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gear ratio and tires. again

5 spd with 4.10's and 33's

  • close to stock

    Votes: 6 31.6%
  • better than stock

    Votes: 7 36.8%
  • worse than stock

    Votes: 6 31.6%

  • Total voters
    19
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thompson97

NAXJA Forum User
Location
harrisonburg, va
please don't lynch me for posting yet another of what most of you consider a repetative topic, but i'm in the last few days of putting my rig back on the road and need some last second input. i have a '97 with the 5 spd, 4.10's, and 30's right now. but i'm putting my lift up to 6.5", and will easily be able to clear 33's. my dilema is... should i go all the to 33's(will it feel like stock), or should i settle for 32's which i know would be sufficient. also, i haven't added any performance products, i.e. cat back, intake, tec. but plan to in the future. how much should that be taken into account?

if the 5spd comes stock with a lower gear ratio than the auto, why wouldn't 4.10's be sufficient for 33's? i've seen alot of guys with the auto running at that ratio.

BTW: am i the only one who likes these polls?
 
HMMM... that's a tough one :) When I regeared my XJ to 4.11's it was when I was still running 235's..... Now I got 31's and I kind of miss a bit of the torque every so often. Not that I need it.... I just miss it. If I was going to go to 33's I would think about getting 4.56's but.... if your choice is between 32's and 33's I'd go 33's (if that makes any sense)....
Stick is a bit more forgiving on the lower gears I think then on higher....

Kejtar
 
Polls are a way of measuring opinion and this is not a matter of opinion. This is something that can be quantified. In fact ... it HAS been quantified.

A stock 5-speed with 3.07 gears and 225/75 tires at 60 MPH in 4th gear (to eliminate differences in overdrive ratio from year to year) turns 2241 RPM.

33s thru 4.10 gears at 60 MPH turn 2620 RPM (also in 4th gear).

Next question ...
 
For a more real life expierence, I have a 5 spd with 4.10 axles. At first had 31's, they were Awsome off-road, in 4 low and 1st gear drop the clutch and start crawling even over small boulders and such. With 33 MTR's, which are really 32.5's, anyway, It crawls well, but not like with the 31's. With 31's it was almost like an automatic.


With 31's
On the freeway at 60, I hadn't changed my speedo gear, it was peegged out. The engine was revving pretty high, I can't tell you the RPM's, I haven't swapped out my gauges yet. Anyway, around town driving was fine. I would start out in second.

With 33's
Freeway is much closer to stock, but better. Around town, I start in first, but skip second.

If you want the torque. go with the 32's, if you want the 1" clearance go with the 33's.

Looking back I kinda wish I went with the 32's, but I didn't like the selection, maybe its better now or I didn't look hard enough.
 
Best of both worlds

Im running 33's and 4.10's with an auto and a Tera-Low.My highway running is almost exactly as the thing came off the line.In low it can creep/crawl over anything effortlessly.I think youre right there or very close!
 
Although performance mods are nice to have after lifting and going to larger tires, you are right to go for a gear change first, as that is the one thing that will bring the power back to those wheels.
With that said, let me add. I have been running 4.10's and 33's for a bit over 4 years now, and love that combination.
Many have said 4.56 is the combination, and they might be right. All I know is my XJ.
Mine is a 94SE 5spd 2dr, I ordered back in 94 with the I-6 and some other options, as I had build up in mind.
In stock form, my XJ could break the tires loose in first and second, but that was in stock form and new. The original tires being Michlin 215x15XL's.
Back then as I recall in 4th gear at 60mph, I tached right around 2400. That was in an XJ that weighed about 3200lbs.
Today with the 4'10's and 33x10.50's weighing in at about 4200lbs, it tachs around 2800 at 60.
I've had my speedo calibrated after the speedo gear change, and it is off about -2mph at 50.
I beleive 4.10's are a good gear for 33's.
Keep in mind, the lower the gear ratio, the smaller the gear teeth.
Now how small is small? I don't know, but I took that into consideration.
I will say, with my combination, I went from around 15 mpg in town to about 11. And from around 18 on highway to 14.
That is with a weight addition of 1000lbs, and of course a bit more foot, as the XJ looks and feels better.
Would I have gotten better miliage with 4.56's? I don't know.
I do know my shifting pattern is, and you don't have to look at the tach, as you can feel. 0-15/20, in 1st. 15-30/35, in 2nd. 30-45/50 in 3rd. 40-60/65 in 4th, and I can run up to 80,(my speedo only goes to 80) in 5th. At 60 in 5th, I tach about 3200. At 80 about 3800.
This is certinally not pushing the 4.0 to it's limit, as my valves start to float at about 4600.
And as all know, the 4.0 runs good at hi rpm's.
As for wheelin' 4.10's and 33's are great.
Alot of torque, yet the tires do not break loose easily.
Could I have gone to 4.56, and yet feel comfortable? Yes.
If I know what I do today, and do a gear change, would I go to 4.56. No.
I feel the 4.10's and 33's are a good combination for my XJ.
Now keep in mind I am running 10.50's. Were I to go to 12" wide, I would most likely consider 4.56, as there is more rolling resistance.
Of course I would never run 12" wide. I feel it is too much tire, that is not needed for an XJ at 6".
There are factors that come into play when building to the right stats.
In my area there is no sand. Therefore there is no need for me to air down and float. Were I to live out west, I might feel diferently, and want to run a wide stance tire.
Wheels are another factor. I believe for the 33x10.50 a 7" wheel is best.
The tire fits well, maintains a bead well, provides a nice look, and allows for maximum height.
Here in Pa. one must keep that tire within the fender, or at least clost to it.
That is another factor.
Make your choice wisely as with any gear change, you only want to do once.
Good Luck

