Adding lift to xtreme recon?

[Decreasing Dave]

What about longer sway bar end links? are the rear arms and track bar necessary? I was thinking of doing something similar.

I figured since I was only going up an inch or so that the sway bar end links wouldn’t be an issue.

As far as the rear lower control arms, I have seen some lifts that don’t address those and the wheel is pulled forward and no longer centered in the wheel well. That can’t be good for geometry and certainly looks bad.

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[Decreasing Dave]

The AEV kit with standard springs is looking pretty good. I don’t need the yellow block since I have one and I don’t need the tire size adjustment thingy since I have a Taser, but the rest of it looks good and just what I need.
I’m hoping that Twisted gets back to me to tell me more of what he has. He said 3”, so that makes me think he’s got the heavy duty springs. I only have the 2.0 so I probably don’t need the heavier springs.

 

[Twisted10]

Thanks Twisted.
Those look like 37s, are they?
Any rubbing at articulation?
You went with the 3” high capacity?
How is the ride?
Is this the kit that you have?

thanks for the info!

38-13.5x17 on kmc tank w/ -38 offset. no rubbing.

rides great. i did put an adams front driveshaft in, not sure i really needed it.... That is the kit and I went for the 3", yes. I also have a 1" teraflex puck in the front to keep it level.

 

[jadmt]

The AEV kit with standard springs is looking pretty good. I don’t need the yellow block since I have one and I don’t need the tire size adjustment thingy since I have a Taser, but the rest of it looks good and just what I need.
I’m hoping that Twisted gets back to me to tell me more of what he has. He said 3”, so that makes me think he’s got the heavy duty springs. I only have the 2.0 so I probably don’t need the heavier springs.

I have installed 3 of the AEV 2.5" on XR's (2023, 2024 and 2025) 2 were with 3.6 and one with 2.0 all standard springs. owners love how they drive and handle. I go to Moab with one often and it does great..I also wheel with @panhead6 in Moab and he has the same

 

[Decreasing Dave]

I have installed 3 of the AEV 2.5" on XR's (2023, 2024 and 2025) 2 were with 3.6 and one with 2.0 all standard springs. owners love how they drive and handle. I go to Moab with one often and it does great..I also wheel with @panhead6 in Moab and he has the same

This is awesome to hear. I’m assuming that you run 37s with this kit, as it looks like it in the pictures.
I’m going to EJS next week so maybe I’ll find a deal on the AEV kit at Vendor’s Row on Thursday before I leave. Otherwise I think I’m going to go that route anyway, I’ll just have to pay full price like common, non EJS folk, haha.
Thanks you and Twisted for your experience and advice.

Two quick questions for you, did you change drive shafts for this kit? And did you run a puck in the front to keep it level as well?
Twisted says that he did but he has a 392. I have a 1” puck on mine now to level it out on the XR springs.

Thanks,

 

[jadmt]

This is awesome to hear. I’m assuming that you run 37s with this kit, as it looks like it in the pictures.
I’m going to EJS next week so maybe I’ll find a deal on the AEV kit at Vendor’s Row on Thursday before I leave. Otherwise I think I’m going to go that route anyway, I’ll just have to pay full price like common, non EJS folk, haha.
Thanks you and Twisted for your experience and advice.

Two quick questions for hasn’t, did you change drive shafts for this kit? And did you run a puck in the front to keep it level as well?
Twisted says that he did but he has a 392. I have a 1” puck on mine now to level it out on the XR springs.

Thanks,

no issues with stock driveshafts..the geo brackets actually help in that regard..no pucks needed on either the 3.6 or 2.0. yes on the 37's. unlikely you will find a deal unless on a used one as AEV does not allow discounts which kind of sux but it is how they run their business model..

 

[Decreasing Dave]

Awesome. Thanks for the quick reply. I am going to need tires after Moab so I didn’t want to buy tires twice. I definitely think that this is the way I go now, discounts or not.

 

[Decreasing Dave]

no issues with stock driveshafts..the geo brackets actually help in that regard..no pucks needed on either the 3.6 or 2.0. yes on the 37's. unlikely you will find a deal unless on a used one as AEV does not allow discounts which kind of sux but it is how they run their business model..

Just out of curiosity, do you know the height of one of the Jeeps with 37s in that lift? I have 7’ garage doors and in SoCal, parking garages are prominent so I need to be able to fit. Thanks.

 

[jadmt]

Just out of curiosity, do you know the height of one of the Jeeps with 37s in that lift? I have 7’ garage doors and in SoCal, parking garages are prominent so I need to be able to fit. Thanks.

under 77"

 

[Decreasing Dave]

Perfect. Thanks. My garage is 82”

 

[Decreasing Dave]

Taking a look at the installation instructions for the AEV lift. It looks like I don't use several parts due to my Xtreme Recon package. Rear end links, front and rear bump stop extensions, and the one that surprised me was that I don't use the tower extension bracket for the rear trackbar. The instructions are saying that the factory XR tower is already longer than regular Rubicon's.

My goal was to buy a lift that didn't have a lot of stuff that I didn't need. I thought this lift was almost perfect for that, except for the block and tire calibrator, but I guess I'll have a few more things to sell on marketplace here soon. The AEV lift is on order from NorthRidge 4x4.

 

[Decreasing Dave]

I ordered my AEV kit from Northridge4x4. I'm happy with my purchase but just found out that AEV will in fact be a vendor at EJS. I probably should have waited to see if they offered a deal.

Maybe I can convince them to give me some swag for my loss, hahaha

 

[mijlur]

Im running the 2.5 AEV kit on a XR. I made it 20k miles on stock front drive shaft before boot was torn and all grease flung out. New drive shaft will eventually be needed.

 

[gek]

Taking a look at the installation instructions for the AEV lift. It looks like I don't use several parts due to my Xtreme Recon package. Rear end links, front and rear bump stop extensions, and the one that surprised me was that I don't use the tower extension bracket for the rear trackbar. The instructions are saying that the factory XR tower is already longer than regular Rubicon's.

My goal was to buy a lift that didn't have a lot of stuff that I didn't need. I thought this lift was almost perfect for that, except for the block and tire calibrator, but I guess I'll have a few more things to sell on marketplace here soon. The AEV lift is on order from NorthRidge 4x4.

I can confirm the XR tower is taller. I had a standard rubi rear and an XR rear side by side and measured ... I don't recall the measurements though. I should have taken pics, but I wasn't thinking.

 

[AVGeek99]

My local shop is telling me I will net only 1" with a MC 2.5" lift since the xTreme Recon is already 1.5" above standard Rubicon. They said the 2.5" is from stock Rubicon height and recommend the 3.5" lift.. But it looks like you got the full 2.5". Is that what you are seeing?

It depends how heavy your build is. This is from the MC Website, it is an answer to a customer question about how much height to expect.

" Our coil heights are based off of the gain over a stock Rubicon. We do also account for a built rig with, bumpers, winch, full size spare, rockers and skids. If the Jeep is still stock it may see an inch over advertised. "​

I have bumpers, winch, full size spare, stock side step rockers and stock skids. My build is stock weight or maybe a little lighter because my bumpers are aluminum. I have a MC 3.5 GC. I am 5.25 inches over stock height, and my lift is 3+ years old with about 42K+ miles on it across two Jeeps.

I like the height, but I'm having DS vibration issues due to poor pinion angle. I ordered 2.5" springs last night and will be installing next weekend. If your Jeep has a FAD, its easier to get away with being so high. My 2025 has no FAD so my front DS is always spinning, which makes pinion angle much more important.

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