snakeyes76

Can't decide on what lift to get. It is 99% daily driver with eventually getting back into off roading. the type of off roading i used to do was moderate to hard trails, quite a bit of rock climbing but this is the wife's Jeep and i doubt she will allow me or want to do that level herself.
i want a lift that will give an extremely stable on-road ride but be very capable when we do finally decide to take it on the trails.
its between the AEV 3.5 Dualsport SC https://www.aev-conversions.com/prod...sc-suspension/
and Metalcloak 3.5 True Dual-Rate Lift Kit, Fox Edition https://metalcloak.com/jeep-jk-wrang...x-edition.html
i don't see many people running either one in my neck of the woods so i'd like some feedback and educated opinions on them

karls10jk

I've got the equivalent of the Metalcloak above but without the fox shocks and I really enjoy it for a daily driver and off-road toy.

Schlieko

My Metalcloak has been running a long time with no signs of sagging. Will never do anything but dual rate springs again. Maybe this is the norm now? I really like the team at Metalcloak too. I have called them with issues before and they have directed me to products they don't even sell to solve a problem. Instead of selling me something I don't need, they send me elsewhere. This has built a pretty fanatical loyalty from me, so take me with a grain of salt.

One thing you might consider is shocks with a separate reservoir. I really like mine and run them super hard, e.g. washboards. Can't go wrong with either lift. I have some AEV products and they are built like a tank. Their product support is also fantastic.I have not been thrilled with build quality of Bilstein, but that's probably unfair. The shocks really take a beating. Wish I had gone with King to start. And for a daily driver, adjustable shocks might be nice. I have never had them, but hear they are nice for highway driving.

SoK66

We have a number of folks in our club that run the AEV 3.5" or 4.5" lifts. They get the job done on the trails and are very good on highway. I personally don't care for the Bilstein 5100 shocks they ship with, or the reservoir versions. You can do better with Fox, etc. The only Metalcloak folks we have are builders who have used their arms & joints on LJs & XJs. Haven't heard any compaints. Teraflex's ST3 lift is another good one.

resharp001

You can't go wrong with Metalcloak in general. Many people love the AEV stuff. It's not my cup of tea, but either one would be fine for DD as they will both address caster. Are you throwing 35s on this jeep, or larger? The one thing I'd say is the Fox shocks are going to be similar to Bilstein 5100s. If you don't want a stiff ride, you might want to consider buying your preference of shocks separately. I'd almost rather than the Metalcloak Rocksport shocks than Fox. Rancho RS9000 are a nice option as well (I have Fox 2.0 for disclosure).

jadmt

I have experience with both and have installed both. If someone is a hard core rock krawler I would choose MC if I was like most people ie play in the rocks but enjoying driving my jeep fast on the highway and playing in Moab etc I would do the AEV. AEV will do 90% of what a MC will do offroad but does better on road especially twisty 2 lane stuff. Both are quality lifts and good companies to deal with. If you are going to run 35's I might think about doing a mopar 2" lift. I run that right now and it does really well and plenty of lift for 35's.

nthinuf

The AEV kit comes with a High Steer setup and CA lowering brackets, the MC kit does not. So if you are talking about straight out of the box handling, the aev kit is quite likely to give a better 'extremely stable on-road ride'.

That said, I'm running what amounts to a pieced together MC Gamechanger with pre-rocksport OME shocks and Synergy steering/flip. Other than the great ride and handling of that coil/shock combo, I like the outboard shock mounts and brakelines in that MC kit. Might be just a placebo affect, but I thought the lines firmed up my braking a bit. And given your location, you might appreciate the gold zinc cromate coating on their components. You might even consider expanding your selection list and including the less expensive Rocksport editions, then add a decent flip setup or whatever else with the savings.

AEV includes the high steer and CA brackets, a procal (assuming you don't have a programmer/tuner already?) and the plastic jack base. I haven't heard if the bilstein shocks are actually tuned differently for them, but I was not impressed with the 5100's I had before the OME's that MetalCloak used to sell for these kits. Looked pretty, but I thought they were quite stiff and couldn't wait to sell them.

chiapeteater

I have the Rocksports on my 2.5" MC Gamechanger and really like them. They suck up the bumps and do washboard roads pretty good without being too stiff. Good price too compared to some of the other shock options.

snakeyes76

We'll be going 35s for sure. I already have a flashcal so the tuner would end up on the web for sale. I've had the 5100s on my previous 2dr and i thought they were incredible in comparison to the stock shocks and the crappy rough country shocks i had from my previous lift on my 4dr. The AEV bilsteins are tuned for that specific lift so I'm thinking they'll be even better. I know my wife, she won't do any hardcore offroading. It will most likely be a pavement princess until I decide to take it off road, but I won't be able to do the same trails I used to or she'll kill me. I'm leaning towards the AEV for her. I fit was my Jeep, I'd probably do a frankenlift and get the AEV springs, MC arms, synergy track bars, and probably go with fox shocks. I've been told the zinc coating on the MC arms won't last up here due to the amount of salt they use on the roads in the winter. Decisions decisions

nthinuf

I don't know the actual lift gains on aev coils, but just as a heads-up if you choose MC: their 3.5" coils gave plenty of height for my 37" stt pro's, even with uncut stock fenders before I chopped them. I've lost track of overall lift height on my '08 through the various coil/spacer progressions, but over 4.5" would be a decent guess. Which means a flip becomes more important, and you should budget for a front driveshaft replacement. Not trying to talk you out of taller coils, just that if you choose MC, the 2.5" might be the better choice for a wifely driven JK on 35's.