Gladiator sport - what diff / gear for pre-runner axle setup/build?

[HCAZ1991]

I purchased a gladiator sport with the 6MT, narrow axles not the max tow/wide track. It’s my daily and I do not rock crawl, just use it to haul stuff in the bed (no towing) and drive it like I stole it. The end goal is to have it setup for street/dirt/mud, no rock crawling. Sorry guys, rocks and crawling are just not my thing. Ranches and sand and dirt roads and to and from work. My last cars were ‘15 WRX STI, ‘15 JKUR, ‘17 Focus RS, hence my build direction. I am curious if y’all can give me advice on what diff/regear I would need for 37’s and the pre-runner/Baja goal? After all the reading I’ve done I think I’m leaning towards 4:88’s and an LSD in the rear because I hear lockers are great for going up rocks when you need traction but not great for anything involving turning at speed. I don’t know much about the different LSD’s so any advice would be helpful - brands, ratios, splines, etc. - and thanks in advance for the help!

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[sgtkersh]

With the 37s I would likely do 4.88s as well. I had 4.56s in my JKU and on 35s it was perfect. Once I move to 37s I lost a little and did a little more down shifting on hills. I also had an LSD in the rear and an air locker in the front. I did both what your goals are and rucks. So the LSD was perfect for everything including snow but when I was rock crawling the front locker got me out of almost any jam. If you aren’t doing rocks there is no reason to upgrade your axle shafts to a different spline count IMO.

Brand wise, if you are going to do it Yukons are generally the way to go. You can do cheaper gears, but Yukon is worth it’s price. Great warranty.

 

[eternus]

I purchased a gladiator sport with the 6MT, narrow axles not the max tow/wide track. It’s my daily and I do not rock crawl, just use it to haul stuff in the bed (no towing) and drive it like I stole it. The end goal is to have it setup for street/dirt/mud, no rock crawling. Sorry guys, rocks and crawling are just not my thing. Ranches and sand and dirt roads and to and from work. My last cars were ‘15 WRX STI, ‘15 JKUR, ‘17 Focus RS, hence my build direction. I am curious if y’all can give me advice on what diff/regear I would need for 37’s and the pre-runner/Baja goal? After all the reading I’ve done I think I’m leaning towards 4:88’s and an LSD in the rear because I hear lockers are great for going up rocks when you need traction but not great for anything involving turning at speed. I don’t know much about the different LSD’s so any advice would be helpful - brands, ratios, splines, etc. - and thanks in advance for the help!

I have much more fun going fast on bumpy things as well... if I'm going to go up rocks at a hiking pace I'll just hike. *shrug*

I've only just ordered my JT Sport so have no seat in the pants experience but am working out how to make it feel more Mohave-esque.

I don't plan to go with too big a tire, that's just more weight to spin and less power available. I'm shooting for 285/75/17 tires (34") which will still work ok with the 4:10s I'm getting from Max Tow. I imagine you'd want to upgrade your gearing since it's a bit lower than that... so yah 4.88 at 37 or 4.56 if you rein in your ambition and find contentment in 35s. =oP

My current ride is a JKU w/ LSD (33" tires, 3.73 gears) and Metalcloak Game Change (lite) which is great for hitting washbboards and handling snow. I look forward to getting my Gladiator feeling as pre-runner as possible.

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