Ohio Nothing to see here. Posted in wrong section.

[Maddaw]

I just want to start this by letting you know this is my first Jeep and also first offroad build. The build is mainly for daily and overlanding. I will be taking it to Moab in November on mostly easy trails and maybe a couple moderate ones.
I knew I wanted 35s and did not want 3" of tire outside the fenders. This is where my lift issues start. I went with the AEV Savegre II wheels and 35" Falken MTs. To give some clearance up front I just installed a Teraflex 1.5 level spacer and no rubbing at all on road. Now that I am looking at the clearance to the fender 4", it just does not seem to leave enough space for flex so I am now looking for a 2.5" lift with adjustable control arms and track bar. I would love to go with a 3.5" lift but the wife is already struggling to get in and out.

The issue is that the AEV wheels have a 5.7" BS and from what I have found on most lifts, they want 4.5" or less.

So my question is, what is the actual part that rubs or inteferes and causes the issue with the BS? MC 2.5" appears to have an issue with the lower shock mount being offset, other lifts have indicated sway bar link rubbing or LCAs. I have a sport s so I am thinking the sway bar issue should not matter since I would be disconnecting and strapping them up. I can't figure out how AEV can offer a 2" spacer lift engineered for their wheels and not have any rubbing issues.

Just need some options because I really like the wheels and the fact that they are tucked in. Open to a mixed bag of parts if I have to. For instance would the MC 2.5 lift work without using the offset shock brackets, will the Clayton lift rub the LCAs, and then just substitute those parts with something that will work. If not rubbing now, would the mopar lift work even though I would prefer adjustable arms?I am going out of my mind looking through lift threads hoping to find something about lifts with AEV wheels but have not found anything. Here's to saving my fenders.

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[sgtkersh]

I think both the LCAs and your sway bar links are at risk of rubbing. The other problem you have with your fenders is if you didn‘t install larger bump stops with the spacer lift, that big tire will exceed your current bump stop and jam up into the fender when it is pushed up. Your stock bump stop is for stock height and really in place to keep stock wheel/tire combos from hitting the fender.

I see you have a steel bumper so one thing you could try is lift that bumper up (be safe about it!) and turn the wheels full stop each direction and see where you might have rubbing problems.

If you do have rubbing problems, really I think the only thing you can do is move those wheels out. You don’t have to replace the wheels, but you could use the smallest amount of wheel spacer to move them from rubbing and not have 3” of tire sticking out. I

 

[Maddaw]

Thank you for the reply. I did install bump stop extensions with the spacer kit. Although I have not tested to see if they are adequate, guessing they are not.

I did install a steel bumper and skid plate. The problem is that they are connected and angled so I really only have the shackle locations as jack points on the bumper. I think I could jack the frame on each side and accomplish the same thing though. That would at least test the on the road rubbing issues but not any issues at full flex. Not sure how safe it will be to disconnect the sway bars and jack one side of the axel to full flex but I may give it a try. Or find a tree stump to climb slowly and cross my fingers.

As much as I love the wheels, I would rather sell them and buy something else before putting on wheel spacers. I am thinking my best option right now is to call AEV and see what they recommend. I mean their 2.5 dual sport is offered for the JL which is a really similar front end so there has to be a way for the wheels to work. I know the back half of that lift will not work for the JT. Plus it may require high line fenders or inner liner removal but I would think they should have a suggestion.
Just wishing I would have looked more into lift kits before purchasing wheels. I guess this happens when building in small stages though.

 

[Gator sport s]

I just want to start this by letting you know this is my first Jeep and also first offroad build. The build is mainly for daily and overlanding. I will be taking it to Moab in November on mostly easy trails and maybe a couple moderate ones.
I knew I wanted 35s and did not want 3" of tire outside the fenders. This is where my lift issues start. I went with the AEV Savegre II wheels and 35" Falken MTs. To give some clearance up front I just installed a Teraflex 1.5 level spacer and no rubbing at all on road. Now that I am looking at the clearance to the fender 4", it just does not seem to leave enough space for flex so I am now looking for a 2.5" lift with adjustable control arms and track bar. I would love to go with a 3.5" lift but the wife is already struggling to get in and out.

The issue is that the AEV wheels have a 5.7" BS and from what I have found on most lifts, they want 4.5" or less.

So my question is, what is the actual part that rubs or inteferes and causes the issue with the BS? MC 2.5" appears to have an issue with the lower shock mount being offset, other lifts have indicated sway bar link rubbing or LCAs. I have a sport s so I am thinking the sway bar issue should not matter since I would be disconnecting and strapping them up. I can't figure out how AEV can offer a 2" spacer lift engineered for their wheels and not have any rubbing issues.

Just need some options because I really like the wheels and the fact that they are tucked in. Open to a mixed bag of parts if I have to. For instance would the MC 2.5 lift work without using the offset shock brackets, will the Clayton lift rub the LCAs, and then just substitute those parts with something that will work. If not rubbing now, would the mopar lift work even though I would prefer adjustable arms?I am going out of my mind looking through lift threads hoping to find something about lifts with AEV wheels but have not found anything. Here's to saving my fenders.

 

[Gator sport s]

I'm looking at the getting these wheels. But, I don't want to run into the same issue. We're you able to find a solution?

 

[Maddaw]

I'm looking at the getting these wheels. But, I don't want to run into the same issue. We're you able to find a solution?

The short answer is that the AEV wheels are perfectly fine if you only plan on using the AEV 2.5 DS lift with factory control arms. The AEV wheels limit your options to lift kits that use factory LCA's and no outboard shock mounts.

Longer answer...
There are 3 solutions. Buy different wheels, buy 1.75" wheel spacer kit, or buy the AEV 2.5" dual sport lift (on order).

Word on the street is that the AEV wheels on max tow axles only have minimal rubbing on the aftermarket LCA's. Apparantly that extra .5 inches makes a difference. ? After I called her a liar. Smh

I am going with option 3 because 90% on road driving and the 10% offroad will mainly be forest roads and getting to a lake. An occasional trip to Moab doesn't justify a hard core lift for me. I don't have a need for 30" of suspension travel.

If you are looking for flex numbers and building a rock crawler or brodozer, you want different wheels.

My plan for the future is to buy a full set of adjustable control arms knowing that I will have rubbing issues. I will address it by installing 1.75" wheel spacers if needed. I will try it without wheels spacers first to see what happens. Worst case I rub a tire on the LCA, tear the side wall, and the truck burns to the ground.

Something else to consider is that I think the rubbing shows up at full droop/stuff and/or full lock. So you might have problems getting into a parking spot or in that one spot on the trail. This is why I am going to try it without spacers first. Just might be a while for control arms to get back into the budget.

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