23 Gladiator Lift & Tires

[JGR_Paris]

Good afternoon all. I'm new here, so please have patience with me. I have a 2023 Gladiator Rubicon with the diesel. I've been looking at lift kits and am down to either the 2.5" AEV or the dual rate metalcloak 2.5" kit. Anyone have any thoughts about those kits? I'm leaning towards metalcloak due to it coming with the front and rear track bars.

My next question is, tires. I currently have the stock Falken Wildpeak 285/70/17 All Terrains on now with the stock wheels. Once I do a lift, my plan is to have Falken Wildpeak 35x11.50/17 put on the stock wheels. If I go with those tires and either one of the above mentioned lifts, will I need wheel spacers? I was not wanting the tires sticking outside of the fenders much because that is harder on suspension components and also throws more rocks and stuff at the body of the truck. Any thoughts or help anyone can offer I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

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[Josh00333]

Both good kits, I have the Aev and am a fan.

Metal will be a great kit, but you’ll also need shocks.

Aev is a “better” driving like factory kit. You could add adj tracks if you want prices would be similar. Honestly w 2.5” your have to break out a tape measure to tell they are not centered.

I went Aev for road handling payload and keeping the towing capability.

If I was a 100% rock crawler I would go Metal.

No you will not need spacers or anything with the 35x11.5’s

Great set up! See my built link for pics of the same.

 

[JGR_Paris]

Both good kits, I have the Aev and am a fan.

Metal will be a great kit, but you’ll also need shocks.

Aev is a “better” driving like factory kit. You could add adj tracks if you want prices would be similar. Honestly w 2.5” your have to break out a tape measure to tell they are not centered.

I went Aev for road handling payload and keeping the towing capability.

If I was a 100% rock crawler I would go Metal.

No you will not need spacers or anything with the 35x11.5’s

Great set up! See my built link for pics of the same.

Thanks for your reply! I appreciate the information. Being new, I'm not finding the link with the pictures of your rig. Can you help me with finding that? I'd like to see those tires and how they look. Thanks.

 

[Josh00333]

Thanks for your reply! I appreciate the information. Being new, I'm not finding the link with the pictures of your rig. Can you help me with finding that? I'd like to see those tires and how they look. Thanks.

Here ya go

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/joshs-rig-oscar.47649/

 

[Reddog]

Good afternoon all. I'm new here, so please have patience with me. I have a 2023 Gladiator Rubicon with the diesel. I've been looking at lift kits and am down to either the 2.5" AEV or the dual rate metalcloak 2.5" kit. Anyone have any thoughts about those kits? I'm leaning towards metalcloak due to it coming with the front and rear track bars.

My next question is, tires. I currently have the stock Falken Wildpeak 285/70/17 All Terrains on now with the stock wheels. Once I do a lift, my plan is to have Falken Wildpeak 35x11.50/17 put on the stock wheels. If I go with those tires and either one of the above mentioned lifts, will I need wheel spacers? I was not wanting the tires sticking outside of the fenders much because that is harder on suspension components and also throws more rocks and stuff at the body of the truck. Any thoughts or help anyone can offer I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

Somewhat depends on what you are going to do with it. If no rock crawling then you can get by without any lift if you want pretty much. I have an AEV lift kit with AEV wheels and 37's. Like them very much. I don't rock crawl at all but do overland in many different conditions, some very harsh, and no complaints. I found the AEV lift ended up a little higher than I intended but it works well for my needs. I'm 6'2" so getting in and out isn't a big deal. As to the wheels, I chose the AEV Salta wheels because I did not want the tires and wheels to stick out from the fenders and wanted to keep them as close to stock offset as reasonable to extend the life of the ball joints, bearings, etc. I have a stock steel bumper with end caps attached and the tires have never rubbed. And I wanted to hold the mud slinging on the side of the JT to a minimum. Can't speak to the Metalcloak as I have never used them. Good luck to you.

 

[JGR_Paris]

Somewhat depends on what you are going to do with it. If no rock crawling then you can get by without any lift if you want pretty much. I have an AEV lift kit with AEV wheels and 37's. Like them very much. I don't rock crawl at all but do overland in many different conditions, some very harsh, and no complaints. I found the AEV lift ended up a little higher than I intended but it works well for my needs. I'm 6'2" so getting in and out isn't a big deal. As to the wheels, I chose the AEV Salta wheels because I did not want the tires and wheels to stick out from the fenders and wanted to keep them as close to stock offset as reasonable to extend the life of the ball joints, bearings, etc. I have a stock steel bumper with end caps attached and the tires have never rubbed. And I wanted to hold the mud slinging on the side of the JT to a minimum. Can't speak to the Metalcloak as I have never used them. Good luck to you.

