I have always been a fan of progressive rate coil springs and do to my experiences i felt they would be more suitable to pack more weight in my JKU for long camping trips or traveling. I ended up purchasing the AEV Dualsport 3.5 RS kit which comes with the high steer and drag link flip, progressive rate coils f/r and bilstein 5160 shocks.
Dual rate coils will be able to support a greater load without sacrificing as much ride height but, they also come at the price of not being able to stuff as well as a single rate coil. Also, once loaded up, the amount of usable soft rate on the coil will not be very much and your ride will not be as good as it was. A single rate coil will sag when loaded up and that is a bummer and for me, I solved that with a set of coil spacers back when I was running plush ride coils.
I decided to pair the lift with Currie Anti Rock sway bars to eliminate quick discos ( i have a non rubi ) and help the rear flex a little more than the stock sway bar.
Being that you have a non-Rubi, installing a Currie Anti Rock will kind of give you the best of both worlds but, by design, it will not give you as much stability as a factory sway bar when doing fast tight maneuvers. Still, it's a good option worth considering. For the rear, you should know that the Anti Rock is actually a BIGGER sway bar and it WILL NOT give you more flex than the stock sway bar which is really thin and very soft. If anything, the Anti Rock will have a greater torsion rate to help give you more stability with your loaded up Jeep but, that can also lead to a lot more side to side rocking in the rear when on the trail.
i have only ran into one complaint about my AEV lift which i have heard is common about the EVO Enforcer kit and that is control arms, i wish both kits would have their own matched set of 8 control arms to be sold with or as an add on for their kits.
In all fairness, the AEV kit doesn't come with ANY control arms, just lowering brackets that effectively lower your control arm mounts about 2" closer to the rocks. The Enforcer kit at least comes with heavy duty adjustable front lower arms but, it would be nice if it also came with adjustable rear upper arms especially for the 2-door guys that will be needing a new rear drive shaft. Of course, the AEV kit doesn't come with anything to address this as well.
i have only spoken to people about their EVO kits and never personally driven a JK with EVO parts so i wont begin to say bad things about them. My AEV kit handles the on road conditions like a factory setup with noticably better ride quality and off road driving is great! i do notice i dont get as much flex maybe as some other kits but that might be lack of experience with other lifts and i am actually getting good flex?? idk...? i have been told by more experienced jeepers that i have good articulation and besides flex my JKU handles the rest of the trail with no issues.
The AEV kit does drive great on road but, so does the Rancho Sport kit which is designed similarly and for a lot less if you're just wanting to install drop brackets. The EVO Enforcer kit drives and handles just as well on road and if you ever get a chance to drive one, I think you'd be hard pressed to not agree. Off road, the AEV will not be able to flex as much as the Enforcer kit due to it's dual rate coils limiting stuff and shock lengths used.
so in the end i would say for the price either the EVO Enforcer or the AEV would be the better options out there. both are pretty complete kits and direct bolt on kits, i did my AEV lift in 1 day with very basic hand tools and a floor jack and x2 jack stands in my Apt parking lot space.
The AEV kit costs about $2200. The EVO Enforcer kit with drag link flip/track bar relocation and a set of Rancho 7000 MT or Bilstein 5100's is only about $1800. For the price and for what all you get, I personally think that the later is a better option.
of course all of this is typed as my own opinion and would never put down another lift or someones choice of lift. :beer:
Based on my experience installing, working on and personally testing out a lot of different lifts made by a lot of different companies, I would definitely take the time to explain why some components or features are better than another especially if it involved specific conditions. I realize that some people tend to take this personally and get offended by it like I am somehow putting them down but honestly, that is never my intention. Facts are facts and I can only share what I know.
Having said all that, if you're happy with what you've got, awesome! I'm sure the OP appreciates opinions from all :yup: