aev lift

[sjs]

Hi from Australia, everyone
My JK unlimited is just 6 wks old. I'm in need of a lift and look like going with the 3.5" aev. I run bfg km2 mt's 285/70.17's
I will be touring the outback (corrugated dirt roads) and deserts, as well as wheeling with the Ipswich 4wd club. I like to get into some hard tracks with my son in his xj also so ground clearance is important (as is good dirt road manners).

When touring i will be towing my camper trailer(track trailer tvan) and have a draw set and my fridge in the rear.

Do you think this kit will be ok for my needs.

specific questions about the kit is, with the track bar relocation brackets f & r do the axles sit central?
Is there any problems with pinion angles. (i may also later upgrade to the 4.5" )

That should do for starters
thanks in advance, i wait with baited breath.

Steve

[titanus]

Why'd you choose 285 instead of 305 for an unlimited?

[somewhereinla]

Probably because they are narrower. They are better for long travels and more versatile. I personally like 285 better as well.

[sjs]

Why'd you choose 285 instead of 305 for an unlimited?

not a fan of too wide tyres, when i had my 80 series i went from 285's to 305's and the steering felt unresponsive compared to the 285's. i actually changed them back to 285's.

how do you think the suspension will go?

steve (sjs)

[scotlandjk]

hey ive heard nuthing but good about the aev lift so far. im in the same boat, and aev is the only manufacturer who has made a rhd kit with trackbars and steering being different.(im in the UK). i read a thread on the auzzie jeep forum about a guy who just put it on his 4dr. he seems very pleased. here the link. http://www.ausjeepoffroad.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85619
since aev provide the full rhd kit i would go for it, unless you now a shop who can make custom parts. this is the kit im going for when i save up enough.
apparently this kit is good for an expedition vehicals, so i think driving through the outback would be good fun.
as far as the weight of trailer, etc im not to sure.
is your jk a diesel or petrol? the diesel engines are heavier so the front sags a bit more, but it you even it up with weight in the back it should sit level.

[caryseo]

Why'd you choose 285 instead of 305 for an unlimited?

Is there any difference between the two?

[titanus]

not a fan of too wide tyres, when i had my 80 series i went from 285's to 305's and the steering felt unresponsive compared to the 285's. i actually changed them back to 285's.

how do you think the suspension will go?

steve (sjs)

I'm in the process of buying the AEV 3.5" kit. I haven't installed it but I've done a lot of research and it seemed like the best kit for my needs. It's better for "overland" use as AEV puts it than rock crawling. Therefore, it should fit your needs perfectly as well.

I offroad a lot in soft sand, and currently ride an 08 unlimited rubi with the stock 255/75R17 tires. It's a heavy mofo (4400 lbs curb weight, 5500 lbs gvwr), and I'm thinking about upgrading to 285/75R16 or 305/70R16 to get better flotation in sand, but I'm undecided. Thoughts?

Caryseo: the difference is 2 cm in tire width :)

[sjs]

I'm in the process of buying the AEV 3.5" kit. I haven't installed it but I've done a lot of research and it seemed like the best kit for my needs. It's better for "overland" use as AEV puts it than rock crawling. Therefore, it should fit your needs perfectly as well.

I offroad a lot in soft sand, and currently ride an 08 unlimited rubi with the stock 255/75R17 tires. It's a heavy mofo (4400 lbs curb weight, 5500 lbs gvwr), and I'm thinking about upgrading to 285/75R16 or 305/70R16 to get better flotation in sand, but I'm undecided. Thoughts?

Caryseo: the difference is 2 cm in tire width :)

I can only comment on the 285 v's 305 from my experience with my cruiser. with the bigger tyres it gave the impression of delayed steering. that is with the wider tyres you turned the steering wheel and after a second the car thought oh lets turn.

steve (sjs)

[sjs]

hey ive heard nuthing but good about the aev lift so far. im in the same boat, and aev is the only manufacturer who has made a rhd kit with trackbars and steering being different.(im in the UK). i read a thread on the auzzie jeep forum about a guy who just put it on his 4dr. he seems very pleased. here the link. http://www.ausjeepoffroad.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85619
since aev provide the full rhd kit i would go for it, unless you now a shop who can make custom parts. this is the kit im going for when i save up enough.
apparently this kit is good for an expedition vehicals, so i think driving through the outback would be good fun.
as far as the weight of trailer, etc im not to sure.
is your jk a diesel or petrol? the diesel engines are heavier so the front sags a bit more, but it you even it up with weight in the back it should sit level.

