Hello... I'm a newbie here, so forgive any ignorance, poor forum etiquette or the like. I'm a long time Jeep fan needless to say. My wife and I and have owned a few Jeeps over the years, CJs, YJs and a TJ most recently. The itch is coming back again... this time around we have two little ones that would be along for the ride, so the 4 door is very attractive.. We have started shopping for a late model JK to adopt into the family... sadly, the days of beer guzzling offroad trips are long gone, and the ride would be used mainly for hauling babies to school, poking around town, and the occasional trip to the beach. However... the thing still has to look mean of course. Thinking about going the 2.5" lift route with some 33" ATs.

The question.... most of the rigs we're looking at have the 3.73 gearing....would this make for some seriously sluggish cruising with the 33s? How would it do on the highway? What sort of real world fuel milage might could be exptected on a low mileage 2010 or 2011? Enquiring minds want to know.

Any and all feedback greatly appreciated! Thanks a ton.

 

man my unlimited x has 3.73 and i have 35s on it, its not that bad but i understand why i should regear but i hear everybody saying to throw 5.13s in your axels but then it kills your gas mileage and makes overdrive pointless,,,,,,but i turn the overdrive off all the time and cant remember last time i used it, search through the forum there are soo many threads on here with the same question.....im pretty sure ive posted a thread a while back askin same question you are

 

Welcome Mr. Hand

I have a Similar Set Up and Love it ... and its my daily driver
2010 4dr ..3.73 gears
2" BDS Lift + 3/4" Daystar Spacers
33" Hankook M/T's

power and mileage is very acceptable

 

Welcome to The forum

 

2011 JKU sport here with a 2" Rubicon express BB and 33" Nitto Terra Grapplers. But I drove around for about 6 months with no lift and 33's. They will fit with out the lift, just gotta trim the stock airdam a little. I get about 15 city and 20 highway. I have the 3.73 but mine is a 6speed.

 

excellent.. many thanks for the input guys.. much better response than what i had expected. After looking at the used market, it seems like we might just bite the bullet and buy new.. doesn't seem to be much of a price diff. That being said... what would you guys recomend as the best way to get 2.5" (ish) of lift?? keeping in mind that this will be a true "poser" rig and will be driven 90% of the time by my 35yr old wife and our two toddlers... basically I'm looking for input on what lift kit/mods might give the menacing appearance we all want, but rides as soft as possible.. even it is inferior on the trail. Same question goes for tires.. what rubber looks mean, but is relatively quiet and smooth? (I've always run BFG ATs, but kind of sick of them)

 

If you don't plan on adding off-road bumpers or a winch, a Teraflex budget boost would give you the height you want without sacrificing the ride quality. http://www.quadratec.com/products/16190_0000.htm

And Goodyear Duratrac's are highly popular for good reason. They have an aggressive thread pattern but are very quiet and good in the rain and snow. I would suggest saving up for some aftermarket wheels to run with the bigger tires, as you will need the extra backspacing to clear the rear swaybar endlinks once you lift it. If you plan on going with 16" wheels, go with 285/75/16 sized tires, or 285/70/17 with 17" wheels.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/pr.../gdyvh2.xl.jpg

 

If you do go with aftermarket rims, look for about 4.5 backspacing.

I second 20JK10's recommendation on the DuraTracs. Great on/off-road tire (and excellent in snow and rain), aggressive-looking, decently priced, and it's not unheard of to get 50K miles out of them, given proper PSI, rotation, alignment, etc.

 

I hate to pop the bubble...but, I'm currently on a across the Country trip. Just me & my dog (Otis) I drive a 2011 2 dr Auto Hard top, 3.5 OME lift, 295/70/17's=33.5" & 3:73's w/ Rear/ LSD. I'll tell you I was so disappointed with the constant transmission shifting on every little grade. When I locked out OD my RPM's were close to 3000 at 70 mph, my mileage dropped to 11-12 mpg. (I also had a (small) luggage bag on the roof. When I got to Colorado I had 4:88's installed. I also boxed all the crap in the luggage bag & shipped it home. Now the grades don't bother the Jeep near as much, I do lock out OD on some of the longer grades here in the Rockies but my average mileage is now 17 mpg plus traveling at 70 or so. If I were to do it again 5:13's would of been my choice. The installation guys thought that steep of a gear would be more than I really need while I'm home in Florida, so the 4:88's were installed. My point to all of this is, the added weight of the 4 Dr & any vacations you may take in the JK, it's just to under powered to keep up with the speed limit in the mountain areas. Besides, while 33's look ok on 2 Drs, 4 Drs need 35's. 33's look like roller skates on 4 Drs. JMO, Steve.

 

I've had 33x12.50 on 15x10" steel wheels for a couple weeks so I suppose about the heaviest 33" set up possible. It's a '11 jku auto with 3.73 bumpers and winch. Do yourself a favor and find a 6 speed. I'm going to eventually regear and go to 35's but the auto over 50mph is maddening. I live and die by cruise control and without a programmer for 2011, namely for the transmission, it will downshift after on a small hill doing 55-60 and refuse to shift back on flat ground while in cruise. I vote you buy new, whether it be the 12 or the 11 for savings because the used market for low mile late model jku's is highway robbery. In any case bud, if you get the 3.8L find yourself a manual.