Should I Regear?

[entropy]

I am not sure that you are trading it at all IF you have geared properly against the tire size. I say this because you will be returning the overall gear ratio to close to the same as the factory 4.10/33 combination (for a Rubicon).

I have only driven up to 90MPH in WY with my 5.13/37/ZF8 combination, but I was not hitting any sort of barrier and if memory serves, the RPMs were in the high 3K range--not even 50% of the usable range for a 3.6L.

You'll never be hitting the max speed that 35s and 3.45s gears offer you. That's my point. But high gearing (3.45s) do allow you to travel at higher speeds than lower gearing (4.56s). This is why people "dont see 8th gear", because they don't travel fast enough to get to 8th.

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[entropy]

I would argue that the benefits on road far outweigh the off-road benefits. That’s coming from someone who built his Jeep as a toy more for off-road than on.

Lifting a Jeep and getting 35s on it to keep it on the road and then complain about performance loss is a bit of an oxymoron. The benefits of keeping smaller tires on a pavement jeep far outweighs the benefits of large tires and lower gearing.

But I see your point. Money wise yeah you will get more benefits on the pavement. For somebody who uses their Jeep 10~20% off road and the rest on the pavement, re-gearing is a no brainer.

 

[word302]

Lifting a Jeep and getting 35s on it to keep it on the road and then complain about performance loss is a bit of an oxymoron. The benefits of keeping smaller tires on a pavement jeep far outweighs the benefits of large tires and lower gearing.

But I see your point. Money wise yeah you will get more benefits on the pavement. For somebody who uses their Jeep 10~20% off road and the rest on the pavement, re-gearing is a no brainer.

I don’t disagree, but how many lifted Jeeps have you seen that obviously never see even a dirt road?

 

[word302]

You'll never be hitting the max speed that 35s and 3.45s gears offer you. That's my point. But high gearing (3.45s) do allow you to travel at higher speeds than lower gearing (4.56s). This is why people "dont see 8th gear", because they don't travel fast enough to get to 8th.

Unless they’re driving on anything that isn’t flat. You quickly lose the ability to accelerate with too high gearing.

 

[entropy]

Unless they’re driving on anything that isn’t flat. You quickly lose the ability to accelerate with too high gearing.

I was able to pull a trailer weighing about 1,500lbs up a mountain road, steep inclines, with my 2 door rolling 33inch tires that are 62lbs each. I have stock sport gears and I had no issues maintaining speeds or even accelerating. The v6 wasn't even working that hard. I personally don't think it is that bad. Throw 35s on it maybe a different story lol.

 

[Stuckinthesand]

I was able to pull a trailer weighing about 1,500lbs up a mountain road, steep inclines, with my 2 door rolling 33inch tires that are 62lbs each. I have stock sport gears and I had no issues maintaining speeds or even accelerating. The v6 wasn't even working that hard. I personally don't think it is that bad. Throw 35s on it maybe a different story lol.

My daily drive to work on 35’s I’m usually around 78-80mph and my rpm’s at most are 2200. I’ve hit 90mph trying to get my son to a hockey game on time and even then I was only at 2600rpms in 7th gear cruising. Maybe it’s because I live in NJ which I will admit is mostly flat but I don’t get that gear hunting even on windy days. Uphill yes it’ll drop to 6th but soon as I let off the gas at all it drops right back to 7th. Wheeling no issues at all. I’m not mashing the skinny pedal it’s just easing into it as needed. Again I’m not doing any crazy trails. You can look up crawl daddy and crawlers ridge on YouTube to get an idea. Just wasn’t worth it to regear in my opinion.

 

[word302]

I was able to pull a trailer weighing about 1,500lbs up a mountain road, steep inclines, with my 2 door rolling 33inch tires that are 62lbs each. I have stock sport gears and I had no issues maintaining speeds or even accelerating. The v6 wasn't even working that hard. I personally don't think it is that bad. Throw 35s on it maybe a different story lol.

Well yeah, light 33s, light trailer, 2-door. You have a lot of things working in your favor. My guidance is mostly directed at the guys trying to run heavy 35s and 37s on factory 3.45 gears and even 4.10s.

 

[ABF4775]

DO NOT let your dealership do a gear job for you. Yes, wait as long as it takes to get Dana/Spicer parts. Consider 4.88 if you drive hills on a regular basis, have a heavy wheel/tire combo, or think there’s ever a chance you’ll go to 37s. Also as others have said, if you can find some rubicon takeoff axles you’ll have 4.10 gears, lockers, and a much stronger axle combo. Spending money on the factory sport axles is kind of a waste.

