base as long as possible where the reverse front uppers rear lowers would shorten slightly. 8 is great!
Extended sway bar brackets
Stainless steel brake lines, can use bracket extensions but better to install new SS lines.
Front and rear adj trac bars and related brackets
4- shocks appropriate for lift, Tera's are good but you certainly can upgrade to others
Steering stabilizer upgrade
Possible wheel spacers for looks/better clearance or for bigger tires
Extended bumpstops front and rear
Possible steering flip kit
Possible driveshafts

I think that covers it. The more complete the kit the more expensive, but the better it will work and you'll run into fewer/or no problems. And you'll be able to hop into your rig and go for a drive and not have any worries.

spinlock

Given that your vehicle is a DD so ride quality and handling on the road are probably important to you and your JK has a few extra lbs in the front and back, the AEV kit is a great choice.

It has the added benefit that you keep the OE bushings which are better than anything else out there on the road.

If you don't want to use the front control arm relocation brackets due to 2" of reduced ground clearance then get a set of quality adjustable CAs.

ngbsn1

If you're in Phoenix, run by Cop4x4 and check out his shop. Talk to Camp and ask him what you need. He'll take care of ya!

mkjeep

If he only does RE kit's, it's because he's a dealer for them, gets better prices on the kits and is alot more familiar with the RE set-ups making it a quicker, easier install for him. Making him be able to crank out more kits at a faster pace and still be able to charge you full alotted time. I'm partial to Teraflex myself.

JBCO

I have the RE 3.5 superflex and love it. I have been all over Colorado and spent a week in Moab last month. No bushing issues (and I check regularly). Great highway ride as well with the OME long travel shocks. Highly recommend it.

VaNomad0530

SOoooo....I have the AEV 4.5 on my 4door....I've been reading and seeing that more and more people are saying to get the LCA instead of using the stock because ou have to make the bracket hole bigger...well...it's after the fact now. I did a bunch of research on it too. Does this mean I'm going to have problems down the road? or is there a "fix"...or just call up AEV and ask why?

Thanks

wayoflife

just to be clear, the bonded rubber bushings that come on the factory control arms are not exclusive to the factory control arms. companies like teraflex and clayton both use these bushings at the frame mounts as well and if i recall, they are even a bit bigger than factory. as far as them being better goes, that's all a matter of opinion. in terms of durablity and need for maintenace, sure, they'll last a long time and require no greasing what so ever. however, in terms of flex, they will bind and not offer the kind of rotation that a johnny joint, heim or the like can offer.

if you installed the cam bolts that came with your kit, they will come loose over time if you wheel your jeep and this will allow your axle to move around - not a good thing. to fix this, you can have some washers welded onto the axle mounts so that the rectangle slots you made will just be holes again. any qualified welder can do this for you and for a reasonable price.