I’m new here - could be great…

[Janster]

I guess "fast enough" is relative. 55mph on the highway is a far cry from 80+ on the freeway. Sure my old XJ was ok driving locally with 35x14.50 pit bull tires and 4.88s but it definitely wasn't getting driven to Moab 1,100 miles away. Even up to the rubicon 4 hours away it was mediocre going up I5 and could barely maintain speed on the way up the sierras. And even then the crawl ratio was an unimpressive 37.8-1. And it was a later model with overdrive. Get a YJ or early TJ with no overdrive and it's even worse. The JLUR in the driveway came with an 85.7-1 crawl ratio and even on 39s will cruise at 100mph if I want to. We are on Jeeps 15 and 16 in the driveway right now and I miss nothing about the zjs, yj, tj, jk, xjs, or wagoneers we built and wheeled over the years. The v8 wj was the only one that felt like it had enough power on road. The leather seats in that thing were amazing too. Still wouldn't go back by any means. The JLUR and the JT mojave are better on every way. Ever take a TJ through washboards at freeway speeds? Hard pass. The JT is more comfortable there at 70+ than the tj was on the freeway at that speed.

Around here on the East Coast…. the highest speed limit you’ll see is 70 or 75mph and that’s only on a main thruways & outside of any metro or busy areas. Most speed limits are still 55mph. So yea…. 60mph was plenty - and especially back then in 2000 (25 years ago). I could go 65mph and be passing people. We didn’t drive it anymore than a couple hours at a time. Anymore then that, we invested in a trailer and a tow rig.

Now-a-days…anything that was 55mph back then, has stayed 55mph (around where I live). However, people are going 75-80 without any care in the world. There’s just too much traffic & too much stupidity these days to warrant raising the speed limits around here.

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[Zachanadandy]

Around here on the East Coast…. the highest speed limit you’ll see is 70 or 75mph and that’s only on a main thruways & outside of any metro or busy areas. Most speed limits are still 55mph. So yea…. 60mph was plenty - and especially back then in 2000 (25 years ago). I could go 65mph and be passing people. We didn’t drive it anymore than a couple hours at a time. Anymore then that, we invested in a trailer and a tow rig.

Now-a-days…anything that was 55mph back then, has stayed 55mph (around where I live). However, people are going 75-80 without any care in the world. There’s just too much traffic & too much stupidity these days to warrant raising the speed limits around here.

Out west you'll get run over by semis on the freeway if you're under 75mph. That's why I make it clear I need my Jeep to be able to cruise 80+ or it's useless to me. Our AZ property is 590 miles from the house and we try to get out there once a month. 65mph would cost me several days of driving in a year.

 

[Charles 236]

3K at highway speeds was totally common. The automatics I had came standard with 2.73 ratio, 3.15 optional.
In 1969 the dealer regeared the Javelin I had for a while - from 2.73 to 3.15 and the line item on the dealer sales slip given to the car's buyer - the original owner had kept when it bought it - said "gear ratio - $10"

I had a '69 Dodge with the 440 Six Pack, the stock gear was 4.10. I swapped it out for 4.30 gears, a noticeable improvement for a quarter mile drag race. I also drove it at highway speeds, 65-70 mph around here. It turned about 3,200 rpms at 65 mph, and the only thing that bothered me was how fast a tank of premium passed through the three Holleys. If I held it to 55 mph or so, I could get 11.7 mpg. I never was bothered by revving an engine to go whatever speed I wanted to run.

 

[Janster]

Out west you'll get run over by semis on the freeway if you're under 75mph. That's why I make it clear I need my Jeep to be able to cruise 80+ or it's useless to me. Our AZ property is 590 miles from the house and we try to get out there once a month. 65mph would cost me several days of driving in a year.

That’s totally understandable…….I’d do the same. Totally different culture over there.

Back then….I remember driving a rental (Ford Escape or something similar) to Moab from some airport (Can’t remember). It was a 4 hour drive (an absolutely beautiful drive)….. I was amazed at the speed limits and how damn flat the roads were. I remember thinking…… Can this stupid little Escape go that fast??
It was hard to go that fast….felt like I was committing a crime.

 

[Gvsukids]

Funny how a thread derails when the original topic expires.

