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best gears for 33s

I think it depends on how big you wanna go in the future. If you stay on 33's .456 are great. Keeps your ratio almost at stock and works great on and offroad.
 
I run 4.88's D44 rear and D30 front. My tires are actually D rated metrics...
285/75/R16's... so they are a little heaver then the 15" 33's.. 5-10# each tire.

So anyways.. 65mph overdrive 2500k rpm drop gears to pass 3k rpm.. tons of power it seams.. great off the line... if i didnt want 35's so much i would stay at the 33's. Great all around.

Oh and yeah new speedo too FYI.
 
The most common gearing for 8.8's is 3.73's (as mine was). You definately don't want to go 4:10's. I have 4:56's with 35's and it is still waaaay too tall (gears). The reason I didn't go with 4.88's is on a Dana 30 (my front axle), the 4:56's keep 3 gear teeth in contact, while the 4:88's keep only two in contact. Since the ring and pinion are the weak link in a built Dana 30, I wanted every advantage I could get.

Good Luck!
 
im running 33x10.5s with 4.10s. i would go with either the 4.10s or 4.56 for any highway driving. my best was 20mpg. thats my $.02
 
Running 4.11's with my 33's and it works just fine. Mine see's more street time than dirt so thats what works for me. If yours is going to mainly see off road stuff then i would go with 4.56's
 
I had 4.10s in my last jeep with 33's. This time I went with the 4.56s Both where/are my Daily Driver. The 4.56's I like alot better for all around.
 
You are going to get tons of opinions on this one, which can sometimes be helpful. But I'd consult someone who builds axles for a living, (CleanRC lives close to you he geared my axle) or Rawbrown. They both know their stuff and can answer all your questions. Each of them have done hundreds of different axles and gear ratios.
 
Gearing is confusing for some people because many think that if you go with numerically higher gears, you will automatically lose gas mileage. This is not true. I just installed gears in two of my friends' Jeeps and I had to give one friend a set of gears to convince him to change over (from 3:07's to 3:55's). The other friend bought 4:10's. Both experienced much better power and also better mileage.

If you always drive long distances on the freeway at speed, then taller (numerically lower) gears are great. A tall overdrive gear will net you great mileage...if you are doing 75 all the time. That being said, if you drive around town or live in an area with a single hill, the taller gears will actually kill your gas mileage because your engine has to rev more to take off and climb hills. It's kind of like taking off on a motorcycle in 4th gear. Yeah you can do it, but you have to rev up to avoid stalling.

Check out Jeep Horizons RPM vs Gear Size chart and you will find the sweet spot for your rig. This will also give you wiggle room to allow for better freeway mileage or better power. Personally, I would ALWAYS lean toward the power end if you have an XJ with a 4.0 and an AW4.

I install a lot of gears and every time I do it, people love the change, but many wish they had gone a bit shorter (numerically higher).

I feel SO strongly about this that I will put my money where my mouth is. If you buy the 4:56's and think they are too much gear for the 33's, I will personally do the install for you to whatever size gears you want (you provide the parts of course and come up here). If that doesn't convince you, I don't know what will.


Good luck!
 
Last edited:
norcalchris said:
how are the 3.73s???...see. i still dont know much bout the whole gearing thing. this is what ive been told. 4:56=tire turns 4 times, as the drive shaft turns 56 times....am i close?
Click to expand...
Uhhmmm,no!4.56 turns of the driveshaft=1 turn of the axle!!
 
What the heck. Bring it up and I'll put 'em in for you (for free minus a pizza while we work). PM me and we can set up the dates. If you don't already have lockers, now would be a great time to consider them.
 
for a money saver get the 4.10's stock you can find a dana 30 with four tens in it stock off a 4 cylinder. I ran 33's on stock gears (3:56) it sucked on road, but the four low always was enough power on the trail.
 
I have 33" and 4.10's. I get great gas mileage and power on flat ground. When I go up to Lake Tahoe with it loaded the transmission always stays in 3rd gear except when I go down hill. I have an AWD 4 trans. I would say the 4.10 gears are great for around town driving but if you are going to pull a load or plan on adding wieght to your XJ such as a winch, bumpers, roof rack, full size spair and camping gear 4.56 gears would work better for you. I should have got 4.56 gears. I just keep looking for a set on criags list so I can swap out the 4.10's.
 
norcalchris said:
how are the 3.73s???...see. i still dont know much bout the whole gearing thing. this is what ive been told. 4:56=tire turns 4 times, as the drive shaft turns 56 times....am i close?
Click to expand...
not even close.

there is a ton of info on the internet about gearing, but it all comes down to mechanical advantage(high school science)
 
yah
car-part.com

you can get a chrsyler with 4.10 gears already in it and some come cheap (round 200bucks)
that is enough for 33's on and off road

if you get 4.56 or 4.88's don't plan on going fast on the freeway..
 
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