Review of factory 4.88 gears on a '22 Rubicon

[keeperman13]

I find it questionable on road backing up a bill in 2 high.

When you say you had trouble backing up, what exactly was the difficulty?

Currently, the Reverse gear is not too bad from what I can tell. It is a little quick but manageable. I slip the clutch a little when I pull into my driveway near other vehicles. When I park out in town though and I reverse in I don't seem to need to slow the gear at all. It has plenty of torque to be sure.

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[Steph1]

I drove manual wrangler for 25 years before my JK and now JL. Since you admit to being fairly new to manuals, let me share this tip. when you are running a set-up with too short a first gear, it is a very common pratice to simply start on the 2nd gear... try it and report back...

 

[SH556JL]

When you say you had trouble backing up, what exactly was the difficulty?

Currently, the Reverse gear is not too bad from what I can tell. It is a little quick but manageable. I slip the clutch a little when I pull into my driveway near other vehicles. When I park out in town though and I reverse in I don't seem to need to slow the gear at all. It has plenty of torque to be sure.

For me, reverse is tall. I always had to rev it more then I wanted to back up the slightest of hills. Just took some time to get use to it. I imagine with 4.88s it will be better and will find out hopefully next weekend.

 

[keeperman13]

I drove manual wrangler for 25 years before my JK and now JL. Since you admit to being fairly new to manuals, let me share this tip. when you are running a set-up with too short a first gear, it is a very common practice to simply start on the 2nd gear... try it and report back...

Your tip is no doubt a good one. Second became my friend in short order early on when I could not smoothly shift into first and out a nano second later. What I really need to do is find some old salts like you and your fellow manual off-roaders and go hit the trails and learn the ins and outs off-roading while wrangling the shifter.

 

[Canjeeper]

I drove manual wrangler for 25 years before my JK and now JL. Since you admit to being fairly new to manuals, let me share this tip. when you are running a set-up with too short a first gear, it is a very common pratice to simply start on the 2nd gear... try it and report back...

Second gear is way to tall to start out with . unless you enjoy severely slipping your already marginal clutch . Do you even own a manual JL ?

 

[beast40]

Just go all the way to 5.38's with a manual.. trust me. Throw the 37's on then don't try to do much offroading until you regear. I swapped on 37's and ran black bear and imogene with 4.10 gears. My copilot was our agency trial lawyer, ex-air force jag, pretty rich guy who drives range rovers and his wife BMW. He heard more swearing during that trip than he's probably ever heard in his lifetime

I would also suggest clayton regarding the lift...

^ This. I went with Claytons 3.5, 37" KMs and 5.13s. I still use 1st in most situations but down hill or even a slight rolling start and 2nd is fine.

5.38s would work be great and I"ll go that route when I upgrade to ProRocks. I was worried about the small pinion gear even with 5.13s.

 

[Rodeoflyer]

The pinion is a old school thing.. 5.38s are the way to go...

 

[Steph1]

Second gear is way to tall to start out with . unless you enjoy severely slipping your already marginal clutch . Do you even own a manual JL ?

You did understand that his Jeep is stock and he’s got the new 4.88 axle gearing option right?!?

 

[Canjeeper]

You did understand that his Jeep is stock and he’s got the new 4.88 axle gearing option right?!?

I do . i had 5:13 gears in a two door , that you could not start out in second with . If you are with yours ,start saving . lol

 

[Rodeoflyer]

You won't start in 2nd gear with 37's and 5.13's in the manual.. MAYBE in a 2dr?? Much lighter vehicle.

I could probably do that with 5.38s.. maybe.. its not good for the clutch.

I used to do that in a 2500lb mustang with a 5 speed and 4.56 gears on 30'' tires... you're going to harm your clutch in a 5000lb vehicle with 37'' tires.

 

[Steph1]

I do . i had 5:13 gears in a two door , that you could not start out in second with . If you are with yours ,start saving . lol

Oh no, I’ve owned auto Jeeps ever since it was worth considering unlike the 3 speed autos of the past. I’ve heard that the JL manual sucks, but I honestly have zero idea how much. All I know is that when a 1st gear is way too short like the OP claims, it is worth giving starting in 2nd gear a try

 

[keeperman13]

So I think we can rationally settle the debate on whether or not it is detrimental to start in second.

Can we all agree that two things are bad for your vehicle when attempting to start from a stand still?

• Releasing clutch too quickly and bogging the engine potentially to the point of a stall
• Revving the engine too high when trying to engage such that you put undue wear and tear on the clutch itself while trying to engage.

Now with the second point there, where is that magic number of "too high"? I mean, in first I can essentially get into 1st at 1,000 RPM. And I am not talking about letting the vehicle idle into 1st, Im talking at a stoplight, traffic behind you and you need to reasonably get the vehicle moving. I just went outside and I can get 2nd going with a maximum RPM of 2,000 and the 2,000 is momentary, a blip. The entire process from the beginning of clutch release to left foot off of the pedal is equal to or less than 1 second.

So, with that info, what do yall think? Is 2nd a viable option?

 

[Industrialwrench]

I have 4.88s and I pretty much never start in 2nd. My Jeep doesn’t like it. I row through 1st, 2nd , and into 3rd. This all happens from the time the light turns green, till I’m driving under it. Lol 3rd gear and just passing the stoplight hitting 25mph. I used to have a Yamaha liter bike that would take you to 70mph in 1st….

 

[Kaliks&Bones]

Anyone know why 4.88s aren’t available on Jeep.com builder for the 2.0T? Would love to be able to order a JLUR that way from the factory.

 

[BuyHold]

Anyone know why 4.88s aren’t available on Jeep.com builder for the 2.0T? Would love to be able to order a JLUR that way from the factory.

Could it be because it isn't available from the factory? The order form says "N/A W/22R".

I believe that Option 22R is the 2.0T.

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