mewaschuk

For those that have personally owned or drive comparably equipped 6sp JK and JKU ---

I had a 07 JKU Sahara 6sp 4.10 stock gears and 33s - 6th was mostly unusable on road in the hills of VT.
Now have a 09 JK X 6sp with 3.21 and D30 front and will be adding larger wheels and a regear.
Question - how much does the vehile weight factor in to the driving expereince? Gut says got for 4.56 on my current JK X build, but soooo much cheaper to buy Rubicon crate axle with 4.10...
Looking for first hand experiences...

resharp001

I can't help with direct experience on the weight difference, but how can it be cheaper to buy a crated rubi axle vs. regearing. Regearing is usually $1500+/- in most parts of the country, course adding lockers would increase the cost. Crated front Rubi axles these days are what...$2200+? And then you still have to deal with the rear end? Even then, I'd submit you're stuck with the rubi e-locker which is less than ideal. I'd stick with the regear idea if I were you. That is coming from someone that swapped to rubi axles few years back.

GIROGecko

what size tires are you going to with? that will determine gearing. for me personally, i don't believe in touching the D30 at all. grab some rubicon takeoffs or better yet save up for a Prorock 44, UD44, Rockjock, etc.

mewaschuk

tire size 33 or 35
PR44 out, too $$$$$
UD44 a less than desirable option at $3500ish

resharp001

You're mainly wanting gearing for on-road manners and you're not wheelin hard? I don't think there's anything wrong with regearing a D30 if you're mainly on-road and/or running light trails. If you're out playing in boulders and such.....then I'd side more with the "don't put money in to a D30" argument.

Erok

I put 4.56 in my D30 with 35's and have wheeled it hard, on rocks, a few times a year since 2012. I know the common knowledge about D30, but it also depends on your wheeling style (do you drive or bounce it up obstacles?). If I ran larger than 35's, or did more aggressive driving, I might get a new axle. But I got my money's worth so far.