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So, the Max Tow has larger brakes than a Rubicon, or larger then a Sport and Sport-S? What about a Rubicon with the Class-IV factory tow package?
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Sazabi19

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So, the Max Tow has larger brakes than a Rubicon, or larger then a Sport and Sport-S? What about a Rubicon with the Class-IV factory tow package?
I believe they are the largest of all models since they are in theory meant to tow the highest weight and thus need the stopping power. Could be wrong...
 

steelponycowboy

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Again, I have lots of experience with this.

Wait until you re-gear to go with 37's and then consider 4.88 or 5.13 (5.13 if you are going to tow anything. Running 35s or 37s with 3.73 gears is going to put excess strain on your drive train and will just suck when it comes to MPG. I had an idiot saleman tell me the new D44s in the JTs don't have to have a gear change with up to 37" tires. Yeah right, find a salesman who knows what he is talking about.

The other thing I have seen over the years, over heating with big tires and stock gears, premature failure of drive train components, etc.

General rule of thumb with modifying a Jeep, do it right or not at all. Keeps you and other drivers near you safe.
 

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So, the Max Tow has larger brakes than a Rubicon, or larger then a Sport and Sport-S? What about a Rubicon with the Class-IV factory tow package?
It was on my sticker stating heavy Duty brakes if I remember correctly. I'll look again when I get home but I remember something mentioned about heavy Duty brakes.
 

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Jeeperjamie

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Again, I have lots of experience with this.

Wait until you re-gear to go with 37's and then consider 4.88 or 5.13 (5.13 if you are going to tow anything. Running 35s or 37s with 3.73 gears is going to put excess strain on your drive train and will just suck when it comes to MPG. I had an idiot saleman tell me the new D44s in the JTs don't have to have a gear change with up to 37" tires. Yeah right, find a salesman who knows what he is talking about.

The other thing I have seen over the years, over heating with big tires and stock gears, premature failure of drive train components, etc.

General rule of thumb with modifying a Jeep, do it right or not at all. Keeps you and other drivers near you safe.
I'm sure on 3.73 gears it would be a slug. I'm on 35's and 4.10 gears with the Max tow and I towed about 5400lbs of rock 40 miles two weeks ago and I didn't see much of a decrease in power or MPGs. The mpgs did drop some but not significantly. I think I ended up going from 18.4- 17.9 by the time I got to the guys house. It did a lot better job than I thought it would.

Edit: That was trailor weight and rock weight combined if anyone is wondering.
 
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kelkolb

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Again, I have lots of experience with this.

Wait until you re-gear to go with 37's and then consider 4.88 or 5.13 (5.13 if you are going to tow anything. Running 35s or 37s with 3.73 gears is going to put excess strain on your drive train and will just suck when it comes to MPG. I had an idiot saleman tell me the new D44s in the JTs don't have to have a gear change with up to 37" tires. Yeah right, find a salesman who knows what he is talking about.

The other thing I have seen over the years, over heating with big tires and stock gears, premature failure of drive train components, etc.

General rule of thumb with modifying a Jeep, do it right or not at all. Keeps you and other drivers near you safe.

Out of curiosity, why do you say 5.13's if towing with 37's? 4.88's are a lower ratio with 37's than 4.10's are with stock max tow 245's. Is it simply because of the wheel/tire weight?
 

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Definitely report back. Kind of curious to know how much MPG's and overall performance you regain, and your towing ability improvement with 4.88's and 37's with the 8-spd auto. Granted, I'd be going from 4.10's to 4.88's so with you going from 3.73's to 4.88's, your performance should be a must more drastic one, but i'm still curious to know how well the transmission performs with the 37's and 4.88 combo on the highway at around 75-80 MPH, and on backroads at 55-60 MPH.

Thanks
So i'm a 6-speed manual.

However, recently watched a vid on instagram of a red rubicon auto on 37's and he did 4.88's, they were on the highway doing 80 mph and from recollection he was turning 2400 rpm. I can't for the life of me figure out which guy it was. He reported much better mileage after re-gear as it could drive normally.

With the standard transmission it's not hard for me to keep mileage pretty well same as i just hold the gear i need to stay at rpm i need, the auto would hunt around and find itself in the wrong gear too often i'm suspecting...at least until you re-gear and it can run more normally.

