- Banned
- #16
Make you able to use 6 gear on the road more often , and not have to stall as much, on off road trails that we bought Jeeps for. You dont buy Jeeps to do easy stuff. leave that to the Tacoma's . Colorado s. lol
Sponsored
Sponsored
6MT + 4.88 + 35s; anyone do it?
- Thread starter AustinL911
- Start date
- Watchers 22
TheHops
Well-Known Member
Haha, fair enough! And thanks for the info.
I guess I'll reserve judgment until I'm trying to push the Jeep vertical over some obstacles, but like I said I personally haven't had any issues in 4-lo just yet. I'll keep that in mind for when I actually have a chance to get out on some decent trails. With 6th gear, mine holds 6th gear at 70mph up moderate inclines, but I do use 5th a lot if I'm going through a particularly hilly area.
Pescado
Well-Known Member
Glad to hear the trails are open. I'm heading to Big Bear next month for a week, first time with the Jt. I've done Gold Mtn and Heart Break Ridge in my Hummer and there were definitely some challenging spots.
Sponsored
Food2000
Well-Known Member
Yeah trails opened october 8th (we were watching very closely).
I've done the same trails (gold mtn and heartbreak) so far, watching the other gladiator crawl with ease (no lockers engaged) was impressive stuff (he was auto).
My build as of today is adding:
- Front/rear ARB lockers
- 5.13 gears.
Someone suggested Rubi T-Case? maybe i'll do that later?
I've done the same trails (gold mtn and heartbreak) so far, watching the other gladiator crawl with ease (no lockers engaged) was impressive stuff (he was auto).
My build as of today is adding:
- Front/rear ARB lockers
- 5.13 gears.
Someone suggested Rubi T-Case? maybe i'll do that later?
Jt-wrx
Well-Known Member
ok so i run 4.88's with 6mt and 37's
68 mph in 6th is about 2250 rpm
75 mph in 6th is about 2500 rpm
80 mph in 6th is about 2700 rpm
2nd stage oil pump comes on at 3000 rpm, probably wanna stay under that for long periods of highway running
i live at 4000' elevation and routinely get up into the 7000' range when heading to mountains here, cruise control is so useable now, acceleration is fantastic, like stock or maybe a touch better (sport s with 3.73's was my base) and...
completely agree with the power at 2400-2500 rpm is fantastic for keeping things moving while not feeling like screaming, and it can hold most of the hills on cruise control on the hwy at those rpms, it really should be your typical max hwy cruise speed goal for running empty
i would personally not want to be any higher on the ratio than this to ensure i could get ok mileage on longer highway runs at 75 mph which is typical for my area
4.56 would be equiv to my set up for 35" tires
my rig tows great now too, i pull about 3800 lbs in total and if fighting winds i'll be in 4th but if not i'll be in 5th a lot more and just keep things under that 3000 rpm threshold when i can, mileage drops from 16 combined empty to about 11.9 straight highway when i tow my trailer full of week long camping stuff
see more here
note, i live in canada so i typically convert to u.s. figures, mileage/speeds etc. as the bulk of you JT owners are from well south of me, so the chart in the instagram is in km/h...the multiplier of mph to km/h is 1.609 so 100 mph is 160 km/h...you can math my figures a bit to see but 68 mph is 110 km/h, 75 mph is 120 km/h and 80 mph is 130 km/h essentially. my mileage is 14.7 l/100 km combined average over 7300 kms and towing mileage is 20 l/100 km...the u.s. translation is 16.0 mpg and 11.9 mpg
68 mph in 6th is about 2250 rpm
75 mph in 6th is about 2500 rpm
80 mph in 6th is about 2700 rpm
2nd stage oil pump comes on at 3000 rpm, probably wanna stay under that for long periods of highway running
i live at 4000' elevation and routinely get up into the 7000' range when heading to mountains here, cruise control is so useable now, acceleration is fantastic, like stock or maybe a touch better (sport s with 3.73's was my base) and...
