Yes, 4xGuard has been working very closely with Superlift on the upgrading of their current designs for the 4" lift-kit. I'm not sure how much I can share about the process involved, except to say that I was quite fortunate to spend several days with Superlift's owner, chief engineer, and amazing top mechanic, painstakingly going over their kit with a "wish-list" of alterations based on our experience of using and selling it and competing kits. We then put those plans into action in their shop, modifying their existing kit on the fly as we redesigned and installed components on my XK.

I don't say that to brag, but to point out that I am totally biased. I think the improvements that have been made are extremely positive. But I'm also one of the key voices arguing for those improvements, so of course I feel that way.

Still, I think folks are going to like what they see when it is all said and done. The key change, as you might imagine, is in the design of the rear. I've been testing the revised version of the rear on my XK for over a year now, and it has been great. (In fact, the new one will be slightly better than mine, since using mine has helped us tweak things a bit.) There will also be a few alterations to make maintenance easier, as well as changes to make installation easier. Some of these changes may be invisible to most folks, but they meant a lot to us.

This summer -- in a few weeks, actually -- we should be test-fitting the last redesigned components. After that, all the design changes and what-not will be complete and the kit should be ready for market. When folks can buy it, of course, is up to Superlift. 4xGuard has ZERO control in that regard, though we've obviously been encouraging them to get it out sooner rather than later.

I don't think I can get into many details beyond that.

I will say, regarding the Rusty's kit, that I personally find it disconcerting that their website is misleading about the design and inclusions of the kit, and that the key change they made of mimicking the BDS rear appears to have the same straight-arm design flaw that the former BDS kit had. The new Superlift rear will not have that same issue.

Matt, unless something has changed that I wasn't told about, the new Superlift will have the same front strut set-up as the old kit (in principle, though some of the parts might be tweaked), which is more than adequate. Is there some specific reason you're wanting something else?