Solid advice

 

Installing the grade 8 kit really did make a difference.

When I first installed my AEV 2.5 I replaced all stock hardware and didn't have to touch my steering. The steering wheel was perfectly straight.

After installing the grade 8 kit, the steering was off and I had to adjust the drag link. So that tiny bit of play that the stock hardware has really does make a difference!

 

Agree !!!!!!!!!

 

My 2009 jeep I installed a 4 inch Rancho lift it was just ok. My 2013 I went with a AEV 2.5 lift. I now have a much better ride then stock. Handle great on the highway. Worth every penny. I also went with M/T 33 inch.

 

Keep in mind. A 4 door is going to ride better than a 2 door with the same lift and weight.
I never buy into the "rides better or as good as stock" comments without looking into the details. Ie 2 door/4 door, actual height with weight, etc,

 

Thank You! I will definitely add this to my list.

 

Thanks for starting this thread! I'm in same boat but do some light trail stuff periodically. I'm looking at a Teraflex 2.5 Spacer lift with Rancho 9000xl's.

 

Nice setup. Only part I would avoid is the rear drop bracket for the track bar. Plus it's kind of a pain to drill and line up the holes. Choices are nothing, adjustable track bar or a axle bracket which is what I recommend.

 

I'm on my third lift since buying my Jeep this past summer. You'll find that people love what they spent their money on. Here is my experience:

1. Teraflex budget boost. Rode and drove so bad, I almost sold my Jeep. Started with Bilstein 5100s for shocks. Choose those if you need to dislodge kidney stones. Then I bought shock extensions and used sport shocks. Better ride, but still bad. Then I swapped in rubicon shocks. Better, but still bad.

2. OME with Nitrocharger Sport shocks and adjustable track bars. Also used AEV correction brackets. Much better. Only thing I would have changed was not going with the HD coils. My Jeep was too light.

3. Spent some time in a friends Jeep who had the AEV kit. It was OK. Definitely don't understand the love-fest for that kit.

As was already stated, you're unlikely to find something that rides as good as stock. I just spent $4k on my new lift and while I love it, it doesn't ride like my Jeep did stock.

 

That it is. If you're piecing something together and thinking about the MC springs, I would highly recommend their full set of arms as well to go along with it. The Duroflex bushings give you a huge improvement in ride versus most misalignment joints on the market. Your factory arms use rubber bushings. Going with a joint like a Johnny Joint or any other "hard" joint will transfer from road vibration into the equation. The way the Duroflex is made absorbs this and is a huge part of the equation when it translates to the way the MC kits ride. If you like other arms on the market, the Duroflex joints are available as separate components. I'm a big fan of the MC springs due to their length along with ride.

This, replacing the metric bolts with the standard ones which the holes are drilled out for firms things up and prevents the holes from getting wallowed out. You can also get these from just about any hardware store.