Nth JK Suspensions

[AEV Dave]

Just a quick note here regarding the Nth JK suspensions because we have been answering a lot of individual emails and I thought we might as well make some sort of statement since for the most part this common knowledge.

We are currently finishing up the JK 3" suspension (for 35s) and are in the final phases of testing. Hoping for a April release, but can't guarantee anything yet mostly due to our shock supplier. The 4" (37s) is slightly more complex with a different draglink set up, but it shouldn't be much longer than the 3" if any.

Now for the good stuff. I have given the direction of the new Nth JK stuff to head a little less toward hardcore rockcrawling (like the Nth TJ stuff) because of the intended use of most of our customers and the size of the vehicle. Instead, I asked that it be focused more towards actual 4WD touring (aka expedition use that can handle heavy loads, drives really well on the road, and can offer the same off road performance as any other suspension on the market, if not better). From what I have driven so far, we are really close.

The truth about the JK lift kits on the market is that most of them are pretty damn good. Much better than the average TJ lift for sure. The other truth is that most of them behave very similar (short arm, long arm, whatever).

I think that providing you have enough seat time in any other lift regardless of brand, the Nth suspension difference will be immediately apparent.

dh

[JeepinJon]

I am looking forward to seeing this in action as I am still trying to decide which lift to go with when my JK arrives.

[Tufjeep]

Thanks for the info Dave! For all you potential AEV JK buyers like me, I had the great fortune of being at AEV yesterday and talking with Dave, Kent, and Jim Frens, the suspension engineer.

I got to drive a 4-door Jk with the Superlift suspension and 37's. I really liked it, and thought it was a very good ride. I then got to ride in the 4-door JK with the prototype Nth suspension and 37's. Gentlemen and ladies, this is the one you want!! If you ever driven down the road in a stock Jeep and was afraid to jerk the steering wheel left or right because the of the possibility of rolling over, this suspension will qualm those fears. With the ESP on, I was totally impressed with the emergency handling of the Jeep. You will feel much more comfortable at highway speeds with this suspension. I had ridden in one of Nth's TJ Jeeps before with their long-arm suspension and couldn't believe a Jeep could handle like that. Now Jim and Dave has taken that to the JK's. They still have a little fine tuning to do (according to Jim) and then they should be rolling!

Dave, I hope you don't mind me posting this, but I was so excited when I left AEV yesterday about the Nth Jk's, and then I read your post this morning that I had to respond and let your customers know about my ride in the JK. You're definitely going in the right direction, so thanks!

Mike

[somewhereinla]

How will the 3" suspension do with stock 32" or 33"tires? or is it really design specifically with 35" in mind? I know a lot of people want 35" or 37"...

[AEV Dave]

Tufjeep, not a problem at all (your check is in the mail! :D) Seriously, I'm glad you liked it and it was great to have you here the other day.

Somewhereinla, it would probably look OK with 33s, but stockers might look a little small. We did set it up for the 35s which seem to be what most customers are going with.


dh

[kntr]

Will the 4" lift be a longarm kit?

[MDPJeep]

Dave,

Sounds great!! AEV and Nth = the best of both worlds!!

My TJ with the HighLine Kit and Nth lift is the bomb and 'when' I'm ready to pull the trigger on a 4dr JK Rubi, it will be through AEV with Nth, 37s and an engine that is not a 3.8 V-6 gasser!! lol

Now, I'm trying to figure out how to keep the TJ and add the JK. ;)

mp

[somewhereinla]

Somewhereinla, it would probably look OK with 33s, but stockers might look a little small. We did set it up for the 35s which seem to be what most customers are going with.
dh

I wasn't really concern with looks but rather performance. I had 30s on my Land Rover with a 2.5 (OME) lift and it performed great. The JK Rubi. will be my first jeep and the 32s will be the largest tires I have ever had and don't plan to go higher than 33s ever. I think for people that do hard core rock crawling or who just like the looks, 35s are great, but I don't think that it is the majority, and with the price of gas going up, I do belief that sooner than later it will become a very small minority indeed, especially for people that use their jeep as their daily driver.

I also think that there is a big market for a true 2 to 2.5" suspension lift, by that I mean a kit with both spring and shock. To my knowledge, only OME offer such a kit, which is probably what I will end up using...

[rubicontrail.net]

Any update on the Nth lifts for the JK?

[AEV Jim]

Sorry for the delay (both on the suspensions and this reply!). The JK lifts are still coming along nicely, but they've been delayed a bit by suppliers (shocks as Dave mentioned). We are working on 4-door applications only for the moment (2-door will follow later this summer sometime). The 3" system will be ready next month (June) and the 4" system will follow soon thereafter. As Dave mentioned, these are very nice all-around systems that are especially nice on-road...better than we'd even hoped for to be honest. These 'simple looking' systems will deliver much more performance than meets the eye (it's about tuning as much or more than design)...so they will run with anything out there for off-road use too - and for a fraction of the cost of a longarm system.

To answer kntr's question: No...we have no plans for a longarm JK system...the JK simply doesn't need it to achieve all of the performance objectives we have in mind. That doesn't mean that the systems we're about to release are 'it'...we have some other tricks up our sleeves and in R&D ...we'll just be doing it without 'long' arms that (on a JK) won't gain you anything.

-Jim

-Jim

[hurricane101]

Will this lift take the place of the B/D lift in the expedition package?

[CyrusPura]

Any updates on the Nth JK suspensions? Also, would these be available to purchase seperately or will they be restricted to an in-house AEV conversion?

[AEV Jim]

Still working away at the JK suspensions, and sorry to not provide a date but we don't do that until we're sure we're ready as I'm sure you'll understand...but yes, they will be available as normal stand-alone products that can be purchased direct from us or from our dealers.
-Jim

[JeepinJon]

Any updates on this now that the TJ suspensions are out, or a revised timframe for release? No pressure or anything. :D

[Explore]

AEV,
This is worse than waiting for Christmas! Please fill my JK's stocking with the ability to fit 37in tires... Can we get a bone out here?

[Cole]

Hey guys! Looking forward to the JK suspension. Any updates?!

[AEV Jim]

Hey everyone...sorry for the pain this is causing...we really really want to get this out...and it IS close! The 4-door 3" system is literally a few weeks away, but we are suffering a few delays from suppliers right now. The 4" version (to fit the 37's that Explore wants) will be right on it's heels, but since it takes a couple more parts, there's even a few more suppliers to contend with. The official announcements will go out soon, I know it's being prepared, so it's SOON....I wish I could say it's today, or tomorrow, but in fairness to everyone here trying to get them ready, I can't/won't...;)

You WILL love the results though...I promise that for sure!

-Jim

[JeepinJon]

Can't wait, I just got my JK last week, and it needs a lift and tires bad :D

[Explore]

AEVJim,
Thanks for the update.. will be watching the site..

[Meeper]

Guys, i had the chance to drive one of the 3" kits yesterday on a 4 door with 35" tires, it is definitely amazing, rides awesome, handles awesome....

everyone will be very happy with this stuff, its definitely AEV quality.

i was told it beat the lap time of a stock jeep with stock tires on the mopar proving ground track :), i could believe it because i took it through some tight turns and she took all i could give her.

two thumbs UP!!!!

[AEV Jim]

Thanks Meeper...good to know that others concur with what we're preparing. Getting closer to selling/shipping every day!!

-Jim

[Explore]

Wish I could have that feeling on my AEVRubi.. Keep the news coming//

[Meeper]

check it out guys

http://www.quadratec.com/showcases/aev/default.php

[JeepinJon]

I know that on some suspension designs I have been seeing the trac bar bracket snap off the axle end when the bracket is attached on this end. Do you use an adjustable trac bar, or how have these issues been addressed?

[AEV Dave]

The trackbars do not utilize the stock mounts on the axles for anything other than location, they are totally self sufficient...I think if you break one off, you'll have other much more serious issues!

dh

[JeepinJon]

The trackbars do not utilize the stock mounts on the axles for anything other than location, they are totally self sufficient...I think if you break one off, you'll have other much more serious issues!

dh

Good to hear. I figured that you guys designed it so it wouldn't take the stress that an other brand had come out with where everyone was snapping the brackets off the axle after a month.

[Meeper]

the track arm brackets actually bolt to the axle using two u-bolts just like the Poly Performance Kits.

[JeepinJon]

Which Bilstein shocks are being used? The 5100 series, or is it a remote resevoir style?

[Meeper]

Which Bilstein shocks are being used? The 5100 series, or is it a remote resevoir style?

the standard 5100 series with AEV valving.

[AEV Jim]

Meeper is correct. Since we've been working with Bilstein, we have focused on the non-reservoir (5100) because their only two reservoir options are are the 'piggyback' 5150 and the 7100 series:

5150's use a special Bilstein proprietary mfg process that means they only build them in Germany, which makes doing special tunes a major problem since they can't be supported stateside for tuning work and production lead times are insanely long...consequently Bilstein doesn't even want to do it. I know there's at least one company out there with adverts for 'custom' 5150's, and while I don't know the backstory, stickers are easy to print...

7100's are really race shocks. They only come with monoballs instead of bushings, and Bilstein is only set up to build them by hand in San Diego at the time of customer (race teams) orders, so they're not a volume-built shock and they're not meant for daily-drivers (else they'd have the bushings you want them to have for a DD).

What will we do about the desire for reservoir shocks? Well.....<smack>, er,...I can't tell...so don't hold your breath! Just know that the 5100's we've tuned are going to make you smile to the point where if you've been a resi-guy in the past, you'll not regret that these aren't!

Jim