I have used the AEV brackets on my last two JKs. This is what I have discovered over the last four years and many many trips out West. The brackets are great for what they are designed to do. Adjustable LCAs cannot accomplish what the brackets can. LCAs can adjust the caster angle but in no way can they correct the suspension geometry like the brackets can bringing the LCAS parallel with the road surface for good ride and handling. If you are a hardcore King of Hammers type offroader, brackets aren't for you. If this is the case you likely could care less about on road handling anyway. If you spends all your time in Colorado and Moab like I do the brackets are really the way to go. I've scraped them over things but can't ruin them and they have NEVER stopped me from climbing an obstacle. Beat on them hard and still enjoy the drive home.

 

Has anybody ever used the brackets AND adjustable control arms?

 

so the brackets will correct whatever caster issues i may have after 2.5 inches of lift???
thus making lcas, unecessary?

 

i will be installing 2.5 teraflex budget with bilstein 5100s all around plus aev control arm brackets.

cant wait to update everyone!

 

This idea is intriguing. Would this combo give a person the ability to use beefy CA's and control caster while giving a long arm feel?

 

Yes. . . .

 

In a word, yes.

Sure, because of the brackets you get a more parallel control arm to the ground. This is one of the beinfits to long arms. But thats about all you gain in comparison. You still have a smaller arc radius through the suspension travel, which will cause more front to rear translation of the axle position through travel, and will cause the axle to have a tendancy to pull under the rig at the lower extremes of droop when pushing the tires against a flat face, i.e. ledges.

New control arms serve two purposes. Yes they add strength, but more importantly they add more free unbound articulation in the joint.

The combination of the two could be benificial, but IMO a waste of money.

 

The aftermarket control arms would need to be set to exactly stock length for this to work. Also, the arms should not have any bends.*

Arms with good articulation would not put as much strain on the brackets as stock arms do when flexing.

Apart from the slight loss of ground clearance, aftermarket arms and brackets could be the best of all worlds because a lifted Jeep handles much better with correction brackets.

Regarding installation: Some kits say to disconnect the front drive shaft. I've swapped front springs twice without any need to disconnect the shaft.


*Some aftermarket front LCAs are bent so most of the arm sits level with the ground. This is a joke because the control arm geometry is controlled by the height of the arm's rear mount, not by how the arm is shaped.

 

Hello:
I have a 2008 JKU. I recently installed a 2.5 Rubicon Express ... a 2.5 coil spacer in the front and 1.75 spacer in back with Bilstien shocks. I have been disappointed with the ride and steering.

I went to a AEV dealer (Jeep Dealer) to purchase the JK Geometry Correction Kit to install myself. He recommended NOT doing this and to replace the complete lift with AEV to get results I want. He went as far as to say he would not sell me the geo kit as he doesn't think I will be satisfied (due to it being a spacer lift and it will not make the difference in this case). In a perfect world that would be great, however, I am on a budget. Additionally, I don't want to send good money after bad ...even if it is just $100 so I am perplexed.

So I am checking with you as to your thinking on the matter. Does the Geometry correction bracket help restore some of the ride I lost by going with a space lift or not really (when I have a coil spacer lift)? What about steering improvements and tire wear improvements? He did give me a very fair price to get into a complete AEV lift packaged with tires and rims, but I'm not sure I can get there with my budget at this time.

IF you do recommend going with the $100 Geo kit..... do I have enough clearance between the bottom of the frame and the top of the spring seat. I tried to measure and it is just very close to 5 1/2 inches. However, it is hard to determine exactly because a slight change of the angle of measurement or a slight move of the measuring tape from front to back or side to side results in a measure less then 5 1/2 inches due to the shape of the frame (and angle of measurement).

Your advice will be greatly appreciated,

 

We're running JKS fixed length LCAs because we are staying at Our current 2 inch increase over stock. No need for adjustables.