Thanks a lot for your input and information. I am hearing that the AEV lift is higher than 2.5" from quite a few people. I really would like a true 2" lift, but haven't really found one that is much of a complete kit. I don't do rock crawling, but mostly overland/trails with some mud. I wanted to leave the stock tires on after the lift, but I'm guessing they'll look goofy and tiny.

 

[Gvsukids]

I really would like a true 2" lift, but haven't really found one that is much of a complete kit.

Mopar makes one.

 

[JGR_Paris]

Mopar makes one.

I have checked out the Mopar one and by the time I buy the rest of the needed items to make it a complete kit and to be done right, I would have more into it than an AEV kit, which is complete, except for front and rear track bars.

 

[Pilsner]

I am fan of MC. They make good gear and I have not been disappointed.

 

[HorneyBadger]

Rubicon 33's on a 2" lift doesnt look bad. Wear out the 33's first. Why spend $1500 to get 1 more inch of ground clearance at this stage. Pic of my Sarge with AEV and stock 33's and buddies Mopar lift and 35's.

 

[JGR_Paris]

Rubicon 33's on a 2" lift doesnt look bad. Wear out the 33's first. Why spend $1500 to get 1 more inch of ground clearance at this stage. Pic of my Sarge with AEV and stock 33's and buddies Mopar lift and 35's.

They both look great! Thanks for sharing the pictures! The stock 33's don't look bad at all! How do you like your AEV lift? Did you add front and rear track bars or anything else to it? Which shocks did your kit come with? Does it ride better than stock? Steering wobble or issues of that nature? Sorry for all the questions. Lol.

 

[HorneyBadger]

After going through multiple jeep lifts over the years including my first JT Overland I decided just to go with the AEV spacer lift as it is more than capable on most trails without having to deal with any of the hardships of a lift( adj track bars, adj LCA's to fix caster, steering issues.... etc). I have no issues and rides like factory. And I do a lot of off roading with the black Rubi in the pics. Unless you are going big (3"+ lift and 37"+ meat), the money saved with an AEV spacer lift can go towards the Harley

 

[whysoserious]

Good afternoon all. I'm new here, so please have patience with me. I have a 2023 Gladiator Rubicon with the diesel. I've been looking at lift kits and am down to either the 2.5" AEV or the dual rate metalcloak 2.5" kit. Anyone have any thoughts about those kits? I'm leaning towards metalcloak due to it coming with the front and rear track bars.

My next question is, tires. I currently have the stock Falken Wildpeak 285/70/17 All Terrains on now with the stock wheels. Once I do a lift, my plan is to have Falken Wildpeak 35x11.50/17 put on the stock wheels. If I go with those tires and either one of the above mentioned lifts, will I need wheel spacers? I was not wanting the tires sticking outside of the fenders much because that is harder on suspension components and also throws more rocks and stuff at the body of the truck. Any thoughts or help anyone can offer I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

You don't necessarily need new shocks with the MC suspension. They offer shock extensions so you can keep your stock shocks should you choose to. Here's a visualizer of the two tires on Rubicon wheels, provided Rubicon wheels are still +44 offset. You can play around with it if you want...

Wheel Offset Calculator (tiresize.com)

 

[JGR_Paris]

After going through multiple jeep lifts over the years including my first JT Overland I decided just to go with the AEV spacer lift as it is more than capable on most trails without having to deal with any of the hardships of a lift( adj track bars, adj LCA's to fix caster, steering issues.... etc). I have no issues and rides like factory. And I do a lot of off roading with the black Rubi in the pics. Unless you are going big (3"+ lift and 37"+ meat), the money saved with an AEV spacer lift can go towards the Harley

So, your lift on the sarge is an AEV spacer lift? If I'm understanding correctly, you didn't install front and rear track bars, control arms/relocation brackets, steering stabilizer/shock? And it rides like factory?

 

[Bjeepz]

Sell the factory tires sooner than later to get the most return on them to add $$ to the new tires! 33's in the real world are going to look somewhat small on a 2-3 inch lift. You could run 37's with a 2 inch lift and basic bump stops! But 35's is the sweet spot for daily and modest trail use in my experience.

I think Clayton does a 1.5 inch lift that will net your more like 2 inches with a bit of extra weight... You don't need all new arms at that height, just add some Mopar lower front control arms to help with Caster. You can decide after if you 'need' a front track bar, in the rear a lot of ppl just run a bracket.

Don't rush! Keep driving yourself nuts with the plan until you feel sure of it, then wait a wee bit more so you do it the way you want it the 1st time.

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