completely agree with the power at 2400-2500 rpm is fantastic for keeping things moving while not feeling like screaming, and it can hold most of the hills on cruise control on the hwy at those rpms, it really should be your typical max hwy cruise speed goal for running empty
i would personally not want to be any higher on the ratio than this to ensure i could get ok mileage on longer highway runs at 75 mph which is typical for my area
4.56 would be equiv to my set up for 35" tires
my rig tows great now too, i pull about 3800 lbs in total and if fighting winds i'll be in 4th but if not i'll be in 5th a lot more and just keep things under that 3000 rpm threshold when i can, mileage drops from 16 combined empty to about 11.9 straight highway when i tow my trailer full of week long camping stuff
see more here
note, i live in canada so i typically convert to u.s. figures, mileage/speeds etc. as the bulk of you JT owners are from well south of me, so the chart in the instagram is in km/h...the multiplier of mph to km/h is 1.609 so 100 mph is 160 km/h...you can math my figures a bit to see but 68 mph is 110 km/h, 75 mph is 120 km/h and 80 mph is 130 km/h essentially. my mileage is 14.7 l/100 km combined average over 7300 kms and towing mileage is 20 l/100 km...the u.s. translation is 16.0 mpg and 11.9 mpg
Last edited:
Food2000
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info / insight, it does sound like i should maybe think about doing 4.88 given i am running 35's and with your numbers, i can go 37's and still have the 4.88 gears work.
my primary concern is how i'll crawl in 4low, do you think 4.88 will be a performance issues vs 5.13?
I know either option will be much better than 3.73 i have now.
Jt-wrx
Well-Known Member
I should have stated I use mine like a regular pick up truck. Not a crawler, the worst off-roading will be getting down muddy or snow forestry roads or to retrieve downed game. This thing should put any half ton to shame in that regard. I tow couple times a year. If I was a crawler not sure a sport s would have been my choice. Low is plenty low for me and would be even more ridiculous with rubicon.
to give you bit of an idea as i ran 35's on the 3.73's for awhile and it got me by on the street but needed 4 low to even bump my trailer up onto the curb in reverse, or get wheels turning in 6" of crusted snow from a stop...now i'll only every need 4 low when it's serious offroad, heck i couldn't even get turning on a really steep driveway in the country one day when on 37's and 3.73, it was sad, bugger will spin both tires as i start from a dig on that driveway now, and driving around town, i'm shifting out of 1st gear maybe a 1/4 to 1/3rd the way through an intersection now, that's how different 4.88's are compared to 3.73's...i'd make it through the intersection before needing a shift with 3.73's....one/two shifts are stacked on each other now fyi, you'll be screaming down the highway with 5.13's and 35's, you'll be into the second stage oil pump just trying to do 70 mph imo...too much for normal duty, with the 3.73's i had a 4 speed, with 4.88's i have a 6 speed that is pretty much done by 80 mph, just too high rpm for my tastes, i wouldn't be happy with 5.13's for my needs, it would drive me nuts to have to set my cruise control at 70 mph and hear it push 3000 rpm, i'd be slow guy in the right hand lane for sure
Last edited:
Food2000
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the illustration above and the more i think about it, i think i'll go with 4.88 gears.
I agree, i don't want to be stressing out the gladiator while cruising highway and i don't intend it to be a dedicated crawler as it's still my primary vehicle.
I am sure 4.88 gears significantly help me with the wheelin' i want to do.
Sponsored
Jt-wrx
Well-Known Member
As I recall in 4th which is supposed to be the 1:1 towing gear, I was able to set cruise into the wind pulling my trailer at 102 km/h and it wouldn’t engage the second stage oil pump. That’s about 63 mph and right at 3000 rpm. And if I shifted into 5th it would lug and maintain 106-107 km/h but it felt too low in rpm and bogged. So I just went 4th and dropped speed until it wasn’t tripping in the second stage oil pump. So ya, not sure you’d want any worse than that.
Jt-wrx
Well-Known Member
Well for perspective, fuelly.com range for say last decade of ram 1500's with the 5.7l hemi v8 run from 14.9-15.4 l/100km or 15.3-15.8 mpg. And the same ram 1500's with the pentastar v6 we have they get about 13 l/100km or 18 mpg average. The chevy 1500's with the well known 5.3l v8 average 14.3-14.4 l/100km or 16.3-16.5 mpg.
So my particular Jeep set up i'm slotting in between the gm ls 5.3 and the ram 5.7 hemi and the ram v6 is beating me by 2 mpg.
