I'm having a tough time deciding what is a better value, or what meets my needs better. I need to gather some reviews and opinions before I pull the trigger. Both setups are roughly the same price. The main advantage that the OME offers is the longer travel struts, but AE claims that these struts are a disadvantage in the long run since they are so expensive to replace. The other issue I'm hung up on is the spring rate of the two kits; they seem to veer in complete different directions from the factory rate. OME is stiffer so you can carry a load across rough terrain and maintain control, while AE is softer so your ride quality and flex are optimized. I had OME on my previous vehicle and thought it was a great product and it certainly improved the ride and handling of that one. One other thing I was wondering is, is it ok to run a 2.5" lift without diff drop brackets? I'm guessing it is because that is how RRO packages their OME+spacer kit.

On 1st Gen vehicles going over 2" lift was enough to cause binding of CV's during full extension when turning.  So it is considered wise to do a Diff drop when going over 2". 
The 2nd Gen vehicles are 4" wider, creating less CV angles with a 2" lift.  If you are not running trails, you might be able to get away without a diff drop, but a busted CV puts you back to 2 wheel drive.  and usually changing a CV can ruin a trip.

Thanks for the input. This vehicle will definitely be seeing trails. I suppose to put the two kits at more of an equal playing field you could add diff drop brackets to the OME setup, and if you wanted to stretch it to 3" lift you could just use a taller coil spring spacer and possibly a small strut spacer as well.

Yesterday I went for a test drive in my friend's 04 Vitara V6 with the OME springs + spacer 2.5" lift and I thought it was a little on the stiff side. It definitely feels like it's designed to ride controlled over rough roads with passengers or cargo or both in the back.

I decided to go with the Alter Ego or Zukination 3" lift for a few reasons.

1) Spring rate- I think the OME is designed more for running across desert roads with a week's worth of overlanding gear than it is for weekend trips and daily driving. It's just stiff enough to be uncomfortable. The Zukination coils are supposed to be softer.

2) Value- The OME components are pretty expensive since they have to come all the way from down under. The Zukination stuff is Canadian so no portion of my money is being spent on import duties and intercontinental shipping. This is reflected in the fact that for basically the same price as the OME lift + spacers, I am getting 3" lift springs, rear shocks, diff drop brackets, an extended rear brake line, and 4 new rear control arms (a $550 value if purchased separately)

3) Customer support- I really appreciated the fact that over the course of several phone calls to and from Jeff and Pam at Zukination, they were extremely helpful and willing to engage with the customer and work with me. For instance, since I'm installing this lift on a 2003 XL7 and the kit is made for a Vitara or Grand Vitara, the rear springs in the kit will not fit on my XL7 because the XL7 uses a slightly larger diameter spring perch on the axle and the springs in the kit cannot be made to fit. So we worked out a deal that I will buy the kit less the rear springs and will have to come up with my own rear springs. It was just really nice to be able to talk one-on-one with the people who actually design AND install the kits for the trucks in-house.

I'm experimenting with rear springs at the moment. Went by the wreckers today and picked up a pair of already-removed springs from a Volvo wagon and some from some sort of Ford (no label). Threw a Volvo ones in, it was way too soft, it only gave about 0.5" lift and looked like the coil would bottom on itself if the wheel travelled upward. I couldn't get the Ford ones in without a compressor so I will try that tomorrow hopefully.

A few different sources tell me to try 5.5" lift TJ front coils with 2 coils cut off, or Aerostar or MPV coils. Anyone have any first-hand experience with this?

I think you will find front springs too heavy.  What size are your rear XL7 springs?  I thought the rear springs were same size on GV & XL7.

The XL7 rear springs are approximately 4 3/4" OD on the bottom, compared to a regular GV is somewhere closer to 4" OD. The diameter of the top of the coil is the same between the two. I compared the measurements of my XL7 spring with Jeff from Zukination, as he had one of his springs for a GV on hand while I spoke with him on the phone.

He was saying that only SOME of the XL7's have these larger springs...all the 04-06 but also some 03's as they were a bit of a crossover year. My own personal opinion (not necessarily fully researched and/or factually based) is that it's more likely that ALL XL7's have the larger rear springs since they all have the larger rear axle. Hard to prove either way.

In the meantime I have tried two pairs of Ford springs, pretty sure they are from an Aerostar van. One set was about 1.5" taller than the other so I tried them, and got 3.75" of lift, which might be a bit much after reading about driveline vibes on a few guys' GV's with the 3" 4x4art lift...so I tried the shorter pair and got bang on 3". I was thinking maybe it wouldn't matter to have that extra 3/4" since the XL7 uses a totally different rear driveshaft design (2-piece vs 1-piece) so it might not get the same vibe as the GV. Once the rest of the kit shows up I will have to see if it sits level and rides relatively balanced.