A lift that rides better than stock...truth or fiction??

[Wendy.HemiDreams]

My AEV 2.5 handles better than stock for sure. It's competent off road, but takes exit ramps fast enough that I can shake the GTI that flew up on me before he realizes I accelerated through a turn in a lifted jeep - I can't ask for anymore than that.

Awesome! You can beat 'em off the line and run 'em over when you come back.

 

[Wendy.HemiDreams]

Went to the dealership and they had a JKU with a 2.5 lift and 35's. Loved it. So, 35's it is! :thumb::clap2:

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

My AEV 2.5 handles better than stock for sure. It's competent off road, but takes exit ramps fast enough that I can shake the GTI that flew up on me before he realizes I accelerated through a turn in a lifted jeep - I can't ask for anymore than that.

Handling and ride at two different things. My AEV 2.5 does indeed handle well, and people are amazed at what I can do in my steel covered Jeep in the twisties, but ride wise, it isn't as good as stock.

 

[wayoflife]

I doubt you'll find one that rides better than stock.

LOL!! Speak for yourself. I have NEVER found the stock ride to be anything to write home about in the first place and it is of my opinion that you can DEFINITELY dial in your suspension to ride BETTER than stock. But then, I'm new to all this Jeep stuff - what do I know. :crazyeyes:

 

[wayoflife]

Handling and ride at two different things. My AEV 2.5 does indeed handle well, and people are amazed at what I can do in my steel covered Jeep in the twisties, but ride wise, it isn't as good as stock.

This ^^^ "Handling" and "ride" ARE two completely different things. It has been my experience that the AEV kits "handle" better than stock but ride like crap. But then, ride quality is 100% subjective and this is just my opinion.

 

[JKWrang]

Like has been said over and over - this is a loaded question: lots of people have vastly different opinions on the exact same lift for just as widely varied reasons. I like the ride on my Teraflex lift - handling wise I could absolutely use front lower CAs. Of course if I had an EVO lift im sure I'd love that too. I just love my jeep. Ride someone's lifted jeep and assess for yourself the ride quality and go from there.

 

[jman_12]

I would recommend doing research on your own and riding in others lifted jeeps to see which you like batter. No stock jeep will ride the same, so you need to consider the benefits of driving a lifted jeep.

 

[wayoflife]

Like has been said over and over - this is a loaded question: lots of people have vastly different opinions on the exact same lift for just as widely varied reasons.

To be fair, the OP was only asking about "stock" ride vs. "lifted" ride and whether the later can actually be "better". There is nothing loaded about it and it is something you can test out at most dealerships as most will have lifted JK's available for sale.

No stock jeep will ride the same, so you need to consider the benefits of driving a lifted jeep.

Not exactly true. A stock 4-door Rubicon WILL ride the same as another stock 4-door Rubicon. Where you will feel a difference is between a stock 4-door Rubicon and a stock 4-door Sahara or Sport as they run softer coils and shocks. Of course, it would be unfair to compare a 4-door with a 2-door as well. However, doing an apples to apples comparison, you WILL get the same ride.

 

[ERAUGrad04]

This ^^^ "Handling" and "ride" ARE two completely different things. It has been my experience that the AEV kits "handle" better than stock but ride like crap. But then, ride quality is 100% subjective and this is just my opinion.

100% agree! I have a 3.5" AEV lift with the reservoir Bilstiens and it handles great. Very little body roll, high speed maneuvering is very stable. However, the ride is very stiff. If I get on a stretch of rough highway, it will beat you up over a period of time.

 

[JKWrang]

Wouldn't that still be wicked subjective though? Like you said - you never thought the stock ride was anything spectacular and some folks think it's uhhhhhh-mazing

 

[wayoflife]

Wouldn't that still be wicked subjective though? Like you said - you never thought the stock ride was anything spectacular and some folks think it's uhhhhhh-mazing

LOL! That's because folks who think that have never ridden in anything that IS actually better than what they have. You can't know what's good or what isn't if you've never ridden in anything other than what you have. Of course, that is just my opinion.

 

[JKWrang]

I agree!!

 

[Wendy.HemiDreams]

LOL!! Speak for yourself. I have NEVER found the stock ride to be anything to write home about in the first place and it is of my opinion that you can DEFINITELY dial in your suspension to ride BETTER than stock. But then, I'm new to all this Jeep stuff - what do I know. :crazyeyes:

Very Funny..."newbie"...Lol.

I guess I need to clarify. For myself, handling is the most important. The ride is secondary. I want tight steering and relatively little body roll. It's just the nature of the beast that the ride will be stiff, but I don't want to get beat up during the trip. I fully understand that I'm driving a lifted Wrangler. Like I said, I've owned 7 of them and only one was stock height.

You are all correct that I need to find someone that has a JK with the lift and handling I'm looking for. I also need a good and experienced shop to install it. Modesto Jeep will order the my JK and send it out to have the lift that I choose installed.

 

[07JKSahara]

Very Funny..."newbie"...Lol.

I guess I need to clarify. For myself, handling is the most important. The ride is secondary. I want tight steering and relatively little body roll. It's just the nature of the beast that the ride will be stiff, but I don't want to get beat up during the trip. I fully understand that I'm driving a lifted Wrangler. Like I said, I've owned 7 of them and only one was stock height.

You are all correct that I need to find someone that has a JK with the lift and handling I'm looking for. I also need a good and experienced shop to install it. Modesto Jeep will order the my JK and send it out to have the lift that I choose installed.

I'm not terribly far away. In Benicia. Let me know, I have RKs new gen Triple Rates. Be glad to let you take it for a spin.

Edit. There are a ton of us in NorCal that have a wide range of parts. Maybe we can plan to all meet somewhere for some wheeling and lift comparison.

 

[wayoflife]

I guess I need to clarify. For myself, handling is the most important. The ride is secondary. I want tight steering and relatively little body roll. It's just the nature of the beast that the ride will be stiff, but I don't want to get beat up during the trip. I fully understand that I'm driving a lifted Wrangler.

This is where I have to disagree. For how I use my Jeeps, I want a nice ride AND great handling and I've gone to great lengths to have both. Granted, what I have didn't come cheap and is far out of the reach of most people but, to suggest that a lifted Jeep can't have a superior ride and handling is just nonsense. In the end, handing comes from correct suspension and steering geometry and a lower center of gravity/wider stance. We purposefully have our white Jeep clearing 40" tires with just 3" of lift and our wide stance allows us to drive hard fast and corner with confidence. Ask anyone who's driven behind us what it's like to try and keep up - MTG might be a good person to ask as he just recently tried following us through a tight windy mountain road and had this discussion. Ride comfort come first and foremost from the coils you have. Unfortunately, the taller you go, the stiffer the coils tend to be as that helps to prevent deflection. Also, most manufacturers like AEV try to make their coils to hold up a lot of weight - in fact, it's a selling point of theirs. You just can't have a coil that's designed to hold up a lot of weight also be comfortable. Shocks will round out the difference but are secondary when it comes to ride comfort.

 

[Wendy.HemiDreams]

Well shoot...If I CAN have it all I DO want it all. I just thought I had to choose.

 

[Wendy.HemiDreams]

Can you tell me exactly how to order what you are describing?

I've made a conscious decision to get a more of a base model JK, without all of the add-ons, so that I can put that money toward the lift, wheels and tires.

After that I'll add the Lod stubby and rear bumper and rock rails etc.

 

[olram30]

Can you tell me exactly how to order what you are describing?

I've made a conscious decision to get a more of a base model JK, without all of the add-ons, so that I can put that money toward the lift, wheels and tires.

After that I'll add the Lod stubby and rear bumper and rock rails etc.

After 7 jeeps, what has been your experience with different brands? Anything you liked or disliked?

 

[Wendy.HemiDreams]

One more thing...

I had ordered my JKUR with 4:10 ratio. As a manual transmission, I think it was geared too low since I didn't run larger tires or much added weight. It was cumbersome and clunky to shift. My next JK will also be a stick. I was thinking of just going 3:73 since it's just a 2 dr and I won't be hard-core rock crawling. Or do you think I should still go 4:10 for the lift you're describing and 35's???:hmm::hmm:

 

[piginajeep]

I've owned 17 and counting jeeps. My JK's have always rode nice and handled extremely well in the corners. A jeep will never handle like a sports car but you can get them riding smooth and handling better than stock.

Get passed the sales pitches and start driving other jeeps. You can have both, it just costs $$$