AEV 2.5 DUAL SPORT XP

[Kmcoop7]

My question her is specifically related to the AEV 2.5 Dualsport XP lift. This lift come with Bilstein 8100 2.6" shock bodies with remote reservoir

We just purchased a 2023 Gladiator Rubicon Diesel in Earl Gray. We scored a really good deal (20% off msrp) and the recall fuel pump went in yesterday.

This will be my wifes truck and probably our adventure/camp/hunt/wander rig. We are going to order an AT Overland habitat and run 35" tires but other than that added weight will be minimal.

Use case is: Commute is short and sweet we dont care how it rides around town. Highway is frequent and long and windy and rainy or snowy (MT, WY, ID). When weather is not bad we usually run at about 85-90mph so high speed stability is key as is smooth damping and limiting roll (body roll sucks on icy roads). Off road is mostly hauling fast on rough dirt road/forrest service trails, lots of baby head rocks, sharp square edges, roots, water holes, all around rough at 20-60mph. If it gets rougher i usually go faster to get where we are going

I have lots of experience with lifted trucks, fzj80 land cruiser, tundra, eam 1500/2500/3500. More often than no franken.lift has made me most happy with how i use my trucks BUT.......this isnt my truck. I want it to kick a$$ out of the box for my wife. Fiddling stresses her out and i dont really have time to fiddle any more. I dont want more than 2.5 lift as we will likely never run 37s. I dont want adjustable control arms i want drop brackets for control arm and track bar. I want her to be comforable safe and me to be able to haul on rough roads. I know i could get it better than this kit mucking around with different springs and accutune for 6 months, but really how much better. The few reviews i have read on the 8100's have been really good (Tree on 392 forum who has been on forums for ever and seems like the worlds nicest human). I think this lift will get me 90% there?

Thanks in advance

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[Zachanadandy]

I've never run that kit, but can attest to the high speed bump handling improvements gained by the control arm drop brackets. I would add an adjustable track bar to the front but otherwise the kit looks pretty complete for your use.

 

[chorky]

My question her is specifically related to the AEV 2.5 Dualsport XP lift. This lift come with Bilstein 8100 2.6" shock bodies with remote reservoir

We just purchased a 2023 Gladiator Rubicon Diesel in Earl Gray. We scored a really good deal (20% off msrp) and the recall fuel pump went in yesterday.

This will be my wifes truck and probably our adventure/camp/hunt/wander rig. We are going to order an AT Overland habitat and run 35" tires but other than that added weight will be minimal.

Use case is: Commute is short and sweet we dont care how it rides around town. Highway is frequent and long and windy and rainy or snowy (MT, WY, ID). When weather is not bad we usually run at about 85-90mph so high speed stability is key as is smooth damping and limiting roll (body roll sucks on icy roads). Off road is mostly hauling fast on rough dirt road/forrest service trails, lots of baby head rocks, sharp square edges, roots, water holes, all around rough at 20-60mph. If it gets rougher i usually go faster to get where we are going

I have lots of experience with lifted trucks, fzj80 land cruiser, tundra, eam 1500/2500/3500. More often than no franken.lift has made me most happy with how i use my trucks BUT.......this isnt my truck. I want it to kick a$$ out of the box for my wife. Fiddling stresses her out and i dont really have time to fiddle any more. I dont want more than 2.5 lift as we will likely never run 37s. I dont want adjustable control arms i want drop brackets for control arm and track bar. I want her to be comforable safe and me to be able to haul on rough roads. I know i could get it better than this kit mucking around with different springs and accutune for 6 months, but really how much better. The few reviews i have read on the 8100's have been really good (Tree on 392 forum who has been on forums for ever and seems like the worlds nicest human). I think this lift will get me 90% there?

Thanks in advance

Question - you mention MT. Where are you at? You're welcome to head out my way, western MT, and we can go for a ride in mine so you can get some first hand experience. It's loaded down so it would be more realistic than driving a AEV at the dealer unloaded.

I have the Dual Sport (gasser engine) for my Gladiator - and the standard shocks/springs, so the grey springs with the monotube shock. By weight I should run the blue HD springs and the remote reservoir shocks.

I absolutely love the way this lift rides. Theres more info on my build thread if you want to see details, and I have a thread specific to the AEV lift on here somewhere. But the short end of the story is I love it. It is exactly what I wanted from a lift. A little higher but not excessive, retain excellent on road characteristics, smoothen out the ride off highway, and work for the 10% chance I am truly on a 4x4/locker required trail. It retains the factory bushings which, by experience of my TJ, is exactly what I wanted. NVH is no more than stock, unlike some other options. The only thing I have had as a negative so far is when getting really flexy, because of the factory bushings, it can start to squeak pretty bad. But that was just while off road and seriously stressing the rubber. Once back on a normal dirt road, it's quiet as ever. Bushings are easy to replace anyway.

Speaking of weights - I am heavy, and still have the SD springs. I would suggest you consider the SD springs first and if you need to spring up to the HD's you can and that is a fairly simple swap, so a little tinkering but not by any means significant. I only say that because you might be right in the middle between the two. But for me I am also running TeraFlex progressive bump stops. I chose this purposefully because I know I am heavy and sometimes do bottom out, but the progressive bump stops act as a hybrid between a normal bump stop and a full on hydro/air/oil bump stop.

To add to the lift, I chose to use steer smarts front and rear track bar (their standard one which again utilizes factory bushings for minimum NVH), and steer smarts sector shaft brace (without the bearing) just to beefed up the steering, and TeraFlex rear control arm relocation brackets (just to aid the rear pinyon angle). it all works flawless. Zero issues. My opinion is this setup meets 95% of what people really need. Fancy setups are cool, but not everybody is doing hard core off road all the time. This, for me and the economics in this area, was half the cost of going a full Clayton, or Metalcloak, etc... I did not want new control arms, so AEV fit the bill perfectly.

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