I think 4:88's will be fine and keep your rpm and mileage closer to stock, 5:13's start giving up mileage since higher RPMs.

I'll know better this week when I get gears and get them broken in. The way I drive, they'll be broken in within a few days.

I'll keep you posted on my experience.

 

I forgot where I saw this (I think it was on Jeeps website), but there was a comparison between Jeep Hummer and a couple of others and it was pretty interesting. The Jeep dominated in every class. You wouldn't think much of having the best approach angle until you climb something steep and not rip off your bumper. I've been in trucks off road and to be honest they can't even compete with the Jeep. My Jeep has been places that my buddies truck couldn't even get to. Plus you will also have the Jeep community by your side. in case you need advise or just wanna chat, which is bigger than the FJ and Xterra combined.

 

Yes definitely, just take care of it, know how to drive it and know your limits, I've submerged mine in muddy water up to the headlights been stuck for an hour there, gone 40 mph in shallow mud roads, and even flooded the inside of it. It lasts pretty well and I haven't needed to get anything expensive replaced or fixed except for the t-case level plastic clip which is already a known weak point. Mine is a 09, It's a Jeep, you can take the doors off, take the top off, even fold the windshield down, those are the things an xterra, and FJ can't compete with. I have learned to drive slower with my Jeep and I have not gotten a ticket for speeding. It's also one of those vehicles you can keep forever because they are always cool. Also relatively cheap to insure because they are classified as wagons.

 

My non-biased thoughts:

New Jeepers who visit forums such as this see a bunch of monster JKs and quickly discount the capability of a stock wrangler.

Most folks here see this as a hobby and replace parts out of desire; not necessity. A stock Sport with decent 32" tires should be able to handle anything that can be labled "light trail duty", but that does not stop owners from overbuilding them for fun.

Buy what you want and enjoy. Hell even a Jeep Liberty can tackle light trail duty

 

X2 first time I saw the Jeeps on here I thought my Jeep was crap, but I took it out and the stock wrangler can do some very impressive stuff.

 

If you want the most highly reliable vehicle, Jeep is probably not for you. J.D. Powers, Consumer Reports (yuk!), and other sources verify that there are more reliable brands out there. Having said that, I've not had any significant problems with my Jeep--at 85K+ miles. One data point is meaningless, however.

Secondly, don't discount what a stock Jeep can do. A stock Sport/X, I mean. For "light trail riding" you don't need any mods. Heck, I followed Rubicons all over the place in my stock SRA tires. And it wasn't on "light trail riding", either. Here are a few pic's before I had much in the way of mod's (you'll see rock rails in some of the pics, and that was about the extent of the mod's) ...

Stock SRA tires ...

 

To the OP, you have some great info passed to you, here's my 50 cents.....

-Yes the JK has a few qwerks, what vehical doesn't?
-There's plenty of users on this forum past 100,000Miles, with very good things to say.
-Do you want to drive something with roots back to 1941?
-The Jeep is a icon...even in kids books, the letter "J" always has a picture of a Jeep.
-A Jeep is not a SUV and a SUV is not a Jeep.
-Do FJ's wave to FJ's?
-Do random people stop you in a parking lot and ask you about your FJ, and compliment you on it.
-Do war vet's wave to you and tell you their stories when they see you in the coffee stop when you are rocking a X-Terra?
-any time there is a 'off-road' challange write up somewere, the vehical that's up against the Jeep is always refered to as 'the challanger'



The Jeep is a lifestyle, and a powerfull one that will put a smile on your face each and every time you're behind the wheel.

Drive them all, do your home work, be honest with yourself in terms of what you want to do with the vehidal, then decide. If you go Jeep, come on back and goin the fun here on the forum.

Best of luck to ya.

 

As someone who has owned a dozen Jeeps and currently owns a Nissan Frontier (same basic platform as Xterra), as well as a couple of Toyota trucks, I feel qualified to make an unbiased assessment. As far as offroad capabilities go, the JK will absolutely Kick the Xterra's rear framerails. The FJ has potential but will still be held back by the suspension offroad. On road the Xterrra and FJ are going to be alot nicer, with the coil-over strut independent front suspension. Older Jeeps were a constant pain in the reliability department but they have come a long way in recent years. Even the Nissans have their own set of problems like radiator/transmission contamination and constant rear axle seals leaking. With any vehicle that is used offroad, there will be additional maintenace. If you've never experienced owning a Jeep before- give it a try. I think you will like it. If not, you can rest easy knowing that the Jeep Wrangler has one of the best resale values of any vehicle. I KNOW I will have another Jeep, which is something I can't say for sure about the Nissan or a Toyota. As far as the Dana axle not being available in the automatic Xterra, you might want to double check that. My automatic NISMO has the M226, which is a hybrid Dana 44. It's actually the same center housing as is used in the Rubicon D44. I can't say for sure but I would bet that it is the same electric locker as well. Good luck with your decision.

 

FJ drivers do wave, so do Porsche 911 drivers. Not sure I would factor waving into my decision.

The JK has a couple of trump cards that made it more desireable to me. Removeable roof and doors (although I have yet to have the doors off, since I usually have dogs with me), and access to the largest aftermarket parts catalogue of any vehicle currently made. The options available to you to make it however you want is whats really incredible. Iconic good looks don't hurt either, you know its not going to look out of style because it was never in style.

 

I'm on my 3rd Wrangler(1991, 2000, 2008 ) and the only thing I've ever replaced on them was alternators, batteries, radiator and blower resistor on the 2000.. No real problems with any of them. I've either been lucky or these things are in fact reliable.