 

[Zachanadandy]

Funny how a thread derails when the original topic expires.

Almost like a real conversation? When discussing anything you'll often forget where the conversation started or what the original topic was. At least with the forums you can scroll back and remind yourself.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

If it was an auto your options were gear low enough for wheeling and be at 3k rpms at 55mph or gear high enough to roll freeway speed and have a 20-1 crawl ratio though.

I get your point, but your numbers are a little off.

With a 3 speed auto, 4.56, and 35" tires, 3k RPM at about 65 MPH. Crawl ratio of 34:1.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Funny how a thread derails when the original topic expires.

I’m amazed at how calm and nice everyone is! Ive got my coffee and enjoying all this discussion

 

[Lost1wing]

Funny how a thread derails when the original topic expires.

How about those Bears?

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Let the healing begin.

 

[Zachanadandy]

I get your point, but your numbers are a little off.

With a 3 speed auto, 4.56, and 35" tires, 3k RPM at about 65 MPH. Crawl ratio of 34:1.

34:1 is still atrocious and I don't think the 4.0L would be very happy cruising 3k let alone the 3500 rpm at 80mph. Yes I may exaggerate a bit a times. Conversely the stock drivetrain in the JLUR has an 86:1 crawl ratio and will cruise 80mph at less than 2400rpm on 35s. Not even on the same planet on the high end or the low end and exactly why I argue regearing a JL or JT is certainly not necessary and hardly worth the cost. We have all the gearing and all the overdrive right out of the box.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

34:1 is still atrocious and I don't think the 4.0L would be very happy cruising 3k let alone the 3500 rpm at 80mph. Yes I may exaggerate a bit a times. Conversely the stock drivetrain in the JLUR has an 86:1 crawl ratio and will cruise 80mph at less than 2400rpm on 35s. Not even on the same planet on the high end or the low end and exactly why I argue regearing a JL or JT is certainly not necessary and hardly worth the cost. We have all the gearing and all the overdrive right out of the box.

New stuff has come a long ways.

Gearing will always be subjective. You can argue it's not needed and someone else will come along and say it's their favorite mod.

 

[Zachanadandy]

New stuff has come a long ways.

Gearing will always be subjective. You can argue it's not needed and someone else will come along and say it's their favorite mod.

And then be completely unable to articulate why... "It rockets off the line now" meanwhile myself and several others experienced the same 0-60 (actually measured) before and after regearing. "It's easier on the engine" meanwhile mpg remains similar. "I have more control crawling" how terrible a driver are you that you can't crawl with an 80+ to one crawl ratio plus a torque converter? If it isn't objectively better anywhere, it certainly isn't worth MY money. The subjective part is likely confirmation bias as nobody wants to admit they didn't see near the gain they wanted to after dropping $3k. I torched the money on regearing the 1st JL and I'll never do that again. Short of the extremes like a JL sport with 3.45s going to 37s, the juice isn't worth the squeeze for me. Even there, I've seen XR take offs go for $4-5k. I'd much rather gain lockers, thicker wall tubes, steel knuckles, and 4.56 gears than just pay for a regear. To each his own.

 

[jav_eee]

That's gonna be a "no" from me, Don. The internet is for my entertainment.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

And then be completely unable to articulate why... "It rockets off the line now" meanwhile myself and several others experienced the same 0-60 (actually measured) before and after regearing. "It's easier on the engine" meanwhile mpg remains similar. "I have more control crawling" how terrible a driver are you that you can't crawl with an 80+ to one crawl ratio plus a torque converter? If it isn't objectively better anywhere, it certainly isn't worth MY money. The subjective part is likely confirmation bias as nobody wants to admit they didn't see near the gain they wanted to after dropping $3k. I torched the money on regearing the 1st JL and I'll never do that again. Short of the extremes like a JL sport with 3.45s going to 37s, the juice isn't worth the squeeze for me. Even there, I've seen XR take offs go for $4-5k. If much rather gain lockers, thicker wall tubes, steel knuckles, and 4.56 gears than just pay for a regear. To each his own.

One thing you didn't mention is getting in to overdrive gears is a reason people regear.

Crusing along in 7th gear on a flat highway doesn't sit well with everyone.

Sure there is confirmation bias with some mods, but you can't dismiss all accounts because of this.

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