AEV 2.5" DualSport on Rubicon Diesel

[Free2roam]

Does anyone have this lift on a Sport S Ecodiesel?

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[Steven_B]

Does anyone have this lift on a Sport S Ecodiesel?

I do. started with the standard spring and later upgraded to the high capacity springs because of the added weight.

 

[Free2roam]

I do. started with the standard spring and later upgraded to the high capacity springs because of the added weight.

35 or 37 inch tires? How much weight do you usually carry on a daily? What's the offset on those wheels? Any other pics? Build out the inside?
Did you ever have the 33 inch take off Rubi tires on it with the lift?

 

[Blitzinger]

I plan on eventually getting the 2.5” lift. I wont do anything until tires wear out on my current set and they only have 800 miles on them.

That being said, I have the stock 33’s. With the 2.5” AEV lift I was thinking 35s is the go to but in here it seems 37’s is the norm. What trade offs are there to slapping on 35s on a gladiator with this lift compared to 37s?

 

[Free2roam]

I plan on eventually getting the 2.5” lift. I wont do anything until tires wear out on my current set and they only have 800 miles on them.

That being said, I have the stock 33’s. With the 2.5” AEV lift I was thinking 35s is the go to but in here it seems 37’s is the norm. What trade offs are there to slapping on 35s on a gladiator with this lift compared to 37s?

You've got 33's on the 2.5 lift from AEV? Pics please!

 

[ThePhotoBus]

You've got 33's on the 2.5 lift from AEV? Pics please!

Fyi - Just before the 37s we're put on...

 

[Free2roam]

Fyi - Just before the 37s we're put on...

Little small on the tires. But I've got a Sport S so it won't look like roller skates on a box.

 

[stewmaster]

@Steven_B
Could you share your wheel offset and if you have any spacers? I’ve got the same lift on the sport s diesel and want to make sure I don’t have rubbing when steering when I get 37’s. Im hoping to get a +0 to +25mm offset so I don’t have too much tire sticking out spraying rocks at my paint job ( and other’s windshields).
I used an online offset tool that says with 37x12.5 in. tires with 0mm offset the inner sidewall is a little more than an inch further away than my Rubi take offs which are at +44 mm offset.

Trying to make sure I get the right tires and wheels to keep from rubbing has made me wonder if I should’ve just got a Rubicon so the wider axles would alleviate this easily.

 

[Steven_B]

@Steven_B
Could you share your wheel offset and if you have any spacers? I’ve got the same lift on the sport s diesel and want to make sure I don’t have rubbing when steering when I get 37’s. Im hoping to get a +0 to +25mm offset so I don’t have too much tire sticking out spraying rocks at my paint job ( and other’s windshields).
I used an online offset tool that says with 37x12.5 in. tires with 0mm offset the inner sidewall is a little more than an inch further away than my Rubi take offs which are at +44 mm offset.

Trying to make sure I get the right tires and wheels to keep from rubbing has made me wonder if I should’ve just got a Rubicon so the wider axles would alleviate this easily.

No problem. No spacers and the wheels are 0 off0set. When I ordered them from Northridge, I first used the vehicle lookup on Method's website and ran with that part number. Let me know if you have any more questions. Cheers!

Link to the wheel on @Northridge4x4 - https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/...1-series-centerbore-wheel-17x8-5-8x6-5-bronze

 

[chorky]

I got mine installed in December. First impression is that the lift and 37s redeems the truck. It’s as straight forward as that.

There’s a video of Dave Harriton from AEV at SEMA a few years ago talking about how awful the stock gladiator suspension is. I can attest to that. My Eco-Diesel routinely bottomed out its suspension on the road! While waiting for tires, I installed a bumper and winch. The added weight actually seemed to suppress the hobby horse motion a little bit but of course exacerbated the bottoming out. From the day I bought the truck I always thought that the handling was sketchy. I’ve owned 5 Jeeps and this one shocked me at how bad its road manners were. Keeping it in a lane where they’re doing road construction and avoiding the Jersey wall was nerve racking. Off road it bounced all over the place and I was constantly smashing into things underneath on trails that 25 years ago my Nissan D21 had no problems with. That’s sad.

I’ll put it this way, my father has a visceral hatred of modified vehicles. He and I drove up to Overland Expo East and within about 20 miles on the interstate he declared that I needed to go ahead and install this lift to fix the truck regardless of when I could find tires because he could tell it was awful from the passenger seat.

Upon completing the lift install, I basically have a totally different vehicle. On road the truck is actually enjoyable to drive on curvy back country roads, damn near sporty. It stays in its lane on the interstate. It’s no longer sketchy or scary. It’s smoother and it’s actually quieter. I went from the stock Falken 33 m/ts to 37 BFG KM3s. I think they ride better and are quieter. Having Sound Assassin floor liners is a plus too with the M/T tires.

Off road, it drives much better, articulates better and reacts to off camber and uneven terrain better. It no longer does the hobby horse wobble after every bump. Wash board fire roads are definitely rougher.

