Gear change experiences

Hey all,
I've done a lot of searching and reading and was hoping to get some real life experiences of people who have changed gears with similar rigs to mine. I have a 96 country with a 4.5" lift with 31" tires. I currently get about 13 mpg. What can I expect my mpg to increase if I go to 4:10? (I know every rig is different. I'm just looking for others experiences). What if I went to 4:56 and 32" tires?
Thanks

When I had 32's with 4.56's I got around 17-18 on the highway, not much change when I went to 33's.

Goatman said:

When I had 32's with 4.56's I got around 17-18 on the highway, not much change when I went to 33's.

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Did you drive at all with the 32's and stock gearing or did you change gears when you changed tire sizes? If you did drive with 32's and stock gearing what kind of mileage did you get?

kdailey4315 said:

Hey all,
I've done a lot of searching and reading and was hoping to get some real life experiences of people who have changed gears with similar rigs to mine. I have a 96 country with a 4.5" lift with 31" tires. I currently get about 13 mpg. What can I expect my mpg to increase if I go to 4:10? (I know every rig is different. I'm just looking for others experiences). What if I went to 4:56 and 32" tires?
Thanks

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There are like 3 major threads about this as you type????????????

Question, did you correct your speedometer to reflect the change in tire size? Be aware the stock tire size on most XJs was P215/75R15 or P225/75R15. And the speedometer was factory set for those tires, or close.

yea make sure you know what your doing when you check your fuel economy. that explains why some guys are getting like 8-10 and some are gettin like 20... also makes a difference how oyu drive.

emr1101 said:

yea make sure you know what your doing when you check your fuel economy. that explains why some guys are getting like 8-10 and some are gettin like 20... also makes a difference how oyu drive.

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My speedo is off by about 20%. The 13MPG I'm getting now is a corrected mpg. I was just looking for some people's experiences of mpg increases when they regeared.

RCP Phx said:

There are like 3 major threads about this as you type????????????

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Care to provide any links or do you just like going from thread to thread and telling people to search

kdailey4315 said:

Care to provide any links or do you just like going from thread to thread and telling people to search

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It's a valid point, and having not told us what research you may have done thus far, not entirely unreasonable to bring up. Having said that:

I ran 31s on 3.55 gears for over a year after my XJ was lifted. Huge mistake, at least from a fuel economy perspective. It was down to around 13.5mpg on average with that combination, and this was with a corrected speedo. On the same-diameter tyres with 4.10 gears, 16mpg (combined) is more like it. Depending on the terrain involved in freeway driving, it's possible - if all conditions are exactly right - for me to get 23-25mpg on a long run.

Mind you, this is on a 2000. Ignition and engine management systems, vehicle weights, and a lot of other factors changed over the years *before* I made my XJ heavier with the addition of replacement suspension and steering parts, rock rails, lockers, a roof rack, and a bunch of other things it never came with in the first place.

So, to answer your question: yes, regearing was worth it. I'd also recommend getting the correct speedo gear for your XJ so that a) you avoid speeding tickets and b) can properly measure the fuel economy that you're getting.