I know on the TJ's alot of jeepers prefered the Manual trans, I have heard it allows more horsepower to get to the rear wheels. I have a auto 04 TJ 6cyl.with 33" tires and it is slow, my buddy has a 5spd and it seems faster with the same tires. Are the new JK's the same? I want the tranny that delievers the most power to the road! If anyone knows which tranny robs the least amount of horsepower please let me know!

 

The problem isn't so much the tranny but rather your gearing. Assuming the tire size and gearing was exactly the same on your Jeep as well as your buddies (i.e. 33's and 3.73 gears), an auto will seem more sluggish as it's shift point would be off a bit and ultimately, it wants to do the shifting for you. On a stick, you can get away with a lot more because you control the shifting. But, if both your Jeeps were regeared to 4.56's, you might not see the difference as much.

Need I say, if you plan on bumping up a tire size or two right off the bat and still want an auto, just make sure to get it regeared to the proper ratio

 

I am installing 35" tires so I should run 4.88 gears right? no matter which tranny I go with.

 

For optimal performance, yes.

 

I am a total noob when it comes to these things, but how much would it cost to regear to a 4.88? Roughly?

 

it will cost any where from $400 to $550 for gears installed per axle. so you can figure about a grand. Four wheel parts wholsalers runs an ocasional special where they will discount the installation if you buy the gears from there.

 

don't forget the cost of the lockers
It would be a great time to install a set of lockers

 

I just called Eastern Truck, which is one of the biggest 4x4 places in Eastern VA, and asked about gearing. They said it would be $1500 to swap the gears on a Jeep, and slightly more if it has more than 14000 miles on it. I haven't called anywhere else, and I plan to look around some more, but one thing was interesting.

I told him I was looking at 35s with 4.88s and he scoffed at the notion, even on the six speed. Is that because it's really flat here, or does he not know what he's doing? Or does he have a valid point. My Jeep will be a daily driver, with about 200 miles per week of highway time.

 

Scoffed meaning what? 4.88 was too high? As I mentioned before, 4.88 will give you 'optimal' performace. This is in regards to restoring the power you will loose with bigger tires. However, there are some who prefer to go 4.56 gears as they will, on a lot of highway driving, give you better MPG. The down side in my opinion is that they'll feel a little sluggish on hills and off the line. This usually causes people to drive at a higher RPM for a longer period of time thus causing you to burn more gas. If you play on the trails, I would definetly stick with 4.88's but if you do a lot of flat highway miles, then hey, you might want 4.56's.

 

I noticed you're from the east same as me... i have a 98 sport w/ the 5 speed and wheel witha lot of guys who have autos. anytime its wet at all i have an upperhand over them b/c i can pop the clutch and get tires cleaning out and digging a lot faster! they have to wait for the auto to get goin... just my ¢2