BlackRockBurner

I'm running TF 2.5 coil with adjustable lower control arms and track bar. The control arms adjust the castor to help with steering issues at speed. The track bar just centers the axel since lifting shifts the axel to the side. I ran 33s and am now on 35s: I have over 90,000 miles with this lift. No problems and it is very well suited for freeway, street, and the trails I go on.
The last paragraph of Aldamans post is spot on. Tire rating and air pressure greatly affect comfort.

Nbjeep

I have a Rockkrawler lift on my TJ. Nice soft coils and flexes like crazy. Bought it when there were nothing but haters on all the forums.

My buddy has their 2.5 lift on his 08 unlimited. It rides fine and flexes great.

I had a 2.5 Teraflex coil lift on my 08 unlimited. It rode ok and flexed pretty good.

I just put a 2.5 AEV lift on my new 13 unlimited after riding in another friends unlimited.

HANDS DOWN THE BEST ON ROAD RIDE of those 3. It flexes as well as my Teraflex lift did but not as well as my buddies Rockkrawler lift.

You don't need more than a 2.5 for 33"-35" tires so the control arm vs drop bracket argument is moot. As to the "what you get for that price" bashing I read all the time, my ass can tell the difference in how nice the ride is. THAT is what you get for that price from somebody who actually owns one.

Get it. You'll love it.
Cheers!

BlackRockBurner

The thing with drop brackets vs. control arms:
Your lifting the jeep, so why drop the frame? Sure your break over angle us increased, but the gain in frame rail height is negated by dropping the arm pivot point. That point is now the lowest part of the jeep.

Captfranny

I have a 2.5 AEV on my 13' JKUR. I also installed the geometry brackets. The ride is better than stock. I have 35" BFG KM2's and don't rub.
I have wheeled in Moab, CO, and AZ and am very happy with the AEV setup.
Here are a few pics withe the 2.5 on 35's.

Jesseb73

If cash and your but is what your trying to save, thinks about a coil spacer lift. You can get a diverse range of sizes for little dough, get a factory ride, and easily clear 35" tiresI have the Daystar 1 3/4" with 33's and it does pretty darn good for $175. My young kids can still easily get in it as well.

LidLess07X

AEV makes very nice products. There are "a bunch of brackets" as some naysayers will naysay, but the truth is the ride quality is second to none.

One of the oldest debates is adjustable lower control arms versus drop brackets. I decided that brackets were the way to go for me based on how I use my Jeep (99% on-road). The amount that is lowered is negligable but they correct the control arm geometry back to stock which Adjustable control arms WON'T do.

I must be the only one that read the part the OP said about 90% on road

You can do a 2.5 inch kit for 33s no problem

MASJKF84

I bought the AEV 2.5 and the brackets for the front sway bars got in the way of my c gussets. So I had to buy jks quick discos to replace them. If you plan on running 35s and putting on gussets add it to the cost.

I like the ride a lot. But I'm positive there's a better choice. I'd go rock Krawler 2.5 if I had to do it again and go with the same lift height.

JohnnyQuik

It's not really the percentage on and off road, it's more a question of what you plan to do off road. You can have a very capable rig that can do most of the toughest trails and also handle very well on the road. It's just not cheap to set it up right. Having been doing this for 20 years and having owned 5 Jeeps, I've experienced a lot of lift kits and you pretty much get what you pay for. If I was building one from scratch, I'd go with EVO bolt-on coil overs or the Metalcloak Gamechanger with the 6pak shocks. I'd then rank Rock Krawler and Teraflex below them and companies like Rough Country, Rancho, and Skyjacker below these. AEV is a little weird since they do complete Jeep conversions and their stuff seems a little overpriced to me. Of course each manufacturer has entry level and more complete kits, so a high end Skyjacker kit would outperform a entry level Teraflex system for instance, so you have to look at apples to apples.

Pregnant_Monk

2012 with AEV 3.5 lift. 35 inch Trail Grapplers. And I wouldn't change a thing!!! Worth every penny. I love the geometry relocation brackets they make the on road performance 10 fold better than stock. Spend the money don't get some junky rough country lift that will be crap the second you put it on your rig.

OrthoDoc

I've been trying to figure out what lift to go with as well. I've got a 2-door sport, and I want a 2.5" lift. I would love to go with RK, but the 2.5 stock mod lift is (unfortunately) more of a 3.5" lift. Along with it comes lots of problems.

I like the idea of the AEV lift because, like the OP, I'd like to have a nice on-road ride. Cost really isn't that different to me. I am now considering TF and AEV. With Rancho 9000's, the cost of the TF lift approaches the $900 AEV dualsport.

Seems like the main thing people crap on the AEV lift about is the drop brackets. Is this it? What if I don't get those and add adjustable front LCA's? Is it any worse than the TF lift off road?