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Gear selection

I’m running 33’s and went with 4.88’s. I am definitely glad I did and won’t look back. Granted I pretty much never drive over 60 in in the XJ, aside from it being on the trailer, it’s absolutely perfect for off-road adventures. Highly recommend 4.88
 
XJFAMFUN said:
35s. The guy I used to do the gears recommended 4.56s when I asked about 4.88s and so did the charts I found online. He said for a mix of regular road driving/trail/crawling i would be happier with 4.56s.
Click to expand...

I hate hearing stories like this........

Let me guess, the guy who recommended the 4:56 ratio is going to swap out your fresh 4:56's and replace them with 4:88's for free?


Gearing comparison charts NEVER factor in:
*increased tire/wheel weight
* increased rolling resistance of larger tire/contact patch
* increased wind resistance from suspension lift/larger tires/roof rack/roof mounted spare/lighting
*engine torque loss due to elevation change
*added static vehicle weight including HD bumpers, armor, winch, full-size spare, trail gear, cargo, etc.

These are all critical factors that must be considered to calculate the proper gear ratio for your rig.

I've never regretted 4:88's with 295/75/16's (33.4" tall) and a AW4 and 5.5" lift and they have performed well for 100K+ miles over the last 12 yrs. I daily drove this setup for 5 years-60 mile round trip commute, averaging 17mpg freeway/13mpg city. Even now, with a tired 4.0L @ 215K miles, my Jeep still pulls moderate grades on the freeway in OD, without any of the 3rd/OD gear hunting that you've described.

18 years ago, I ran 4:56's and 285/75/16's and a 5speed on my previous XJ and the gearing was just right.....and then I swapped out the manual for an auto trans and the gearing sucked.
 
Last edited:
XJEEPER said:
I hate hearing stories like this........

Let me guess, the guy who recommended the 4:56 ratio is going to swap out your fresh 4:56's and replace them with 4:88's for free?


Gearing comparison charts NEVER factor in:
*increased tire/wheel weight
* increased rolling resistance of larger tire/contact patch
* increased wind resistance from suspension lift/larger tires/roof rack/roof mounted spare/lighting
*engine torque loss due to elevation change
*added static vehicle weight including HD bumpers, armor, winch, full-size spare, trail gear, cargo, etc.

These are all critical factors that must be considered to calculate the proper gear ratio for your rig.

I've never regretted 4:88's with 295/75/16's (33.4" tall) and a AW4 and 5.5" lift and they have performed well for 100K+ miles over the last 12 yrs. I daily drove this setup for 5 years-60 mile round trip commute, averaging 17mpg freeway/13mpg city. Even now, with a tired 4.0L @ 215K miles, my Jeep still pulls moderate grades on the freeway in OD, without any of the 3rd/OD gear hunting that you've described.

18 years ago, I ran 4:56's and 285/75/16's and a 5speed on my previous XJ and the gearing was just right.....and then I swapped out the manual for an auto trans and the gearing sucked.
Click to expand...



XJEEPER, I wish that was the case! Lol. I dont think there's any way he does that. Sad to say, he does alot of rigs out here in So. Cal. I got his info off of a forum similar to this. It does great on flat and close to flat land and didnt do bad on a little bouldery hill I climbed yesterday. I expected that though, being i am fully locked now. I can tell the power diff leaving stop lights and stuff, i just really thought it would improve going up the grade I drive to get from town to my house.
 
Definitely, 4.88's with 35's.

My first set of axles I built with 4.56 as the plan was to run 33's. After installing my 6" lift I knew I needed to go 35's. Within a year, I already picked up a second set of axles to build with 4.88 gears.

My '00 I geared 4.56 with 32's and it was awesome.
 
Well, unfortunately, at this point I think I am stuck with the 4.56s. The wife isnt going to let me dump another 1450 into the gears for a re-do lol ����
 
Just watch for a good deal of someone selling some 4.88 axles, jump on it and then sell yours to recoup. May take a while to come across, but you can make it work out pretty good.
 
so you guys are saying I won't be happy with 4.88s and 37s.....

Mine's almost exclusively a trail rig. Would only be noticeable at highway speeds while climbing a hill, right? already got the axles and gears to go in 'em...
 
If the gears haven’t been installed yet I’d return or sell them and go lower (numerically higher). If they’re already in the axles I’d run them and see what you think. If it’s a trail rig and doesn’t need to run on the interstate on a regular basis I’d go as low as possible.
 
bought gears with the axles (not installed, still new in box), but I'll see if I can return them.

For D44s if anyone's interested in 4.88s....
 
denverd1 said:
so you guys are saying I won't be happy with 4.88s and 37s.....

Mine's almost exclusively a trail rig. Would only be noticeable at highway speeds while climbing a hill, right? already got the axles and gears to go in 'em...
Click to expand...

Ya, I would be looking into swapping axles and getting 5.13 s in there. 4.88 s on 37s is a stretch especially if yours is just a trail rig. It will be noticeable all around. When I had 4.10 s and 33s around town was fine but once I got back in the sticks wished for deeper gears.
 
smokeyyank said:
Ya, I would be looking into swapping axles and getting 5.13 s in there. 4.88 s on 37s is a stretch especially if yours is just a trail rig. It will be noticeable all around. When I had 4.10 s and 33s around town was fine but once I got back in the sticks wished for deeper gears.
Click to expand...

swapping axles?
 
Gotcha, id go 5.13 s.
 
denverd1 said:
so you guys are saying I won't be happy with 4.88s and 37s.....

Mine's almost exclusively a trail rig. Would only be noticeable at highway speeds while climbing a hill, right? already got the axles and gears to go in 'em...
Click to expand...


No I'd go with 5.38s or 5.13s at a minimum. I have 37s and 5.13s with a set of 5.38s about to go in.
 
XJFAMFUN said:
Well, unfortunately, at this point I think I am stuck with the 4.56s. The wife isnt going to let me dump another 1450 into the gears for a re-do lol ����
Click to expand...


Time to learn how to setup your own gears. It's not that difficult. I taught myself and did them in the street in front of my house. For that much money you could have bought all the tools you'll need and still come out spending less.
 
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