Hi scotlandJK

nice place, was in scotland just on 2 years ago for a week, loved it beautiful countryside.. i have a brother in the isle of wight.
anyway back to the post. i have the 2.8 diesel unlimited if the front sags i may have to go to ARB springs or use a spacer. i'll also put airbags in the rear(inside the spring) to counter the trailer wieght.

steve

[AEV Dave]

FYI Guys, our springs will handle the weight of the diesel and HEMI with no problems.

dh

[AEV Jim]

Hi SJS and the rest,
Yes I think our suspension will serve well in the Outback, etc. As mentioned it's intended for overland use, and we tailored our own Bilstein-built shocks to match the rest of the package - no mix-match to do here! Also as Dave mentioned the springs will handle the diesel just fine...it's actually slightly lighter than the Hemis we put in and for those we've been able to just use a shim (spacer) to retrim the front ride height since the weight difference isn't large enough to signifantly affect handling - so if the Hemi's okay, the diesel is even more so...

Jim

[sjs]

Hi SJS and the rest,
Yes I think our suspension will serve well in the Outback, etc. As mentioned it's intended for overland use, and we tailored our own Bilstein-built shocks to match the rest of the package - no mix-match to do here! Also as Dave mentioned the springs will handle the diesel just fine...it's actually slightly lighter than the Hemis we put in and for those we've been able to just use a shim (spacer) to retrim the front ride height since the weight difference isn't large enough to signifantly affect handling - so if the Hemi's okay, the diesel is even more so...

Jim
Hi jim
just wondering if you can explain roll centre to me. as you talk about it being important with your kit.

i'm trying to decide which lift to get and it is between your full kit including the high steer, or whether to put a kit together using the Australian ARB springs plus f & r track bars, and upper adj front arms with rancho adj shocks.

cheers
sjs Steve

[AEV Jim]

Hi jim
just wondering if you can explain roll centre to me. as you talk about it being important with your kit.

i'm trying to decide which lift to get and it is between your full kit including the high steer, or whether to put a kit together using the Australian ARB springs plus f & r track bars, and upper adj front arms with rancho adj shocks.

cheers
sjs Steve

Hi again Steve, sorry for the delay - this thread didn't come up on my radar for a while...<shrug>.

Anyway, seems like I've talked about RC to death on here and everywhere I go. I don't have time to search for the other threads, but maybe somebody else can link them here? The short version is that RC's are crucial to the vehicle, just our particular lift. They are the points about which the front and rear suspensions literally roll the vehicle's body when in a turn, etc. Their position relative to the separated front and rear centers of gravity are the key to managing how much 'lean' the vehicle has in corners, etc. which in turn affects important how roll-steer in the control arm geometry will be and how the springs and especially stabilizer bars will need to be tuned. It's all an interrelated puzzle and if one part is wrong, the rest become filled with bandaids to try to compensate. This is why when I see a lift with visibly-wrong stuff like RC position (which is actually only 'semi-visible'), I don't even need to drive it to know it can't match ours because even if the spring rates, etc. were identical to ours, they'd still be 'wrong' because the realities of their RC heights are either unaddressed or holding them back from best possible results.

Jim

[sjs]

Thanks Jim,
i was in a shop buying some innercoil air bags for the rear, just so when towing every thing sits nice(have had them in privious vehicles) and because of my lift the engineer fellow came to have a look. he was full of praise for the way the brackets lift the track bars rather than using adjustable track bar. and he explained about roll center to me. He said it is certainly the best option for handleing. this was just today.

i sent you 2 pm's regarding my lift, if you could check them please

thanks

steve from aus