Which i find perfectly acceptable, if not excellent, considering i'm driving a lifted solid front axle jeep truck on 37's with 4.88 gears and a manual transmission. I slide a 5 gallon pail straight under it for oil changes to give an idea of ground clearance differences.
On top of this my unicorn freedom machine has t-tops, a manual transmission with a cat back exhaust that sounds very gtr and because it's geared well i'm still driving through traffic and leaving most of it behind at the lights because it's sports car fun to drive on the daily. Something a boring half ton simply cannot deliver. The smiles per miles are unmatched. A motorbike gets close to this level of engagement and happiness. This machine also does hunting, trailer towing for vacation, and mini-van dad duty. So it's really like having my cake and eating it too. I can handle 16 mpg combined to have this every single day, it's got lots of poke and is a riot to drive and it does everything i need of it. The half ton wins on the highway for ride and quiet...but that's it, this thing does extremely well for what it is and in no way can it not pull long stints on the highway comfortably or even towing.
Would i love boost of any kind going forward? You bet, i'd love gm's 2.7l turbo 4 that you can get in the half tons now, that would be the perfect power plant for this truck. I don't want complex heavy diesels although i am considering a cummins r2.8 for a swap with the 200 hp tune if and when i can kill this pentastar but i've grown very fond of the pentastar, it's a tractable linear and efficient power plant with some good poke. I had a 2014 ram pentastar till it got wrote off in november pushing me to the gladiator, so i have about 100,000 miles combined time behind that engine between these last two vehicles. No engine choice will be perfect without boost in this day and age simply for that low rpm torque. I'd prefer a simple inline larger cylinder 4 banger than any v style motor myself and i'd prefer gas. The 2.0 is just too small imo.
So my particular Jeep set up i'm slotting in between the gm ls 5.3 and the ram 5.7 hemi and the ram v6 is beating me by 2 mpg.
Which i find perfectly acceptable, if not excellent, considering i'm driving a lifted solid front axle jeep truck on 37's with 4.88 gears and a manual transmission. I slide a 5 gallon pail straight under it for oil changes to give an idea of ground clearance differences.
On top of this my unicorn freedom machine has t-tops, a manual transmission with a cat back exhaust that sounds very gtr and because it's geared well i'm still driving through traffic and leaving most of it behind at the lights because it's sports car fun to drive on the daily. Something a boring half ton simply cannot deliver. The smiles per miles are unmatched. A motorbike gets close to this level of engagement and happiness. This machine also does hunting, trailer towing for vacation, and mini-van dad duty. So it's really like having my cake and eating it too. I can handle 16 mpg combined to have this every single day, it's got lots of poke and is a riot to drive and it does everything i need of it. The half ton wins on the highway for ride and quiet...but that's it, this thing does extremely well for what it is and in no way can it not pull long stints on the highway comfortably or even towing.
Would i love boost of any kind going forward? You bet, i'd love gm's 2.7l turbo 4 that you can get in the half tons now, that would be the perfect power plant for this truck. I don't want complex heavy diesels although i am considering a cummins r2.8 for a swap with the 200 hp tune if and when i can kill this pentastar but i've grown very fond of the pentastar, it's a tractable linear and efficient power plant with some good poke. I had a 2014 ram pentastar till it got wrote off in november pushing me to the gladiator, so i have about 100,000 miles combined time behind that engine between these last two vehicles. No engine choice will be perfect without boost in this day and age simply for that low rpm torque. I'd prefer a simple inline larger cylinder 4 banger than any v style motor myself and i'd prefer gas. The 2.0 is just too small imo.
Deleted member 30519
What about the guys that dont really do highway driving with the 6spd. Would 37s be overkill with 3.77 gears. I've been running 35s for a while now with no issues.
Jt-wrx
Well-Known Member
i did this for several thousand km's, it will get you by on the street, that's about it, you've got a long geared 4 speed, occasionally on the highway you may see 5th but a snort or minor hill will have you back in 4th, 35's did better and as a dad mobile you'd get by but below average, i ran 35's for quite awhile first, jumping to 37's was clear as a bell it was time to re-gear, start saving
Sponsored
