Regear or no Regear

[Ilir]

Whats up guys ! Got my first Jeep couple months 2021 Willys 2.0 and looking to put some 35s on it . With what i been researching is a bit confusing to reager or not , the car is my everyday drive and here and there some easy off-roading with the family and kids . On top of that for the 35s i have seen some videos online saying that you dont need a lift kit you can do it with Rubicon fenders, anyone done it?
Ps. If anyone has a set of 35s in Chicago land let me know ..

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[Pig-Pen]

i have a spot with AT. i ran 35s for about two years no problem. only occassional struggle with aggressive offroading. drove find on the street. throw the 35s on how it is and see how you like it. regearing is $$ and not necessary for street driving or light offroading.

yes, with Rubi fenders you'll be find on the street and for easy off roading. it would be better to throw on some rubicon springs/shocks. much cheaper than fenders. both would really be great but only necessary if disconnecting sway bars and flexing offroad.

you'll definitely want to remove the plastic end caps that attach the bumper to the fender. 35s will rub on those and they look horrible anyways.

 

[grimmjeeper]

Whats up guys ! Got my first Jeep couple months 2021 Willys 2.0 and looking to put some 35s on it . With what i been researching is a bit confusing to reager or not , the car is my everyday drive and here and there some easy off-roading with the family and kids . On top of that for the 35s i have seen some videos online saying that you dont need a lift kit you can do it with Rubicon fenders, anyone done it?
Ps. If anyone has a set of 35s in Chicago land let me know ..

You will get a ton of conflicting advice from "experts" about 35s. Each with tons of anecdotal (i.e. completely irrelevant) experience.

Bottom line. You don't "need" to regear. The transmission can mask the effects of not having optimal axle gearing and you can drive the Jeep just fine.

The question is wether you "want" to regear. There is a lot of opinion there.

I will say that most people who regear after they put bigger tires on never regret their decision.

It is a big expense. And if you add limited slip or lockers, it's even more. So you only want to do it once.

To compound the issue, the stock axles aren't very strong, especially if you have the smaller M200 (dana 35) instead of the bigger M220 (dana 44). If you have that axle, you don't want to invest a ton of money in them. But stronger replacement axles are pretty expensive and require a bit of labor to swap.

So do you want to regear? That's up to you.

 

[Roky]

Whats up guys ! Got my first Jeep couple months 2021 Willys 2.0 and looking to put some 35s on it . With what i been researching is a bit confusing to reager or not , the car is my everyday drive and here and there some easy off-roading with the family and kids . On top of that for the 35s i have seen some videos online saying that you dont need a lift kit you can do it with Rubicon fenders, anyone done it?
Ps. If anyone has a set of 35s in Chicago land let me know ..

I wouldn’t regear for 35s with the 2.0, that engine has more torque, you won’t feel much difference…

 

[Ilir]

Thank you everyone!! Looks like all agree on a no regear , how about the fenders or 2.5 lift kit .

 

[Pig-Pen]

Thank you everyone!! Looks like all agree on a no regear , how about the fenders or 2.5 lift kit .

for your purposes, check out spacer lift kits. you retain stock ride and they are cheap/easy to install. 2.5" lift is getting near the point where you have to start swapping out other parts. with the spacer lift, you wont need to swap fenders.
https://www.quadratec.com/p/rough-country/2.5in-spacer-lift-kit-wrangler-jl/shock-brackets-67700

ive installed this spacer lift a few times for some folks and no complaints years later.

 

[Bobsled]

The ones saying you don’t need to regear, have not regeared.

 

[AcesandEights]

You should regear and put a lift on it.

 

[c20040215]

If possible, go test drive a regeared Jeep with similar set up. 2.0, 35s, and a small lift. And you decide if the difference is worth the cost and effort ($3000+). I can tell you if you are going from 3.45 to a popular ratio for the tire size (4.56 or 4.88), the difference is significant.

Ultimately, its your jeep, your money, and your decision.

The good thing is, it is not a urgent mod. You can finish the other mods and decide if regear is needed. Budget the regear cost in. You may or may not need it.

 

[Tncdrew]

If possible, go test drive a regeared Jeep with similar set up. 2.0, 35s, and a small lift. And you decide if the difference is worth the cost and effort ($3000+). I can tell you if you are going from 3.45 to a popular ratio for the tire size (4.56 or 4.88), the difference is significant.

Ultimately, its your jeep, your money, and your decision.

The good thing is, it is not a urgent mod. You can finish the other mods and decide if regear is needed. Budget the regear cost in. You may or may not need it.

$3000+ !?!? Come on, he can do way better than that ?

 

[Zandcwhite]

Put the 35s on it and drive it. Then go test drive one with the xr package. The gearing difference will be obvious. On the freeway I felt like our xr was geared too low with 4.56s and factory 35s personally. Of course I am one of those who regeared for bigger tires and regretted it. Going from 4.10s and 38s to 5.38s made the jeep slower 0-60 by a half second as it had to shift 1 extra time before 60 with the 2.0t. It also meant 3000 rpms on the freeway even coming down hill under no load. The thing was in 8th gear at any speed over 40mph and it felt like it needed another gear. For 35s I wouldn't go below 4.10s personally. If you are going to 4.10s I'd look for a set of Rubicon take off axles as you get the gearing and lockers for maybe $1k more than a regear alone. Sell your stock axles and you're even money on a regear with a bunch more capability.

 

[Some Random Guy]

The ones saying you don’t need to regear, have not regeared.

I have regeared and would not recommend OP regear. If they had an M/T, maybe.
As for lift/fenders, this is not as cut and dry as adding a lift. 35’s and stock fenders turn the tires into the new bumpstop when they stuff and make contact with the fenders. Aftermarket fender liners might buy you enough room to prevent that contact. A lift might do it too by either extending your bumpstops (tbus reducing flex) or turning your springs into your new bumpstops when they bind at full compression.
If I had a friend starting fresh I’d tell them: 2 door Rubicon, 35’s, new fenders (or a chop with aluminum liners, hope they don’t drive on a lot of gravel roads), and sliders plus skids. Enjoy that for a year or 3 before sinking in more money. Maybe some well researched springs if breakover or “look” is bothering them.

 

[Bobsled]

Maybe there should be a poll for those that HAVE regeared
happy with regear
disappointed with regear

 

[Ilir]

$3000+ !?!? Come on, he can do way better than that ?

How much is a regearing by the way lol

 

[Ilir]

I was at a custom shop here in Chicago earlier today and they said that you don't need regearing for 35s 2.5 llift.

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