What rear end gear

[mazzman]

check my sig for engine and tire size. i have a 5 speed manual. no other mods

what rear end gear should i get? i need more power for climbing grades and light towing, its gutless up hills. thanks

 

[michowski]

4.56.

 

[mazzman]

thanks

 

[mhughes165]

honestly with that motor and trans unless u plan on goin bigger i think the 4.56's would be overkill, if ur gonna stick with 33's i would run like a 4.10' wont be all balls to the walls like, but have enough grunt to get out of its own way, and u wont lose on topend. but, if in the future u plan on goin bigger think ahead of time, 4.56's or 4.88's can be very nice in a truck runnin 35"s plus

 

[4x4junkie]

I have 4.10 in mine with 33s, it's rather unexciting.

4.56 or 4.88, you'll be glad you did.

 

[MAKG]

You have a manual transmission.

Downshift.

It is EXACTLY equivalent to changing the rear end gears (except it's $1000 cheaper), except at a dead stop.

I really don't understand why people insist on having the transmission in 5th gear on the highway all the time. Keep your 4.0L at 2000 RPM or above all the time, and it won't seem nearly so gutless. Your transmission is MUCH stronger in 4th anyway. Your mileage will IMPROVE at the higher RPM if you aren't making it struggle anymore.

And no, you won't wreck your engine by blasting it even at over 5000 RPM continuously. And the RPMs will be about the same with the gear swap from 3.54 to 4.56 as they would be if you drove in 3rd instead of 5th. If you have 3.73, it's closer to 4th gear.

You have a rev limiter in that model year. The PCM won't let you overrev the engine. Blast it away.

Do make sure you have your speedometer corrected for the oversize tires. If you don't, it will SEEM gutless because you're really trying to blast it over the mountains at 80 MPH instead of 65 MPH.

 

[4x4junkie]

Why would you want to have a useless gear in your transmission?

The benefits of deeper axle gears are not limited to just cruising on the highway, they improve takeoff ability, as well as offroad ability. Having more usable gears means a better chance of finding the perfect gear for whatever speed you (or traffic) is going, too.

 

[MAKG]

Among other things, it allows you to gauge WHICH gears you might want for free.

It certainly does act differently in 1st gear, since you can't downshift that. But you don't get an entirely useless overdrive. It's fine for downhill or other low power situations.

Spending $1000 on something one can do for free isn't high on MY list.

And the OP said the issue was light towing and climbing hills. Not offroading and not dead starts. For THAT goal, downshifting works perfectly.

 

[4x4junkie]

Starts from a dead-stop aren't a factor when towing?? How else do you propose to get that load rolling?

Also what about the added wear on the clutch, too?


I guess we all have our own way of dealing with things... I prefer having the torque and usefulness in all gears myself.

 

[MAKG]

Key word: light.

 

[BlackBII]

It's up to the OP but Junkie and Gross both have points in either argument, My suggestion is a lower gear ratio, 4.56, it will be better for towing, especially from a dead stop, where your engine, clutch and tranny all have to work the hardest, even if it's light towing. Downshifting on an upgrade will do the same as getting gears, but getting gears will make it 'easier' espcially in a higher gear, and will improve overall performance including gas mileage.

It's up to you man, if you wanna spend the bones. Do you do a lot of off roading??