My personal view, having owned a TJ with a 5.5 inch long arm suspension system to accommodate 35s, is that this is superior. You can only achieve correct geometry with long arm suspension or drop brackets. With all due respect, short arm suspension systems are often a downgrade from stock as they don’t correct geometry enough, and they are often inferior quality to the stock control arms. I had two LCAs from a major well known manufacturer on my TJ fail. They refused to warranty them for no stated reason. Plastic on metal or metal on metal heim joints transmit shock loads to your vehicle that damage the frame, axles and other components and they require routine maintenance or they will fail, often on the trail. I never took replacement joints with my TJ. After a few years I went to rebuild them and realized that they had all disintegrated despite routine greasing. That Jeep had one of the most popular lifts at the time and it was a constant nightmare.

Rubberized joints that are now becoming popular are an improvement but the idea that there’s something inherently wrong with the stock control arms and that they need to be replaced with aftermarket ones of similar length is mostly marketing bs. If you’re worried about strength you can carry spare lower control arms for a lot less than the price of the lift kits out there. Stock ones are fairly short and cost about $120. The drop brackets on this truck look to be about the same height as the rear LCA mounts. I think they’re fine. The caster is correct via the drop brackets so there is no need use adjustable threaded control arms that will eventually develop cancer and fail. Post-lift, pre-alignment, toe in was out less than a percent.

Jeep should be commended for making these trucks capable of running 37s without the extensive modifications the TJs and even JKs required. It’s left the aftermarket industry trying to justify $2500 - $5000 lift kits. I think for 37” tires and under this lift or ones like it is basically all you need including rocks. 37s are the new 35s and everyone’s eyeballing 40s or 42s.

If and when I go to 40s, along with Dynatrac axles, I will consider going aftermarket long arm suspension and then maybe go hog wild. Or maybe for that much money just buy a used buggy and tow it behind the Gladiator. For 37s and 35s I don’t think you’re going to reap any major benefits with a more complex lift and you will certainly have more problems with it.

Hype and nonsense has created the impression that the AEV lift in particular, isn’t really good for rock crawling, which goes hand in hand with the idea that you need to spend a lot more money and modify your vehicle a lot more. How convenient. For what a long wheelbase vehicle like this can actually get over on less than 40s, this is more than adequate.

I spent the last weekend on trails having less issues and navigating obstacles with less drama than other vehicles with bigger tires and more and more complex lifts. I never wanted for articulation going over the rocks and stair steps. For 95% of the off roading for
37s and less, this is all the lift you need. I’m going to take the money I saved not spending $2k more to get the same or even less lift and spend it on a diesel compatible full underbody skid from Next Venture Motorsports. I think that’s a much more useful investment than adjustable short arms or King coil-overs that will just rust out. I may spray paint my stock control arms gold so I can be cool.

I do think there are some characteristics and some minor issues with this lift and one of them actually addresses the articulation claim. This suspension is stiff. With a winch, winch bumper and Diamondback cover and a bed full of gear it’s still stiff. That’s great for overlanding. It means that a fully laden vehicle is still is well within the performance sweet spot of the suspension on and off road. It also means that it’s not as plush over obstacles especially when it’s minimally loaded. On the big rocks this didn’t translate to harshness. It crawled over big stuff fine. On washboard and cobble fire roads you will notice it. Maybe adjustable shocks would help that or you could just air down.

The second thing, and I think this is a legit gripe about this lift, is that the truck needs a longer front track bar. The stock track bar not only becomes a limiting factor for articulation but off road, drag link and track bar alignment becomes an issue and you begin to feel some minor bump steer. With more axle droop you also feel more driver side pulling than I’d like. This is to be expected with solid axle suspension but I think it’s excessive with this lift. In other words the off-center axle, some people have noticed looking at the truck in a driveway becomes more pronounced off road and it feeling like it pulls excessively. On road it’s very minimal which may be why AEV says an aftermarket track bar is unneeded.

I’ll let others debate whether AEV should have included an adjustable front track bar, but I’ll be giving Synergy some more money for a new drag link, track bar and track bar relocation bracket soon. Their steering box brace didn’t fit on the Eco-Diesel because of the frame reinforcements but they are working on an update to that.

I’ll also probably replace then rear sway bar. At the time, the Hellwig rear swaybar seemed like an unnecessary upsell, but after driving it off road I think it will help settle the rear end a little. It does feel weird going disconnect on the front and stiffer in the rear but pickups are different animals than wranglers and with gear in the back, I’d like to tame some side to side rocking.

I had no problems with the install. I used a calibrated impact wrench for the front LCA bolts that I know goes to 200 ft/lbs. I also didn’t torque the u-bolt on the rear axle. Based on the geometry of the bracket, bolt and nuts I tightened it to what felt reasonable. The install was otherwise uneventful beyond having to modify the OBDII port for the ProCal being goofy and it not working with the Uconnect with out several ignition cycles.

