Is AEV generally considered best of breed quality?

[Zoobie]

Bunch of AEV fanboy's here... so I don't expect much, but here you go:

I had an AEV 3.5 on my 2015 JKU... in my opinion, AEV has amazing progressive springs that give the best road ride there is! In reality, that is what everyone is raving about when they say 'how great the ride is on AEV lifts'.

Many are critical of the Bilstein shocks, that other brands give greater travel to increase flex. They didn't bother me though.

Where the AEV lift falls short when you get to the AEV 3.5/4.5 lift kit, is with the brackets!!! Yes, they do achieve partial geometry correction... but they do it in the 'cheapest' and worst way. The brackets are sub-par to getting new arms in flex. When I think of AEV, "cheap" is not what comes to mind...

So for geometry correction the AEV 3.5 lift provides:

1. Front brackets to correct upper/lower arm geometry to get the front axle forward/rear centered
   
2. Front trackbar bracket to get the front axle left/right centered
   
3. New rear trackbar to get the rear axle left/right centered

AEV provides NO rear arm correction for the rear axle forward/rear centering

Additionally, after installing the AEV lift I found my Jeep had a pull. After extensive amount of fiddling, I figured out that my front axle was off center, so the brackets were off. So I had to buy an adjustable front trackbar to correct that (put on a Teraflex Monster Trackbar).

I eventually ended up tossing the all brackets completely and putting on a full set of MetalClock arms (which improved my flex, clearance, and geometry) in addition to the Teraflex trackbar... then the lift was great! Which basically boils down to just AEV's progressive springs, and me fixing all of AEV's flaws myself.

My key point here is that the AEV lift out of the box is sub-par to modern competitor lifts, such as MetalCloak. MetalCloak's comes with full set of arms and adjustable trackbars so that geometry can be set correctly in all aspects... which achieves the best on-road AND off-road performance. Modern competitors also come with much better shock options.

A decade ago AEV was king of the hill... and while they were kicking back counting their money, they got leapfrogged. You guys can all let them ride on their name / reputation from past, but let's get real about today.

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[XJrider]

AEV is overpriced and meh tier. Their bumpers are an eyesore imo. And they honestly just take other manufacturer components and re-brand them under aev and add 750 to it. They’re for
People who dont know what theyre really doing and just want something that will work ok...

 

[Tech Tim]

And they honestly just take other manufacturer components and re-brand them under aev

@XJrider, Please tell us more about the products that AEV rebrands?

 

[Ezun]

Bunch of AEV fanboy's here... so I don't expect much, but here you go:

I had an AEV 3.5 on my 2015 JKU... in my opinion, AEV has amazing progressive springs that give the best road ride there is! In reality, that is what everyone is raving about when they say 'how great the ride is on AEV lifts'.

Many are critical of the Bilstein shocks, that other brands give greater travel to increase flex. They didn't bother me though.

Where the AEV lift falls short when you get to the AEV 3.5/4.5 lift kit, is with the brackets!!! Yes, they do achieve partial geometry correction... but they do it in the 'cheapest' and worst way. The brackets are sub-par to getting new arms in flex. When I think of AEV, "cheap" is not what comes to mind...

So for geometry correction the AEV 3.5 lift provides:

1. Front brackets to correct upper/lower arm geometry to get the front axle forward/rear centered
   
2. Front trackbar bracket to get the front axle left/right centered
   
3. New rear trackbar to get the rear axle left/right centered

AEV provides NO rear arm correction for the rear axle forward/rear centering

Additionally, after installing the AEV lift I found my Jeep had a pull. After extensive amount of fiddling, I figured out that my front axle was off center, so the brackets were off. So I had to buy an adjustable front trackbar to correct that (put on a Teraflex Monster Trackbar).

I eventually ended up tossing the all brackets completely and putting on a full set of MetalClock arms (which improved my flex, clearance, and geometry) in addition to the Teraflex trackbar... then the lift was great! Which basically boils down to just AEV's progressive springs, and me fixing all of AEV's flaws myself.

My key point here is that the AEV lift out of the box is sub-par to modern competitor lifts, such as MetalCloak. MetalCloak's comes with full set of arms and adjustable trackbars so that geometry can be set correctly in all aspects... which achieves the best on-road AND off-road performance. Modern competitors also come with much better shock options.

A decade ago AEV was king of the hill... and while they were kicking back counting their money, they got leapfrogged. You guys can all let them ride on their name / reputation from past, but let's get real about today.

Thank you @Zoobie, this is immensely helpful. I’m new to having a Wrangler - still waiting for mine to arrive - and I’m not sure where to go for a lift. I’m not going to be doing any intense crawling, but hope to do some. Given that, I was thinking a 2” lift on my Rubicon with 35’s would be totally sufficient. I’ll definitely be looking at Metalcloak!!

 

[Billet_JLU]

Those bumpers may be the ugliest bumpers I’ve seen

 

[GRAK]

Those bumpers may be the ugliest bumpers I’ve seen

 

[swozey]

I really don't like the bumpers either. I guess they're going for an OEM look. They have some sort of coating on them that makes them shiny which to me looks like the non-steel JLUR bumper. Unless they're not steel? I think my biggest complaint is how rounded and "oem" they look.

But that's all subjective. I'm sure they'll sell.

 

[Ezun]

I really don't like the bumpers either. I guess they're going for an OEM look. They have some sort of coating on them that makes them shiny which to me looks like the non-steel JLUR bumper. Unless they're not steel? I think my biggest complaint is how rounded and "oem" they look.

But that's all subjective. I'm sure they'll sell.

Interesting, I’m a huge fan of them and I’m not a fan of the “squared off” bumpers. You’re right on, all subjective and the reason multiple companies are out there making different products.

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