To Re-gear or Not to Re-gear

[jcarbs]

I went with 35's and stayed with a 17" wheel. Shopped long and hard to find a wheel I liked at a weight that wasn't a whole lot more than the factory rim. Was able to accomplish that and though I see a loss in mileage, I haven't really noticed much difference. It may be worth staying with a 17" wheel to save the money.

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[Blade1668]

IMHO: A gear change isn't necessary for small change in tire size 30 in to 33 as a good example. 245 stock (non Rubicon)to 33in. (Rubicon size) the 245 is about a 30-31 in. tire. Especially when you air down for off-roading. A 33 tire is about 1.5 inches taller really at most. Now a change from 215-235mm or 27-28 in to a heavy ass 33-35 M.T. is a change or 245mm to 37s or so. Then a re-gear should be expected or planned. In a few other threads I've commented on already and gave my change from 3:55 to 4:56 on my XJ, the stock size to use of 33s or 35s put the transmission gearing back close to mfg spec. actually the speedometer and odometer on with 35s. When I changed to 31s tires I didn't change anything a changefroma 28-29 in tire to 31s. With my LJ it came with 3:73 gears stock tires was about a 30in tire, I'm currently running 33x15 on same gears. It's not as peppy but no where near light weight premium tires, heavy "old school" M.T. on it and 2550000 miles on it too. One of the things is "not trying to keep up with the Jones" always. It got to be funny for me years ago when I would hear my XJ "isn't a real Jeep" then getting calls to come pull someone out or if I could help someone out that broke something.
Danged if I shouldn't have started up a channel on U-tube back then. Hindsight is definitely better than 20/20. If I had I might have been one of the O.G's like Eric and Merlin now. ? ?

 

[Student12]

Is there a such thing as "over-gearing" or "too much gearing"

Example: Installed 35's with heavier rims, aluminum bumpers, & a chase rack.

Regear: 4.56 vs 4.88, no plans to tow. But I do like the look of the 37's.

 

[Swordfish44]

Won't matter. Steel bumper, winch and skid plate may add 150-170 pounds. Been there, done that, AND hauled over 1,000 pounds, all on 33" tires.

Bottom line - I have an Overland. I put a steel bumper on the front, steel skid plate and a heavy Apex winch (winch alone is over 80 pounds).
My Overland is loaded - all options so it's heavy for an Overland.
I was running 33" Rubicon take-offs (tires and wheels) for months. \
During that time I hauled one load of a bit over 1,000 pounds of landscaping block in the back, and another time I was heavier.
All with stock 3.73 gears.

What would be your thoughts on running 35s with 3.73 gears. I have a 2023 stock Willy’s on 32s now.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

What would be your thoughts on running 35s with 3.73 gears. I have a 2023 stock Willy’s on 32s now.

My neighbors running 35's on 3.73 gears in his overland. He's getting about 14 mpgs average. I'm running 37's on 4.10 gears and getting 17 mpgs average. That's about what you can expect. Maybe 15 at best.

 

[Chaos Theory]

Again, it's not just about tire size, it's also the weight you're adding with winches, bumpers, skid plates, etc. Going from 33 to 35 for me required re-gearing due to the added weight of all the new crap ...er, equipment.

 

[Swordfish44]

My neighbors running 35's on 3.73 gears in his overland. He's getting about 14 mpgs average. I'm running 37's on 4.10 gears and getting 17 mpgs average. That's about what you can expect. Maybe 15 at best.

Hell im getting 15 now in the city. lol. I am more concerned with getting around the mountains and not straining the transmission.

 

[Swordfish44]

Again, it's not just about tire size, it's also the weight you're adding with winches, bumpers, skid plates, etc. Going from 33 to 35 for me required re-gearing due to the added weight of all the new crap ...er, equipment.

I don’t plan on adding anything more than a bed rack. Just think the Willy’s would look better on 35s with maybe a 2in lift. Not too concerned with gas mileage either just don’t want to strain the transmission or to struggle uphill.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

Is there a such thing as "over-gearing" or "too much gearing"

Example: Installed 35's with heavier rims, aluminum bumpers, & a chase rack.

Regear: 4.56 vs 4.88, no plans to tow. But I do like the look of the 37's.

It’s hard to go too deep when you have 2 overdrives and the second one is 0.67:1.

4.88 with 35s at 70 mph in 8th gear is about 2,300 RPM which is perfect.

What would be your thoughts on running 35s with 3.73 gears. I have a 2023 stock Willy’s on 32s now.

3.73 with 35s is ok for acceleration and city driving, but I don’t like it on the highway because it doesn’t see 7th and 8th enough.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

My neighbors running 35's on 3.73 gears in his overland. He's getting about 14 mpgs average. I'm running 37's on 4.10 gears and getting 17 mpgs average. That's about what you can expect. Maybe 15 at best.

I just checked mine that has 35s with 3.73. I’m getting 17.7 according to the dash. Very little highway driving though.

 

[Swordfish44]

It’s hard to go too deep when you have 2 overdrives and the second one is 0.67:1.

4.88 with 35s at 70 mph in 8th gear is about 2,300 RPM which is perfect.

3.73 with 35s is ok for acceleration and city driving, but I don’t like it on the highway because it doesn’t see 7th and 8th enough.

Interesting. Maybe it’s worth just getting them and seeing what it feels like and decide from there. I don’t drive on the highway too often.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

What would be your thoughts on running 35s with 3.73 gears. I have a 2023 stock Willy’s on 32s now.

I'd regear mine if I ever decided on 35s. I just wouldn't like the lack of torque taking off, towing, etc. - and it would make the top 2 gears non-existent.

I just checked mine. I’m getting 17.7 according to the dash. Very little highway driving though.

Get on the highway and it would likely drop because the drag is going to be more noticeable with the lack of available torque.

35s will add rolling resistance and weight - not to mention change the RPM vs. road speed ratio. It will take more effort to get up to speed.

One reason I'll never simply slap on larger tires is towing - I need the grunt hauling the load up a hill.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

Get on the highway and it would likely drop because the drag is going to be more noticeable with the lack of available torque.

35s will add rolling resistance and weight - not to mention change the RPM vs. road speed ratio. It will take more effort to get up to speed.

One reason I'll never simply slap on larger tires is towing - I need the grunt hauling the load up a hill.

Yup, that’s why I mentioned it’s not on the highway often. Average overall MPG would definitely drop.

I’ll never tow with mine. It doesn’t have a hitch and I have something else for towing.

If mine was a DD, I would’ve regeared it by now.

 

[JulesAo]

I'm looking to upgrade my Mojave to 37s this month. I'm in Florida, so no hills and I don't really tow anything. I do find myself on the highway pretty regularly although I don't have a regular commute.

Toying with the idea of regearing to either 4.88 or 5.13. I was thinking of avoiding the entire debate by buying 35s, but really really love the look of the 37s and I do offroad several times a year, even if it's not hardcore offroading.

 

[ttn333]

I'm looking to upgrade my Mojave to 37s this month. I'm in Florida, so no hills and I don't really tow anything. I do find myself on the highway pretty regularly although I don't have a regular commute.

Toying with the idea of regearing to either 4.88 or 5.13. I was thinking of avoiding the entire debate by buying 35s, but really really love the look of the 37s and I do offroad several times a year, even if it's not hardcore offroading.

Get the 37s and decide afterward. I ran 37s on my JTR gasser for 2 years before regearing to 5.13. Daily driving was fine. It's the mountain passes thats a pain. I also started to hit the mountains more regularly in SoCal. I added a small offroad trailer. I trip up the mountain with that trailer did it for me. There's no way in hell I would do that again without regearing.

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