I chalked my tires and settled on 28 PSI cold. I may lower that a bit to closer to 28 warm in a few weeks. This last weekend I averaged 23 MPG by the computer running 76 MPH from the mountains back to the coast. That’s pretty good for a truck on 37inch mud tires and is covered in filth. I do notice a significant drop from the 30MPG I was getting above 62 MPH. Friction and wind resistance will eventually win out even against the diesel. I am seriously considering the GDE tune. I’m hoping it will improve engine braking off road and maybe bump the mileage back up a few points. I don’t like the off road cruise control and there seems to be no engine braking when I hold it in a lower gear. I have no complaints on power with the 37s and 3.73s and don’t feel the need to regear


Those are Borah beadlocks. I’ve written my view on those in another post

Those are adjustable nitrite-coated, flex joint short arm reindeer antlers.

This is a great review and discussion and hits on all of the topics that are contentious!

I am curious if you have the SD or HD springs and what your load out weight is.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

This is a great review and discussion and hits on all of the topics that are contentious!

I am curious if you have the SD or HD springs and what your load out weight is.

I upgraded to the 3.0 diesel springs, which are more like 4” springs. I’m not sure what my exact weight is, but I have a Diamondback HD, Front Runner rack, Awning, 2 Roam boxes, a fridge and lot of gear. With the upgraded springs, I got my rake back when loaded. I’ve been lectured elsewhere here about my claim of increasing the functional GVWR of the truck. I think folks miss some nuance here. GVWR is a factor of multiple things, but with some of the factors like brakes and frame there is a lot of headroom because of the towing requirements. Tires and track are a limiting factor. Obviously going to 37s on wider rims completely changed that specific dynamic. Cooling is a consideration, but I’ve never had issues with that on the diesel. Springs are the remaining major limiting factor and stock spring selection is a compromise based on average load and comfort. The point is that improving the limiting factor of the suspension gains you more leeway when carrying gear. It doesn’t magically change the specs or DOT classification of the truck but regardless of the GVWR I can tell you that the stock truck would be dangerous with the kind of stuff most overlanders are carrying.

Personally, the handling of my unloaded stock diesel was scary bad, verging on dangerous. My stock suspension routinely bottomed out on road with no load. No one can tell me suspension improvements can’t improve the safety and capacity of the vehicle. I can’t imagine throwing on an RSI, RTT, a bed full of camping gear, and two passengers on the stock truck. Lift the truck with overlanding-geared springs and it regains its on road composure. If someone claims that this change isn’t real than Earthroamers or other conversions shouldn’t be legal, and most overlander’s rigs shouldn’t be on the road.

With no load the heavier springs are definitely harsher and I feel like the Bilsteins are a little under damped now but it’s not a deal breaker for me. However, with all my gear, the trucks handling on-road is vasty improved over the 2.5 springs. People should use common sense when loading their vehicle. I find that emergency handling is excellent on the loaded truck with these springs. The brakes are still stronger and stop the truck more effectively than any previous Jeep I’ve owned. To me this goes a long way. I also highly recommend a stronger rear anti swaybar like the Hellwig. After driving the truck loaded with this configuration, I’m not concerned with the weight and I highly recommend the 3.0 springs for overlanding. You may feel you need more damping. So far the Front Runner, custom awning mounts, and DB HD are holding up with all the gear off road. I routinely check the beadlocks and suspension bolts and haven’t noticed any loosening. Obviously, with additional weight, the wear factor on the D44s is higher as is the likelihood of breaking something.

Keep this in mind if you upgrade. You have to treat this as a new install in the sense that you have to reindex the control arms base position. You need to loosen all of the control arms and retorque them. So it’s involved. Also I recommend getting a torque multiplier to properly torque them. A trusted (certified) impact will work too(I’ve never seen a shop use a torque wrench on control arms). But if you want to torque with a 1/2 inch torque wrench get a good multiplier.

 

[Free2roam]

Does anyone have any information on what AEV spring rates are? They don't publish that info. Unlike Clayton.

 

[chorky]

Does anyone have any information on what AEV spring rates are? They don't publish that info. Unlike Clayton.

unfortunately they dont share that info. But I did get recently and confirmed it the other day

SD (non diesel) springs rated to handle 0-400 pounds over GVWR

HD springs rated to handle up to 700 pounds over GVWR

 

[Free2roam]

unfortunately they dont share that info. But I did get recently and confirmed it the other day

SD (non diesel) springs rated to handle 0-400 pounds over GVWR

HD springs rated to handle up to 700 pounds over GVWR

Yeah that info is on their website. I got off the phone with them and tried to make a convincing argument why it should be published.

 

[stewmaster]

You've got 33's on the 2.5 lift from AEV? Pics please!

Here is my Sport S Diesel with the lift on 33’s. I think the picture does it justice, but I want to be clear I really don’t like how it looks with tires this small. My original plan was to keep these until the tread wore out. I’m throwing that plan out the window, I can’t take it anymore!

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