So guys I'm looking into the Teraflex outback lift kit, the OME 4" lift, and the AEV 3.5" lift. Anyone have these lifts???

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Most JK over landers find that 35" tires are more than enough for most obstacles encountered. A common lift height for 35's is a 3" or 3.5" lift. Any higher and you'll experience reduced fuel economy, unstable handling, and drivetrain issues. IMO, go with a reputable brand such as Teraflex, AEV (as you mentioned), Metalcloak, Rock Krawler, and Synergy. Most people never have any issues with those companies. If you want the jeep to ride well, you need to invest in high quality parts. In summary, take the time to really read Dirtman's thread and you will learn everything you ever wanted to know about lifts. By the way, I have a 3" Teraflex and love it. No problems whatsoever. It was incomplete however, so I have been slowly replacing factory parts after the "Kit" was installed.

 

Don't really need much more than a 2.5"-3" of lift for overlanding unless you plan on running tires larger than 35" or just want the look of a taller lift. Even at 2.5"-3" with the addition of flat fenders you can easily fit 37" tires if the need arises. Once you go much over 3" you are going to have to add at least a front drive shaft to your build list and fair number of other goodies not included in the lift kits.

Between the brands you listed TF has the best balance of on road and off road performance in their lifts followed closely by AEV IMO. I run a 2.5" (3" real world) RK system and 35" tires on our overland style JKU. If I had to do it over again I would go with TF. The RK system is overkill for an overlanding Jeep.

 

I'm looking at Teraflex too. Pls be specific Y you felt it was incomplete. What else did u or planning to replace???

 

The TeraFlex OverLand kit looks complete, lower front & rear control arms; upper rear control arms; front track bar; rear track bar bracket on axel; front & rear sway links; brake line drops. Limit straps are nice. Some question the speed bumps though. Springs are set for a heavy rig: no weight means a rough ride.

Add diff covers, control arm skids and C gussets and your set. Don't forget rock rails.

 

If it's a daily driver --
A suspension which is soft enough for DD, may be too soft when the Jeep is heavily loaded, and too hard for DD if set up for heavy load.
Adjustable shocks, such as the Fox, will allow you to adjust the shocks and enjoy a better ride in both situations.

 

I have a 3" teraflex lift with the TF rear shocks and I love it. im running 35 pro comp xtremes. just replaced factory ball joints with synergy joints and next is c gussets and dif cover and control arm skids. now remember lifts are only for fitting bigger tires. bigger tires means more ground clearance which is what I always have as my priority. dirtman taught me this valuable lesson. I heard rock crawler and rubicon express are pretty good believe it or not. now I may be wrong but this is what I found to be the best information. oh and teraflex steering stabilizer is great only 54 bucks!

 

If you're overlanding you'll find the springs included with most lift kits wholly inadequate for the usage, compressing down to stock height with loading. I run OME 300# front/ 600# rear springs with what began as a Teraflex 2.5" lift kit, now mostly gutted. Teraflex's Outack Lift was not available at the time. I know have quite a few Synergy components, where the cheaper Teraflex parts were found to be inadequate, such as the front and rear track bar mounts.

 

I would do OME lift and long travel shocks if overlanding, along with adjustable front and rear track bars. As others have keep it as close to 3" or 2.5" and should do just fine. If you go over parts add up quickly! Lower control arms, front drive shaft, sleeves and gussets!

 

Really depends on how you are going to equip your JKU. I installed the first July the AEV 2.5" DualSport XT Suspension with AEV Geometry Correction Front Control Arm Drop Brackets and Spidertrax Black 1.5” Spacers with Factory Willys Wheeler 17” Wheels and Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac 315/70/R17 Tires. I gained 3.5" from my factory Willys/Rubicon Suspension. That is with ARB Deluxe Front Bull Bumper and Smittybilt X2O-10K Waterproof Synthetic Rope Winch which weigh over 180lbs. The rear I have ARB Rear Bumper with Tire Carrier and tire/wheel and weigh over 195lbs. My suspension has not sag and almost level. I use it as a DD and driven over 2000 miles and the AEV Suspension and tires handles and rides great. You see a lot of positive feedback on AEV and the reason I went with AEV because of the heavy bumpers I installed on my JKU. Watch YouTube Video on how JKU handles with AEV 3.5 Lift and 35s on a road track - https://youtu.be/HbKniB2gkl8