The calculators show with the manual on 37's i'll turn around 2400 rpm at 75 mph in 6th (pretty close to the vid i mentioned, he was turning that rpm at 80 mph in 8th i believe, makes sense as he's got a bit taller overdrive up top than the manual (.67 vs .72). 4.88's is where to be for 37's imo. I've found that 60-70 mph 2200 rpm gives decent power to hold most typical highway elevations/winds, when you get up in that 75-80 mph range it holds better at 2400 rpm. This is mopar lift on 37's and my wheels only 23 lbs but 82 lb tires and i note these things as with a manual on cruise control everytime you have to shift the cruise turns off...so my homework is leading me to what let me do that and still keep rpm low enough in top gear for empty highway running. If you go 5.13's you'll be screaming at 80 mph imo. I'd rather use a lower gear when needed than not be able to run empty at 80 and be at the bottom end of usable rpm for the lift/tire combo.

my ride is documented on ig; gladiatoryyc
 
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Are you wanting 37"s for looks? If so, wait until you have the money to regear and maintain the life of your rig. If you're looking for an offroad advantage, save the money and roll with the 35"s. But, if you really want the 37"s, (like it's already been stated), save your money and regear to minimize your problems down the road. You'll be happy you did.
 

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I mentioned 5.13s with 37s for towing basically for off-road. My overland club has more than a few guys with off-road trailers and on our 4 day to 14 day trips, the guys that went one step above the typical 4.88s were happier with 5.13s.

As for the brakes, the Rubicon and the Max tow have the same brakes. Service manager told me this today when I was making an appointment for oil change and rotation. In fact he said all the JT brakes are the same. Not sure why they say HD brakes in the description other than to make it sound like you are getting something more.

I've put Baer Big Brake kit front and rear on my Jeep and love the difference the 6 piston calipers with the Corvette brakes and the 4 pistons in the back have made my stopping power much better.
 

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I mentioned 5.13s with 37s for towing basically for off-road. My overland club has more than a few guys with off-road trailers and on our 4 day to 14 day trips, the guys that went one step above the typical 4.88s were happier with 5.13s.

As for the brakes, the Rubicon and the Max tow have the same brakes. Service manager told me this today when I was making an appointment for oil change and rotation. In fact he said all the JT brakes are the same. Not sure why they say HD brakes in the description other than to make it sound like you are getting something more.

I've put Baer Big Brake kit front and rear on my Jeep and love the difference the 6 piston calipers with the Corvette brakes and the 4 pistons in the back have made my stopping power much better.
I'd take anything a service manager says with a grain of salt, especially at a dealership. I don't know the answer specifically either, but a lot forums and articles online particular mention the Max tow having HD Brakes or upgraded brakes system.
 

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I'd take anything a service manager says with a grain of salt, especially at a dealership. I don't know the answer specifically either, but a lot forums and articles online particular mention the Max tow having HD Brakes or upgraded brakes system.
Mopar America show the same caliper part number for ALL Gladiators. There is no mention of HD brakes or standard brakes. The build page on Jeep.com no longer shows HD brakes as part of the HD tow package. The price difference between an "S" with HD tow and regular tow is $895. Take the 4.10 gears, the rear trac lok diff and the day time running light system could take up most of that difference. I'm betting that all JTs have the same brakes.

The Max Tow also says HD wide track axles. Looking to replace the entire axle assembly for an "S", there are 3 part numbers listed, one for the launch edition, and two that are almost equal in price that doesn't have any reference to HD or Max Tow. The difference could be 3.73 or 4.10 gear ratios. The Rubicon replacement axles are more expensive due to the lockers but none of them refer to HD or Max Tow. Again, I'm thinking that all JTs have the same D44s under them except the Mojave.

Any Jeep engineers here that can answer the questions ?
 

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I believe they are the largest of all models since they are in theory meant to tow the highest weight and thus need the stopping power. Could be wrong...
You are incorrect. Max Tow is a package that can be equipped on a Sport or Sport S. Although everyone likes to refer to max tow as a trim line and not an option.

Anyway, the Rubicon trim has everything in a max tow package on a Sport or Sport S, however the difference being its all standard equipment on the Rubicon. I believe you have to add the class IV hitch.

So, a Sport or Sport S w/max tow does not contain any different components (including bigger brakes) than what is on a Rubicon trim. Basically you are adding what's on a Rubicon to the Sport/Sport S trim and because they are lighter models, tow capacity increases from 7K to 7.6K (when properly equipped aka Tow Package).

A rubicon is standard max tow (if you will) but can't get the max rating due to its heft.
 

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