rubydak

Is anyone running the AEV 3.5" lift. It looks like a ggod value.

Thanks for any input.

EstianSwanepoel

Oh no! Someone asked about the AEV lift..
Here comes another cam bolt and AEV-engineers-are-the-best-therefore-cam-bolts-are-cool-and-AEV-is-the-best argument

EstianSwanepoel

K, that post held no value whatsoever. So let me say something meaningful.

The AEV Premium lift isn't bad. It's a good all rounder. People tend to be against it due to the fact that it uses cam bolts to adjust caster and many people have found them to be a very unreliable form as setting caster. They also only allow for about 2° of caster adjustment. However, there are also people that are perfectly happy with their cam bolts and have reported no issues. I personally don't have any experience with them, so I can only comment based on what I've read on the forum.
It comes with Bilstein shocks, those are quite neat. It has progressive rate coils which in my opinion are cool, though some argue that regular coils are all you need.
It comes with steering components, which again, is quite nice, but a stock steering stabiliser is all you need really. If your Jeep is dialled in properly you can actually get by without a steering stabiliser entirely..
And they throw in a ProCal with the kit, so that's cool to set and re-calibrate your Jeep's computer.

So yeah, I think the AEV lift is cool. There are others that will tell you it isn't. I must say it is quite pricey, but who knows, maybe it's justified with quality parts.

Hope this gives a lil insight

spinlock

I think Estian is on target, probably because he has participated in many of the controversional threads.

AEV products are a bit on the pricey, particularly when you consider that discounts are almost unheard of. However, they are differentiated and do offer factory like integration. The Nth Degree Mobility lift kits have followed this trend. IMO, its design has more engineering analysis than your average kit, but some seem to believe that engineering is a luxury and fabrication is all that matters. I think they are both required to produce a quality low volume product like a JK specific lift kit.

The kit is on the price side considering that you do get cam bolts (designed to deliver 5 degrees of Caster) instead of adjustable control arms, but AEV has finally given in to customer demand and will offer CAs in the near future.

The real value of the kit is in the assortment of brackets included in the kit which provide outstanding handling (which has been compared to sports car) and the tuned coil spring/Bilstein shocks.

Also consider that it has progressive rate coil springs that were designed to carry a couple hundred extra pounds front and back. The extra weight provides extra preload to make the ride optimum. If you are running a stock/light rig then the ride can be a bit oversprung.

If your main concern is maximum flex while crawling there are probably better lift kits, but you want a balanced kit for road and off road performance, I think its an excellent choice.

EstianSwanepoel

What he said haha
As I've said before, you can't go wrong with AEV. They make good shizzz

Maddmauler

I'm running the AEV premium lift and have been very satisfied with it. The only thing I have been wanting to do is up grade to adjustable control arms. The ride quality is very good compared to stock. And AEV's customer service is very good, every time I've called them they have been very helpful. I'm not saying they are better or worse than any one specific lift all I'm saying is if I had to do it again I would still buy the kit.

ripmover

Go for it. If your not sure, then you should watch the show on speed channel called Dangerous Drives. They recently did a show that tests AEV engineered parts on the MOAB trail. It was very impressive.

jeepnick

I'm running the aev 3.5 on 37's and love it, highly suggest it especially with teraflex lca's

rubydak

Great guys thanks so much for the input. There is so much to consider, it's not easy to pull the trigger on this mod. I'll continue to research for a few more days before I make a choice. I did see the AEV on the TV the other night and that's what got me interested in them.

Thanks for all of your input guys.

EstianSwanepoel

Tell me..
What other kits are you looking at?
What's your intended use for your JK?
Is it going to be on the road most of the time with the occasional trail or you gonna be driving up Everest for tea every morning?