so im ready to pull the trigger on a aev 3.5 lift with clayton arms, downfall north ridge has it on backorder for 2 months, they have the 4.5 in stock. im running 33's and will be until they burn out maybe a year. thoughts? advice?

 

3.5" is a lot of lift for just 33" tires. you'll look like an old school rollerskate but, you should be fine otherwise.

 

its 4.5 now thats the debate, i have bushwackers that dwarf the tires already, damn i was so excited to order this

 

BTW, I had to wait a couple of weeks for my 3.5 kit as well, and now that I have ridden it for a while, I would wait 2 months if I had to. I am also running the Clayton arms.

The AEV kits were designed to have 100-200 lbs extra weight front and back (bumpers, winch, large spare, skids, etc). I don't have much of this installed yet, so my JK was lifted about 4.5" average. I figure the extra weight will bring it down about an 1".

If you install the 4.5" with the extra weight, my guess is that your JK would sit about as high as mine, but with a more compliant ride as it was designed.
Initially I felt my JK was a bit too high for my taste, but now that I am used to it
and given the way it handles, I know that I miss the extra 1" or so when I weigh it down with gear. If so, I may try to buy a set of 4.5" springs.

In your case, I think it comes down to whether you want to wait for the 3.5" kit or you can live with the extra 1" of lift.

 

so do it. the only thing is, i can almost guarantee that you'll be buying new tires sooner than later

 

i plan on the clayton arms, i have the weight up from stinger winch skid plate
r u running 35's?

 

I forgot to mention that.

WOL is right. I am running 35's with the 3.5" (4.5" actual) and it looks perfectly proportional.
The 33's may look a little undersized. Look in 33" Tires link of Show and Tell section for some ideas on how it will look.

 

I have a 3.5” RE lift on my Rubicon. Witch is about 4.5 with out the extra weight from the bumper. I am running the stock 32’s for about another year. I can tell you it looks a lot better lifted with under sized tires then it did when it was at stock height. I am actually getting to like the look. I may upgrade to 35’s latter but I need to save up the money for the tires and to change the gears, differential covers and weld up the stuff on the bottom all at once. This is after the drive lines, bumpers, sliders and winch. I say get that sucker off the ground if that is what you want to do. It will be that much cooler. I would add a photo but I'm not sure how.

 

email me one
ntroiani@me.com

 

pulled the trigger