Hi folks.
Recently did an ACE delete and I'm happy with the results, so here's my tuppence-worth...
1st problem with ACE 2 years ago: blown seal on front ram. MOT failure. £100 to repair.
2nd problem 1 year ago: bearing gone in pump. Used pump off eBay £100.
3rd problem with ACE earlier this year: Red ACE warning. Many codes. Actuator faulty.
Pulling it out to attempt repair means disconnecting pipework and that's a nightmare. Replacement actuator can be up to £1000.
So, time for ACE to go.
I didn't really want to bin the ACE because I'd always felt it improves the on-road performance but that turned out to not be the case.
Thing is, if you're still running standard 29" wheels/tyres on your D2 they're good for on-road handling and they'll work well with ACE.
If you've fitted bigger wheels/tyres, they're going to flex and, as a result, you're going to get body-roll regardless of whether you've got ACE or not.
My tyres are very slightly larger than OEM (265/60/R18) and that was enough to render ACE redundant.
The less obvious consideration is what impact the removal of ACE has on OFF-road performance.
ACE gives the D2 ARBs on-road but also allows the ARBs to be automatically "disconnected" when off-road, for better axle articulation.
So, if you cover a lot of road miles in your D2 AND you do some serious off-roading you might think that ACE is useful but, as above, if you've got bigger tyres then it's not going to be much use anyway.
If, perhaps, you do a lot of road miles on OEM wheels/tyres and then bung different wheels on when you go off-roading then maybe ACE will still be useful.
Personally, My D2 gets used on rural roads and it's built as a lightweight weekend-camper so serious off-roading isn't a concern.
If I do ever find myself wishing I had better axle articulation (due to the normal ARBs) I can just spend £50 on a set of disconnectable drop-links.