I just bought my JK a month ago. I plan waiting on my warranties to run out before I start any major changes. I want to start planning and saving for my mods now so when the time comes I can get started right away. One of my main requirments when I started looking for my JK was that it came with the towing package (I do a lot of camping and hunting so I take along a trailer for my equipment) which means my rear axle ratio at this time is 3.73. When I start looking at performing a lift setup (I'm thinking a 3" lift with 33 tires), what ratio should I look at to maintain my ability to do some towing or will I completely lose the abilty to tow?

 

Hi and welcome to the Forum! I run a 3.73 ratio and have towed a flatbed trailer choked full of stuff before (about a 2000 lb payload) and my little 2dr sport did just fine. My hitch was aftermarket and it still had no issues.

And for 33 inchers, you don't need a 3 inch lift. It might look funny - take a look at a few pics here in the forum to decide if you like the look. Just do 33 inches with either flat fenders or a cheap BB or levelling kit. That will ensure no rubbing at full flex and a less comical look (high lift, small tires). That's my setup and I love it!

My 2 cents. Hope that helped!

 

Thanks for the info. Did you see much of a gas milage difference when you did your 2.5 lift with 33 tires?

 

Yup the minute you go bigger on your tires the mpg begins to drop. Used to do 21 or 22 mpg stock. After the 33's went in I averaged 18 :(

 

After reading more, I see your point about the 33" tires looking small with a 3" lift. I didn't realize that my 255/75R17 tires are 32". It looks like I should probably consider 35's with 2.5 lift and spacers.

 

That would be a good combination. What part of Ohio? I'm originally from south of Toledo.

 

You would probably want to regear with 35's.

 

Welcome to the Jeep family and JK forum

I would suggest to go for a 2.5" coil lift, plenty lift for 33-35" tires and it won't change your driving characteristics much, for towing you might want to consider a airlift (bags in the coils) to prevent your rear from dropping too much.

Cheers,

Mark

 

Thanks everyone for the advice.

Rick, I'm from the north Columbus Ohio area