Regear advice

tonytony9 · Jun 15, 2016

Hey forums,

I am currently riding on 33's in my automatic 08 Jeep Wrangler unlimited 3.8 but hope to be moving up to 35s by the end of the summer. I know there is a chart online but just wanted advice on what the forum believes is the best gear ratio for a person looking for better acceleration and mpg on 33s, but planning to move to 35s. Is there a good in between ratio that won't lack power or mpg on 35s but not be too high for riding on 33s for a few months?

Thanks!

--Forgot to mention!-- This is my daily driver and take about 4 900 mile trips to school each year now. I like to do easy off roading in my rig but really am not able to push it because it is my dd.

Speeddmn · Jun 15, 2016

tonytony9 said:
Hey forums,

I am currently riding on 33's in my 08 Jeep Wrangler unlimited 3.8 but hope to be moving up to 35s by the end of the summer. I know there is a chart online but just wanted advice on what the forum believes is the best gear ratio for a person looking for better acceleration and mpg on 33s, but planning to move to 35s. Is there a good in between ratio that won't lack power or mpg on 35s but not be too high for riding on 33s for a few months?

Thanks!

Best bet would pick the ratio you want in the end. The cost associated with a regear isn't something most want to pay over and over to do. If you have a manual and stick to fire type roads, small hills/rocks, daily driving 4.88's would suit you well with both 33's and 35's. If an auto 5.13's would work out to your advantage if you ever decide to head west.

Also if you have the lower gear set 3.21 I believe, you need a new carrier for the gears. Also a good time to look into a locker.

wayoflife · Jun 15, 2016

Speeddmn said:
Best bet would pick the ratio you want in the end. The cost associated with a regear isn't something most want to pay over and over to do. If you have a manual and stick to fire type roads, small hills/rocks, daily driving 4.88's would suit you well with both 33's and 35's. If an auto 5.13's would work out to your advantage if you ever decide to head west.

Also if you have the lower gear set 3.21 I believe, you need a new carrier for the gears. Also a good time to look into a locker.

I'd have to agree. With a 3.8L, automatic and 35's, I personally would run 5.13's

Sullivan · Jun 15, 2016

5.13's are what you want. Any less and you will be hunting for OD when on the highway or cruising. I have the same jeep and had 35's and it was good. Now I have 37's and wish I had 5.38.

Mike_JK_Houston_711 · Jun 15, 2016

anything more than 5.13 and 37+ tires will run into issues sooner or later with your stock rear dana 44 (assuming you're running one) the more you push it on the trail. i run 4.88, 37" tires and it works perfect for me on and off road. i wish i would have went to 5.13 if i did it all over again, but definitely no more than that. my current set up is perfect for me now...

cozdude · Jun 15, 2016

I currently run 35's w/ 5.13's in my 11 auto. It is great on the road and rocks! The best part is that if you ever want to go 37's you have a perfect gear ratio for it already.

bdan84 · Jun 15, 2016

I run 35 with 488 on my 3.8 auto and it does good on the freeway and trail as far as mpg i gained maybe a mile pre gallon before i gear it i was on 33 and 373 gears

tonytony9 · Jun 17, 2016

Sullivan said:
5.13's are what you want. Any less and you will be hunting for OD when on the highway or cruising. I have the same jeep and had 35's and it was good. Now I have 37's and wish I had 5.38.

Alright perfect, did you choose to stick with the stock axles then? Don't think I can afford anything fancy right now except for the regears and the labor.

tonytony9 · Jun 17, 2016

cozdude said:
I currently run 35's w/ 5.13's in my 11 auto. It is great on the road and rocks! The best part is that if you ever want to go 37's you have a perfect gear ratio for it already.

Have you noticed that acceleration and overall ride quality is better with the higher gear set? I believe I have 3.21s right now and I find it difficult to gain the speed needed on the highway to pass. Always find myself jumping up to around 3-4 rpm to gain some speed.

tonytony9 · Jun 17, 2016

wayoflife said:
I'd have to agree. With a 3.8L, automatic and 35's, I personally would run 5.13's

A few friends told me that with the right tools a regear is not something too hard to do yourself. I am pretty mechanically inclined and my dad I would say is even better then I am. Is this something you would ever even attempt to do yourself? In all honesty only thing holding me back right now is the labor $$.

WJCO · Jun 17, 2016

tonytony9 said:
A few friends told me that with the right tools a regear is not something too hard to do yourself. I am pretty mechanically inclined and my dad I would say is even better then I am. Is this something you would ever even attempt to do yourself? In all honesty only thing holding me back right now is the labor $$.

If you feel confident about it, then yes. Watch a bunch of youtube videos so you really understand what's involved. I recommend buying or making an outer pinion 'dummy' bearing so you don't have to press it on and off everytime you have to make the depth adjustments. Truthfully though, it's better if you have someone with you who has done it before to help. Pinion depth, pinion bearing preload, and backlash have to be set perfectly. This takes a lot of time. Make sure you have an accurate manual too for torque specs of every bolt. You will need an inch pound torque wrench, a press, etc.

JeepJeep75 · Jun 18, 2016

tonytony9 said:
A few friends told me that with the right tools a regear is not something too hard to do yourself. I am pretty mechanically inclined and my dad I would say is even better then I am. Is this something you would ever even attempt to do yourself? In all honesty only thing holding me back right now is the labor $$.

Dude, if you can't afford to screw it up and grenade the whole thing at least once, have an expert do it. The tiniest, minute error is all it takes to destroy the diff.

rogerk93 · Jun 18, 2016

JeepJeep75 said:
Dude, if you can't afford to screw it up and grenade the whole thing at least once, have an expert do it. The tiniest, minute error is all it takes to destroy the diff.

Yes save up what you can to pay someone who can guarantee the work. The smallest measurement can throw it all off and do damage.

jagerhelix · Jun 18, 2016

I installed my 5:13s and lockers on my own for the first time. To be honest I could easily be tempted to pay someone next time. After watching countless youtube videos, pulling the axles out completely to make it easier for me, and spending a week tinkering around hoping not to screw up I finally got it done. It's been about 3 years now, and all is well but for a long time I had this looming feeling that even though everything looked good it would still fail on me for whatever reason. I am generally confident in my work, but when the monetary consequences greatly outweigh the labor cost I get a bit nervous. The pros are that you learn a lot, save a small amount of cash, add to the tool collection. The cons are that it's time consuming, not warrantied, and a higher risk for a catastrophic mistake in which no one else is to blame, Hope this helps with your decision.

Regear advice

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