http://www.geocities.com/lancaster_xj/Jeep.html
 
thanks for the reply's guys, you never cease to amaze me with this forums wealth of knowledge and experience. i think i'll go ahead and give 33's a shot. also, anyone know what other SUV's or trucks use the 4-4.5 hole pattern? maybe i could borrow someones for a day for a little preview before i buy.
 
I run 4.10s with 33 x 12.50s on my 97 5 sp. It is so close to stock I can't tell the difference. The speedo gear will be the trick. The charts only got me within 4% even after I put in the next larger(? can't remember which way I went)gear. It was off 5% with the one listed in the tables. I figured that out by using mile markers, setting my cruise at exactly 60 MPH, and using the stop watch feature of my watch. Better yet is to note how far off your odometer is during a long trip. The longer the trip the more exact your percentage off measurement will be.
 
If using the long trip method, don't rely on your stock odometer to establish the true mileage. Around this part of the world, police departments have taken to parking radar trailers along the side of the road with a huge LED that reads out your speed as you go through. I have found that all new, stock XJs have inaccurate speedos. They all read faster than they are actually traveling, by about 2 to 3 MPH at suburban speeds (40 to 45). That's at least a 5% error, but it helps keep people out of court and also makes it easier to move up a size or two in tires. If you get within 4% that's probably the best you can hope for.
 
Eagle said:
I have found that all new, stock XJs have inaccurate speedos. They all read faster than they are actually traveling, by about 2 to 3 MPH at suburban speeds (40 to 45). That's at least a 5% error, but it helps keep people out of court and also makes it easier to move up a size or two in tires. If you get within 4% that's probably the best you can hope for.

That's exactly what I noticed when my only change was 31" tires(Stock 3.07's and speedo gear) All the local radar traps in the 25-45 range all indicated exactly as my speedo did.
 
I have 4.56's, 5 spd, 33x10.50 BFG. Revs about 2400@65mph in 5th gear. I'm glad I chose 4.56's, great on hwy with cargo, headwind, hills, and great off-road.
 
Eagle said:
Polls are a way of measuring opinion and this is not a matter of opinion. This is something that can be quantified. In fact ... it HAS been quantified.

A stock 5-speed with 3.07 gears and 225/75 tires at 60 MPH in 4th gear (to eliminate differences in overdrive ratio from year to year) turns 2241 RPM.

33s thru 4.10 gears at 60 MPH turn 2620 RPM (also in 4th gear).

Next question ...

How did you calculate those numbers?

Mike
 
4.11 &33"

I can say that after driving for 7years with the stock 3.55 gears and the auto from 31" to 33" for the last two of those years switching to 4.11's whas the best thing I ever did. I guess a carrier bearing can cause some good things to happen.
I do have the auto, 242 t-case. D30/35. I run 33x10.5r15 Swamper Radials, and 4.11 gears an ARB in the rear. I have the power button for the trans, which I haven't used to get up a hill in over a month with the gear change. I get on the highway, 35-65 like nothing. mpg's seem to be a lot better, but I have a cracked header so that kind of messes the who thing up.
But for crawling around, highway and stop and go the 4.11 and 33" are great. I do drive a lot, I'm an insurance agent and PA, the whole state is where I do business. So if I have to drive 200 miles for an appointment one way I now don't mind it. Juice
 
thompson97 said:
good point. maybe i could talk a police officer into letting me borrow his/her radar gun.

Or a GPS.....


and I did run 4.11 gears with 32" MT/R's, 33" SSR's, and 35" MT/R's {for a month or two}.

4.11's with 32"---ideal
4.11's with 33" SSR--OK, but would have liked 4.56
4.11's with 35" MT/R---still worked, but didn't like to wheel or get on the freeway.....

now running 4.88
 
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Billy
 
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