Is AEV worth the money?
12-05-2010, 04:48 PM
#31
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and, that's my point, you have not driven your jeep with anything other than stock arms or stock arms with these drop brackets. please understand, i completely agree that they do what they are advertised to do but, i think you would find that if you had tried running a dialed in suspension setup using adjustable control arms, it wouldn't have been too bad either. for me personally, i still have a hard time wanting to LOWER a mount that already gets hit all the time on the trail especially after paying so much to get the underside of my jeep up higher - i'm mean, it seems self-defeating. if ride comfort and handling is so important, i would highly recommend that you try driving a JK with a high quality and very complete long arm kit installed. if you're really honest with yourself, i think you would find that it is way better than what you have now.
just to reitterate, i am NOT saying that this isn't a good kit. i have mearly given my opinion to the OP who specifically asked - is it "worth the money?"
in all fairness, i'm pretty sure this is the first time that i've heard you state that you were just giving your opinion. before now, it appeared to me that you were making statements that seemed pretty absolute and without qualifing them. but, it's all water under the bridge to me
just to reitterate, i am NOT saying that this isn't a good kit. i have mearly given my opinion to the OP who specifically asked - is it "worth the money?"
in all fairness, i'm pretty sure this is the first time that i've heard you state that you were just giving your opinion. before now, it appeared to me that you were making statements that seemed pretty absolute and without qualifing them. but, it's all water under the bridge to me
12-05-2010, 04:54 PM
#32
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wayoflife, forgive my ignorance but doesn't a long arm kit reduce ground clearance as well? I understand the point of getting more articulation and getting the geometry closer to perfect through the entire length of travel. However if you took a 3.5" short arm kit (not AEV with the drop brackets) and a 3.5" long arm kit, won't the long arm kit have less ground clearance with the long arms mounted to the bottom of the frame and mounted further back?
12-05-2010, 04:55 PM
#33
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I drove my AEV lift with Rock Krawler arms 1st then added brackets and kept the Rock Krawler arms on. Yeah, yeah yeah, now my upper LCA mounts sit lower towards the ground: but I drive my Jeep 60 miles a day on the highway way: that justified me adding the brackets. It does drive better and handles the braking and curves better. Granted, I can't do what you do, but I can go offroad and have a great time and take my 3 kids to school and daycare then work the next day. I will later take the brackets off when I dedicate my Jeep as my second vehicle. Yes I have added Teraflex trac bar also. I am not saying AEV is the best at all, but it works for me and my needs.
for whatever it's worth, both my jeeps are dedicated daily drivers and, in my humble opinion, i think that my big white jeep rides and handles way better than a jk with an aev kit installed - granted, it cost a butt load more to do too
12-05-2010, 05:07 PM
#34
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i am currently running an off road evolution long arm kit and i'm really happy with it as all the mounting brackets sit above the frame rails and, to the best of my knowledge, it is the only kit out there that offers this kind of maximum clearance. having said that, i have run a full-traction long arm kit as well and it provided an outstanding ride and performed exceptionally well on the trail too. i have a lot of friends running the teraflex kit and, from what i have seen, they do a great job too. i would have no problems recommending any of these kits.
yes, they will effectively be low points on your jeep but, the benefits they offer far out-weigh this one negative point against them. also, depending on the mounts, the long arm design and size of the tires you're running, the amount of exposure they have can be significantly reduced. some arms are bent to reduce exposure and some kits come with brackets that are mounted high up to help get things up and out of the way. of course, long arm kits typically come with heavy duty arms designed to take a lot more punishment than stock arms too.
wayoflife, forgive my ignorance but doesn't a long arm kit reduce ground clearance as well? I understand the point of getting more articulation and getting the geometry closer to perfect through the entire length of travel. However if you took a 3.5" short arm kit (not AEV with the drop brackets) and a 3.5" long arm kit, won't the long arm kit have less ground clearance with the long arms mounted to the bottom of the frame and mounted further back?
Last edited by wayoflife; 12-05-2010 at 08:32 PM.
12-05-2010, 05:07 PM
#35
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Originally Posted by wayoflife
i've been reading your posts and you've always come across as a reasonable guy. also, i saw that you made sure to qualify your responses and clarified early on in this thread that aev markets their lifts as overland driving and not rock crawling and that is 100% dead on. as i have stated several times now, this is a good kit and for your needs and for the needs of others in a similar situation, i have no doubts that you'd be happy with it. i was just stated that in my opinion, i didn't think it was worth the money but again, that's just my opinoin and based on what i need my jeeps to do.
for whatever it's worth, both my jeeps are dedicated daily drivers and, in my humble opinion, i think that my big white jeep rides and handles way better than a jk with an aev kit installed - granted, it cost a butt load more to do too
12-05-2010, 06:40 PM
#37
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Thanks for the thoughts on the long-arm lifts. Like BuckLisa, when this JK isn't my DD, I'm looking forward to having one put on.
Going back to the OP's situation, he's looking for a lift for a JK that's going to be "99% street driven", and the AEV price point is a potential objection, so I'm assuming long-arms aren't in the scope for recommendations. Do you have any thoughts on the lift in his "backup plan", or is there another short-arm one you'd recommend for a mostly on-street JK?
12-05-2010, 07:09 PM
#38
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Respectfully, I qualified my limited experience with lifts in the first post I made in this thread (#13).
Thanks for the thoughts on the long-arm lifts. Like BuckLisa, when this JK isn't my DD, I'm looking forward to having one put on.
Going back to the OP's situation, he's looking for a lift for a JK that's going to be "99% street driven", and the AEV price point is a potential objection, so I'm assuming long-arms aren't in the scope for recommendations.
Do you have any thoughts on the lift in his "backup plan", or is there another short-arm one you'd recommend for a mostly on-street JK?
Last edited by wayoflife; 12-05-2010 at 08:31 PM.
12-05-2010, 07:37 PM
#40
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I was looking at the Northridge OME kit with trackbars. I will be running 35s.
If I were to add in front control arms, between lowers and uppers, is one better? On the OME kit order screen, there is an option for Currie or Teraflex arms. Is one brand better?
If I were to add in front control arms, between lowers and uppers, is one better? On the OME kit order screen, there is an option for Currie or Teraflex arms. Is one brand better?