Hello all, im new to the forum. I have a 2012 jk unlimited and I am gonna put a suspension lift on in the next week or so. Im wanting to run 35 inch tires, so I figure a 3 inch is good. Ive been talking to the shops around here and they are all trying to get me into an AEV lift. They are nice but pricey. I have a BDS on my other TJ and its nice, but not sure if I want one on the new JK. Any recommendations will be great. I plan to use the jk as a daily driver, and wheel it good afew times a month.

 

Aev........

 

Overpriced...

 

depending on your budget I would go with the Metal cloak gamechanger or gamechanger lite you can't beat the amount of travel with a spring and shock setup plus their kits are also upgradeable.

 

Rock Krawler

 

If AEV is too pricey, then metal cloak will be too, and probably rock krawler as well. Take a look at the full traction 3" economy plus kit. It is $600 list and comes with coils, quick disco links, adj front track bar, extended bump stops and brake lines. Add some billstein 5100 and an adj rear track bar and you have a very capable lift that rides very well on road for less than $1k. I ran this setup on my 12 jkur and it was great. My wheelin buddy ran it on his 11 jkur and now on his 12 jk. They stand by their products as well

 

I guess the next question what is your budget. Keep in mind, in some ways you get what you pay for.

 

for me it came down to the Rock Krawler and Metal Cloak lifts.. I wound up with a good deal from a member here on a RK stock mod but I'll probably be adding the MC upper control arms. Shocks have a lot to do with the overall feel and I'm leaning Old Man Emu over the more popular Bilsteins because they are a bit softer and most of my driving is (unfortunately) on pavement.

It's a personal preference really.. my main thing against the AEV lift was that for the price, didn't include adjustable control arms (although some/all kits do include shocks). They do sell brackets for the LCAs but I felt it would reduce clearance.

For a much cheaper option (and what i'm running now), you could run a leveling kit, trim your flares and run 35s. It's a great setup until you're ready to do a full lift and you can get a used leveling kit for $100.

 

But worth every penny if its a DD and you have the money. But if you wheel then there are others that are better suited for that.

 

I have the money for the AEV lift, but since it doesnt come with control arms it does seem pricey. Im trying to stay less yhan 2k installed. But I can spend more if necessary. I just want the best bang for my buck. There are so....many lifts out im just overwhelmed.