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Regearing Vs. Buying Another Car.

C

Cherokeekid88

NAXJA Forum User
Location
North Carolina
Ok well its come the time where i need to do one of the 2. If i buy a car it would be a POS honda with some good mileage. But im still keeping my jeep, so im wondering if it would be better to fork out the $$$$ to buy the gears and master install kit and just have the cheapest shop install em for me, which im guessing would cost me around $1000-$1200. Id be going with 4:56 since im rollin on 32's now and am going to upsize to 33's. If i buy a car id have to fork out the price of the car plus insurance, plus maintaining it, plus also putting gas in it, plus keeping up with my jeep as well. So im trying to figure if it would be smarter to buy an additional car that gets good gas mileage and keep up with 2 cars or just regear my jeep for some better mileage and save a little on gas from just driving my jeep??
 
I did the math myself about a month ago, and I came to the conclusion that an inexpensive gas sipper would be more trouble than it would be worth, and it would take a ridiculously long time to pay for itself after factoring in insurance, the fact that a cheap car will probably need more TLC and parts than a well-maintained one like my XJ, etc.

I'm getting my 4.56s installed tomorrow morning by a local NAXJA guy. :D
 
Hmmm....that's a toss-up.

Option A: Regear your XJ=better fuel mileage and better performance.

Option B: Buy a hooptie= way better fuel mileage and you still have the XJ


I personally would chose option A. You know what you have with the XJ, vs. buying something that you really don't know a whole lot about (you never know if it's jumped a set of train tracks, or whatever). Plus, like you said, more money to insure/maintain/register another vehicle, although some insurance companies give you a multi-car discount rate that nearly pays the insurance for the second vehicle, especially if it will be a liability only car, which most people would have on a sub $1,500 car anyway.

You already stated the XJ stays no matter what. You'll enjoy driving the XJ when it's regeared, and I think you can possibly get the axles regeared for less than a grand.

Edit: .....and unless your axles have 250k+ hard (read-poor maintenance) miles, you can go with a minor install kit and be good to go. They usually range from $20-$30 for the kit.
 
Last edited:
obviously you're gonna have to calc the numbers regarding your personal finances, but.... it's unlikely to make sense to get a second vehicle IMO.

how long is your commute? It's gonna take a significant one to make up for the outlay of cash vs. the extra mileage you'll pick up in the honduh.

my POS XJ on 33s w/ an AW4 and 4.56 gears gets about 13.5 MPG City. I'm lucky to get 18 Hwy.
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
Ok well its come the time where i need to do one of the 2. If i buy a car it would be a POS honda with some good mileage. But im still keeping my jeep, so im wondering if it would be better to fork out the $$$$ to buy the gears and master install kit and just have the cheapest shop install em for me, which im guessing would cost me around $1000-$1200. Id be going with 4:56 since im rollin on 32's now and am going to upsize to 33's. If i buy a car id have to fork out the price of the car plus insurance, plus maintaining it, plus also putting gas in it, plus keeping up with my jeep as well. So im trying to figure if it would be smarter to buy an additional car that gets good gas mileage and keep up with 2 cars or just regear my jeep for some better mileage and save a little on gas from just driving my jeep??
Click to expand...



ill installl em for case of beer:wave:
 
I bought a 2005 honda civic in January.

The savings in gas have not only covered the car payment, insurance and gas, every month - but I come out about $50 ahead.


I think you should regear. Take what you save every month and put it towards another car. ;)
 
I'm actually in a similar situation right now (with my truck that gets 12mpg)
For me, I can buy a NEW car at $17,000 that gets around 35mpg and the amount I save in gas and insurance will more than pay the car payment.

You might not drive as much as me, so you might not save as much.

My wife is trying to talk me into a... gulp... Prius... I am trying to resist.
 
jrowell said:
I'm actually in a similar situation right now (with my truck that gets 12mpg)
For me, I can buy a NEW car at $17,000 that gets around 35mpg and the amount I save in gas and insurance will more than pay the car payment.

You might not drive as much as me, so you might not save as much.

My wife is trying to talk me into a... gulp... Prius... I am trying to resist.
Click to expand...

I have friends with prius's that average 44 mpg. I'm averaging 41 in my civic, and have held 47 on highway trips following trucks.

But i dont have those eco-disaster batteries to replace every couple years.
 
I would do both.

Depends on how many miles you drive.

And, it's nice to know that as long as you get the Jeep home by the end of the weekend, you don't even have to unpack it before you go to work Monday.
 