Any specific reason on this? The dealership I purchased my ride from is actually pretty well known for Jeep work. They have a dedicated parts guy and technician for Jeep work And they have been doing it for about 15+ years. They are also Jeepers personally (not just at work). I understand gear work is pretty precise and not something you want to have any Joe Shmoe do. Just wondering if there was a specific reason behind this?

 

[word302]

Any specific reason on this? The dealership I purchased my ride from is actually pretty well known for Jeep work. They have a dedicated parts guy and technician for Jeep work And they have been doing it for about 15+ years. They are also Jeepers personally (not just at work). I understand gear work is pretty precise and not something you want to have any Joe Shmoe do. Just wondering if there was a specific reason behind this?

Unless they have a tech that specializes in gears I wouldn’t even think about it. Dealerships don’t touch any of my vehicles. I know what it takes to become a dealer tech and it isn’t much.

 

[QwikKotaTx]

Is it possible to regear and Maintain the maxcare lifetime warranty?

They have to prove the modifications caused a failure but with something as big as a gear ratio change I would think that is easy to prove if you have major engine or transmission problems down the line. The only way you might be able to keep the full warranty is to have a Jeep dealership install Mopar gears and a tire size that is similar to a factory offering, etc. I would say if you made an XR clone with Jeep technician doing all of the mods, then it's likely but this is a very expensive way to upgrade anything compared to an indy shop.

 

[word302]

They have to prove the modifications caused a failure but with something as big as a gear ratio change I would think that is easy to prove if you have major engine or transmission problems down the line. The only way you might be able to keep the full warranty is to have a Jeep dealership install Mopar gears and a tire size that is similar to a factory offering, etc. I would say if you made an XR clone with Jeep technician doing all of the mods, then it's likely but this is a very expensive way to upgrade anything compared to an indy shop.

I’m not really sure they have to prove anything since it’s not a factory warranty. It would depend on the fine print. Extended warranties are a suckers game.

 

[Ian4351]

There certainly is a lot of good information in all these replies and I can definitely understand how specific use, engine type, location, and every factor play into the choice of what to do. I keep going back to that these jeeps are supposedly set up and geared for each model. Sport Sahara or Rubicon. I would assume that attempting to get back to that factory feel or a little better performance would be ideal. And again personal preference comes into play. Ive noticed the loss in performance with the lift and 35s, which was expected of course, I just want the jeep to get back into the right power band again. 85% on road driving as of now. I believe it would have to be 4.56 or 4.88 to get to where what I want. After reading all these replies.

 

[word302]

There certainly is a lot of good information in all these replies and I can definitely understand how specific use, engine type, location, and every factor play into the choice of what to do. I keep going back to that these jeeps are supposedly set up and geared for each model. Sport Sahara or Rubicon. I would assume that attempting to get back to that factory feel or a little better performance would be ideal. And again personal preference comes into play. Ive noticed the loss in performance with the lift and 35s, which was expected of course, I just want the jeep to get back into the right power band again. 85% on road driving as of now. I believe it would have to be 4.56 or 4.88 to get to where what I want. After reading all these replies.

Yeah there’sa fine line the manufacturers walk between performance and cafe standards. If caffe want a thing Jeep would’ve never dreamt of putting 3.45 gears in any model. Don’t forget cafe standards has nothing to do with driving at normal freeway speeds.

 

[kah.mun.rah]

I did not see the engine posted anywhere (I may have missed it), but if a 3.6L and a ZF8, this is what I would do:

33" = 4.56
35" = 4.88
37" = 5.13
38+ = 5.38

IMO those numbers above would be for a JK or a very heavy JL. For the average daily driven JL I would say:

35" = 4.56
37" = 4.88
38+ = 5.13

 

[QwikKotaTx]

I’m not really sure they have to prove anything since it’s not a factory warranty. It would depend on the fine print. Extended warranties are a suckers game.

How is it not a factory warranty? It's a product sold by Chrysler or whatever the hell they are called nowadays. I have the MaxCare lifetime warranty on my Ram and it covers almost everything as long as not damaged by modifications, even shocks. A guy on the Moparts forum recently got his engine replaced at 330k miles, albeit a reman. Still, that's a hell of a deal. They replaced the transmission at 250k miles. deductible is $100. No longer offered though.

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