Another gearing question
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
From: upstate ny
Another gearing question
Hi guys,
New to the forum and thought I would toss out another gearing questions LOL! I purchased a 2011 Wrangler Sport with the S package late last summer, the original vehicle I looked at had the tow package in the 6 speed. Decided the color was not what I wanted so the salesman quickly found the same vehicle in black.....excellent more my style. He told me that the only difference was the tow package so I figured no big deal I will just toss a hitch on. Well obviously I made a monumental mistake because I failed to properly research the difference in gear ratios, never did it cross my mind that they would put a 3.21 gear ratio in a wrangler. Guess I am a dumb Grand Cherokee guy....well lesson learned. I need to regear this thing and soon because I absolutely hate it. I live in upstate NY where there is no such thing as a flat road and this thing is awful on hills, 6th is unusable on the interstate unless you wind it up to 80 and I prefer to putt along around 65-68 on the highway. During test drive of the initial Jeep I was not really impressed with the pick up, though it was miles ahead with the 3.73 gearing, that leads me to 4.10 gears with the stock 32's. Looking at the gear ratio chart 4.10's in 6 gear should be very similar to the rpm's and speed I see now in 5th. That would be very acceptable on the highway to run 2300-2400 at 65mph, engine feels good and there is some usable pedal when you need it. This leads me to my two questions:
1. What type of mpg hit will I see going from 3.21-4.10 gears with the 6 speed manual. Have been getting 18.5-20 for all around driving which is acceptable and I would gladly give up some mpg for better performance. Just don't want to end up back at 14-15mpg like my last Grand Cherokee.
2. Will the gear change help the take off on this things in first and reverse.......I have been driving stick since I was 10 years old and I have never stalled a vehicle as many times as I have this thing in the first 4k miles. It is absolutely necessary to ride the clutch to start on any kind of a slope to prevent stalling. I understand that there are some issues with the drive by wire and I am wondering how much gears will help this or will I also need to invest in a sprint boost or a diablo predator to help take off.
3. Oh hell almost forgot does having the limited slip rear diff necessitate a new carrier in the rear? I was pretty sure the rear carrier on these would handle the bigger gears without a new carrier....just not sure if the limited slip would change this. Thanks.
Thanks for any replies.....have been a jeep guy for years and I really want to enjoy driving this rig......love it....except the driveablility is crap!!
Tim
New to the forum and thought I would toss out another gearing questions LOL! I purchased a 2011 Wrangler Sport with the S package late last summer, the original vehicle I looked at had the tow package in the 6 speed. Decided the color was not what I wanted so the salesman quickly found the same vehicle in black.....excellent more my style. He told me that the only difference was the tow package so I figured no big deal I will just toss a hitch on. Well obviously I made a monumental mistake because I failed to properly research the difference in gear ratios, never did it cross my mind that they would put a 3.21 gear ratio in a wrangler. Guess I am a dumb Grand Cherokee guy....well lesson learned. I need to regear this thing and soon because I absolutely hate it. I live in upstate NY where there is no such thing as a flat road and this thing is awful on hills, 6th is unusable on the interstate unless you wind it up to 80 and I prefer to putt along around 65-68 on the highway. During test drive of the initial Jeep I was not really impressed with the pick up, though it was miles ahead with the 3.73 gearing, that leads me to 4.10 gears with the stock 32's. Looking at the gear ratio chart 4.10's in 6 gear should be very similar to the rpm's and speed I see now in 5th. That would be very acceptable on the highway to run 2300-2400 at 65mph, engine feels good and there is some usable pedal when you need it. This leads me to my two questions:
1. What type of mpg hit will I see going from 3.21-4.10 gears with the 6 speed manual. Have been getting 18.5-20 for all around driving which is acceptable and I would gladly give up some mpg for better performance. Just don't want to end up back at 14-15mpg like my last Grand Cherokee.
2. Will the gear change help the take off on this things in first and reverse.......I have been driving stick since I was 10 years old and I have never stalled a vehicle as many times as I have this thing in the first 4k miles. It is absolutely necessary to ride the clutch to start on any kind of a slope to prevent stalling. I understand that there are some issues with the drive by wire and I am wondering how much gears will help this or will I also need to invest in a sprint boost or a diablo predator to help take off.
3. Oh hell almost forgot does having the limited slip rear diff necessitate a new carrier in the rear? I was pretty sure the rear carrier on these would handle the bigger gears without a new carrier....just not sure if the limited slip would change this. Thanks.
Thanks for any replies.....have been a jeep guy for years and I really want to enjoy driving this rig......love it....except the driveablility is crap!!
Tim
Last edited by chewbacca2264; Dec 27, 2011 at 02:15 PM.
JK Jedi Master
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 11,463
Likes: 165
From: Austin <--> Colorado Springs
1. Re-gear because the power sucks, not to get better mileage. (Any mpg improvement will be a bonus, but not really worth the high price tag of a regear). If you haven't found the faq's yet, that is a great place to start. They arestickied to the top of this modified area. Measure your tires and start plugging numbers in. (actual measured height, not mfg's spec or sidewall height). Also figure out if there is a tire size change in your future. Paying that big chunk of change a second time can really ruin your day.
-For the mpg gain or loss, it is hard to say. There are some very, very long mpg threads, and one thing you will see is that mileage is all over the place. Two people with the exact same basic setup, living and driving in the same areas, can have totally different mileage numbers. Spend some time reading through the 6spd specific re-gearing threads (auto's need different gearing) and you should find some decent info on this.
2. Proper gearing will probably help the most, but some people find that a tuner gives enough pep to make them happy. Your best bet there is to just do a few searches, since all of these items have a ton of threads and feedback already on this site.
3. The rear LS will be fine with the new gears. It is the d30 carrier running 3.21's that needs to be replaced. (should be less than $100 for the new front carrier).
When the axles are torn apart for gears is also the time to think about going to a better traction device than the stock rear LS, maybe adding one to the front, and it is a good time to think about strengthening the front housing.
-For the mpg gain or loss, it is hard to say. There are some very, very long mpg threads, and one thing you will see is that mileage is all over the place. Two people with the exact same basic setup, living and driving in the same areas, can have totally different mileage numbers. Spend some time reading through the 6spd specific re-gearing threads (auto's need different gearing) and you should find some decent info on this.
2. Proper gearing will probably help the most, but some people find that a tuner gives enough pep to make them happy. Your best bet there is to just do a few searches, since all of these items have a ton of threads and feedback already on this site.
3. The rear LS will be fine with the new gears. It is the d30 carrier running 3.21's that needs to be replaced. (should be less than $100 for the new front carrier).
When the axles are torn apart for gears is also the time to think about going to a better traction device than the stock rear LS, maybe adding one to the front, and it is a good time to think about strengthening the front housing.
Last edited by nthinuf; Dec 27, 2011 at 03:28 PM.