Phil said:
And, it's nice to know that as long as you get the Jeep home by the end of the weekend, you don't even have to unpack it before you go to work Monday.
Click to expand...
Some people unpack their Jeeps? :dunno:
 
jrowell said:
I'm actually in a similar situation right now (with my truck that gets 12mpg)
For me, I can buy a NEW car at $17,000 that gets around 35mpg and the amount I save in gas and insurance will more than pay the car payment.

You might not drive as much as me, so you might not save as much.

My wife is trying to talk me into a... gulp... Prius... I am trying to resist.
Click to expand...

I would be weary of the Prius, thats for sure. I have heard nothing but bad things about the batteries. They are uber expensive to replace and heard they go out consistantly.


To the OP just out of curiousity, what type of milage gains are you expecting to get with your regear?
 
I dont really drive that much, but mainly because i get such bad mileage. Im looking to get at least upper teens with my XJ is what i would like. I just feel like if i could find someone who would install em for some beer and a little money or something and then i just buy the gears and install kits. i would come out cheaper and actually use the money i would spend on a car plus insurance plus tags and title towards gas in the XJ. Also if i could buy the gears at a good price and then find someone off a local board or on here that has gear install experience, it would save me money and also be able to find out how gears are installed and what not, plus i would also be able to start saving for another car eventually.
 
If you are looking for better mpg, gearing isn't going to make a significant enough change for you. As others have already said, the 30 mpg I average in my Audi started paying for itself the first time I put gas in the tank. But, echoing everyone again here, it really just all depends on your budget.
 
I keep looking on the lot near the house for something acceptable, but really dont think the math works out well anyway.
Different gears/tire combo, but I was able to go from 12.5 around town to 15, a bit better if I dont drive like a jerk. Highway didnt see the same improvement, I get 19-20 @ 65-70, thats up slightly. I also am trying to stay as low as possible with trimming, considering I can get 22-23 @ 55 suggests to me the thing needs to stay low.
 
My vote is for a commuter car, but not a hybrid.
Re-gearing isn't going to get you much, driving like a grandma could up you mileage more than gears.

I get 15-17mpg city, 22-25mpg highway driving the speed limit and not racing off from lights and slamming my brakes at the next one, and my header is cracked and my muffler has a huge hole in it!
 
putting on my flame suit... i'm gonna have to call shenanigans on the "low (numerically) gearing on big tires gets you bad milage" story.

'96, 4.0L I6, AW4, NP231, 3.07, 3" lift, 31x1050 BFG AT/KO's

i get about 16 city and 19 highway. regear if you want to regear, but don't do it just for the milage. remember, even at 15 mpg and gas at $4.00/gal, $1000 will buy you 3750 miles of gas.
 
h2opete987 said:
putting on my flame suit... i'm gonna have to call shenanigans on the "low (numerically) gearing on big tires gets you bad milage" story.

'96, 4.0L I6, AW4, NP231, 3.07, 3" lift, 31x1050 BFG AT/KO's

i get about 16 city and 19 highway. regear if you want to regear, but don't do it just for the milage. remember, even at 15 mpg and gas at $4.00/gal, $1000 will buy you 3750 miles of gas.
Click to expand...


You're saying that because you haven't regeared.

Running 3.07's and 31's is like towing a small trailer behind you all the time - it takes that much more gas to move. My 20 year old 1987 4.0 got 22 mpg with 32's and 4.56's.. i got about 17 with 3.55's and 4.56's. I get 18 now with 35's and 4.88's.

The 4.0 would prefer to spin a little fast than work a little hard.
 
all i'm sayin is the "x size tire = y gear" is no gospel. there IS some gray area. if shallower gearing gets worse milage (highway, constant speed), why do 5 speed transmissions get better milage?

i agree 100% that while accelerating my milage isn't as good as it could be, but because 95 of my 100 mile daily commute is freeway/divided-main-road-with-well-timed-lights, i do quite a bit more constant speed driving (when you would shift into 5 in a stick)
 
Im not only wanting to regear for better mileage but for performance also. I hate how sluggish my XJ is and how much it downshifts on hills. But if i could get a car for free, then yeah i would go that route, but seeing how i would have to put the cash out for the car plus insurance, tags and registration and also put gas in it plus paying insurance on my XJ plus keeping gas in it when i drive it and keeping both cars maintained seems like id be spending more money than id be saving. Where as if i regear, yeah i wont get as good mileage but ill be getting better plus more money in my pocket for gas. Now where the best/cheapest place to get a nice set of gears and master install kits?
 
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