Before I start getting all the comments saying, search button! Let me preface by saying, I feel like I've been searching all day and for the past week for the matter. I still have questions though. First of all, I'm not gonna lie. Completely new to this, and was hoping to get some questions answered. I should probably tell you guys what i have first, I've got a pretty stock 07 2 door Rubicon, and I would like to be able to fit 35's under there. That means I would need about 3 inches of lift right? I know I do not wanna do just a spacer lift. That leaves coil springs, short arm, and long arm. I've pretty much ruled out long arm because it's slightly out of my budget and I've read that you really don't need a long arm until you get into over 4 inches of lift although it WOULD make a slight difference in on/off road handling right? So, I guess that leaves the question, do i really need go ahead and get the short arm kit too? I know that them being adjustable allows you to change your pinion angles? Which leads to a follow up question. If i do get the AEV kit, I've noticed that you can also buy a geometry correction front control arm brackets. Anyone familiar with this product? Does it let you skip out on replacing the factory arms and front drive shaft?
Which I also have another question about. With a two door and three inches of lift, I will want to replace my drive shaft to avoid prematurely wearing out it out right? Would that bracket in turn save me from having to replace my front drive shaft?
My next question is when people refer to lift heights, like "you don't need to worry about long arms until lifts 4 inches and over." is that ACTUAL lift height? or relative?

Anything else I forgot?
I plan on keeping the stock wheels, so I'll be looking into getting wheel spacers.

 

Do what I did so you don't have to worry about all the drivetrain mess. Stay under 3" Lift(Not relative)

2.5" Coil Lift Kit. No arms just coils and shocks.

I've been on it about 18 months and have had no issues and love it.

 

I put a terraflex 2.5 coil lift with shocks. I run 35s with no rubbing issues going out in the rocks. I plan on adding the sway bar quick disconnects. I have a 2010 2 door soft top and got more like 3.5" of lift. Love the kit, love the ride. Highly recommend.

 

I'm running the AEV drop brackets and really really love them.

IMO, the pros are:
it drives soooooooooo much nicer. when you hit a bump, the force applied to the control arms is sent more up and into the shocks (and absorbed) than back into into the frame. my 3.5" feels more smooth than stock in that regard.

there's much less dive when you hit the brakes.

it helps with vertical aspects of the front drive shaft. should result in fewer ds boots ripping on automatic transmissions.

you won't need adjustable lower control arms in order to "dial in" your caster after your lift.

cons:
you lose some ground clearance in the area under the control arms. i've never gotten hung up on them before, but I have scraped them. they're tough.

I've a weekend wheeler and have wheeled my JK stock, then with a 2.5" spring lift, and now with a 3.5" AEV Premium Lift. Hands down, I'd do the AEV lift again in a heartbeat. It does everything I need it to off road, and my JK with 35s and a 3.5" lift handles better than stock on road.

 

I'm really looking more into 3 or 3.5 because i plan on putting on a new front bumper winch and a rear bumper as well. so at least i'm figuring with the 2.5 it would sag quite a bit right?
thanks for the info on the AEV brackets. does anyone else have any other opinions on this or anything?
thanks for the info aristrobrat. with spending that much on the AEV have you ever looked back on it and wished you sprung for a long arm? or got a different kit with short arms?

 

For the short arms, no. I haven't come across another kit where people swear by the on-road performance as well as the off-road.

For long arms, only after I watch one of Wayoflife's YouTube videos. But out here in VA, we don't have anything like the terrain in those videos.

I've only been wheeling about a year now. Next year or two, I may see the benefit of a long-arm. But right now, with the Uwharrie and Rausch Creek stuff I've done, my AEV short-arm has kicked ass, and I'm content. My biggest fear is building up something that kicks ass on the trail, but I end up hating driving around as my DD.

 

Get an OME HD 2" Lift. It's stated to be 2" but when you actually have it on you'll get 3-3.5" of lift. I have 35s on mine, I think it works well. I do get rubbing when I flex, but it doesn't bother me since I will be getting flat fenders.

If you have an auto and If you do anything more than 4" you'll run into driveshaft problems. Not good!

 

I got a 2.5" RC coilspring lift... im pleased with it but im wondering if i should change something for my brake flex lines... maybe longer ones? Just seems that with the axles lower the flex lines will be drawn together easier.. should I cahnge something?

 

hah. after spending about another 4 hours looking around on the forums today. i think i might actually go with the OME long travel kit. it looks to have a little more of what i want. but im actually kinda confused to be honest. how did you get 3 inches of lift with a winch and a heavy duty front bumper? always something thats confused me about lift height.

 

Adding bumpers and a winch will only cause you to lose about 1/4 to 1/2" of lift. A spacer will make up for that. If you want to stay inexpensive and something that requires little to no maintenance, stick with a 2.5" lift and maybe some flat flares. You can fit 35s and still do some wheeling with a leveling kit and flat fenders.

For fitting 35s and staying under $1000.00
Teraflex leveling kit and flat flares-good
Teraflex 2.5" budget boost- better
Teraflex 2.5" coil lift with shocks -best

Brand doesn't really matter, I just like teraflex.