best gears for 33s

[IntrepidXJ]

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

my daily driver has 32's with 4.56 and I have no problems going fast.....same with my other rig on 33's with 4.88's

for 33's, i recommend 4.88's

 

[NorCalChris]

well, im planning on doing my gearing when i get my 8.8 ready to install. i drive a lot. i have to. its my relaxing time. i like to go fast on the highway, and i like to have pulling power.

 

[jpcherokeekid]

The only reason i didnt get the 4.56 gears is that the pinion gear for the D30 is way too small to make me feel confident to wheel hard with it. I know lots of people on here who will argue with me on this but thats my oppinon. if i get a stronger front axle then i will for sure put 4.56 or maybee 4.88's in it.

 

[ZachMan]

4.56/aw4/33s is perfect, about 8% lower geared than stock for a little added ummmpphh.

 

[muddeprived]

Aren't we supposed to consider the transmission when figuring out the gears? Does it make a difference if it's auto or manual?

 

[joeyschribar]

yes it does, myself, im running 31's with 3.55's and a 5-speed.
its .2 geared lower then stock.
if i go to 33's it will be .2 higher geared then stock

im switching to 4.10's

 

[Trail-Axe]

33" tires, 4.56 gears, Love it!

 

[NickThePyro]

Ive been running stock 3.55 gears on my 33's for like 6 months now, its horrible. This week I am getting my 4.56s though, the overall oppinion always leads to 4.56 so thats what im going for.

 

[billyjp2]

33s and 4.56s, no complaints from me. 60 on the highway gives me damn good gas mileage

 

[Darky]

I plan on going either 4.88 or 4.56 in mine when I get 33s and a Detroit. All three must come at the same time because I'm not spending money on big new expensive tires while still welded out back, and I'm not about to run 33s on stock gearing. Need the Detroit in order to get new gears so that I don't have to open it twice and also to get rid of the current welded spiders...

 

[Skwerly]

Use this formula: NEW tire diameter divided by OLD tire diameter (for instance 33 divided by 26).

Take THAT number, and TIMES it by your CURRENT, or old, gear ratio to find the new one you need!!

On my rig I used 33 divided by 26 x 3.55 and I got 4.505. Round that up and 4.56 gears would get me as close to "stock" as I could get. It would be right on the money.

 

[xcm]

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..

i would ask you to stop putting out bad information, but it seems everyone has allready ignored it based on thread count/color

 

[purplexj]

5 spd with 31's and 3.55 are great on the street , bad on hills. Never drove 31's on 3.55's since it started out as 2wd and swapped axles from auto. Have 4.10's but have not installed yet.

 

[purplexj]

Meant to say never drove on 3.07's with 31's.

 

[89xj]

Meant to say never drove on 3.07's with 31's.

i did for about a year with my 89 5speed and it was not enjoyable. i now have 4.10 and 31's with the 5speed and its perfect IMHO.

regearing is worth every penny spent. it doesnt make sense to me to spend money on a lift and big tires and not spending the money to regear or at least plan to regear in the future because of the expense.

 

[xj-boonie]

I drove a couple years on my 96 5speed with 31's (BFG AT's which are like 30.5" diameter). I pretty much didn't have 5th gear, unless I was on the interstate at 75-80 mph. It wasn't bad, and I got use to it. I've got 3.55 gears now, and sit at about 2000 rpm in 5th at 65 mph (via gps - the new speedo gear is on the bench going in soon). I live in Minnesota, so the hills around here arn't much if anything, but I can stay in 5th for most of them. I haven't taken it off road yet - still need to swap a 3.55 front in (this week) and put my new tires on. But so far I like it.

The reason I went to 3.55 vs 4.10 was cost - I got a XJ D44 rear with 3.55 gears for $150, and HP D30 with 3.55 gears for $100. I can always regear later.