I have a jku auto 2012 with 3.21 gears and stock pizza cutters. My wife really likes it so I will be trading in her Jetta for a 2-door JK for me!!!! For what I do and use it for the jku is set up just fine. I want a bit more off road power but not much. If I order a 2013 MANUAL with 3.73's and add 35's, will that be about the same as the 3.21 on the auto jku? Same as in drivabilty, mpg etc.I am thinking the manual will make up for the offroad performance I mentioned bc of the 1st gear between auto/stick.

 

Looks like it would be very close to the same... 3.21 with 31" = 2022 auto
3.74 with 35" = 2081 auto

 

3.73 with 35's is okay on the road but weak offroad.

 

I won't use it to crawl. Mainly trails with some obsticles and backwoods type stuff. Could it be that weak? I'm MORE worried about the the lower gears. I don't commute much on the highway, and I can use my jku for any distance stuff.

 

I have 6 speed, 3.73 JKU on 33s. My average fuel economy is better than most JKs and i dont have any problem with light wheeling. I dont do any rock crawling. Reversing slowly uphill is always a challenge. Is that burning clutch i smell? Yes, yes it is. Recommend 4.10 minimum for 35s.

 

With the new engine, you wont have any problems getting the same mpg and being able to offroad it and rock crawl it if you want. We rock crawl with a 3.8L/6spd/3.21s on 35s and it's easy enough to get around, so you'll have no problems with 3.73 gears. I think a lot of it has to do with how some people drive, more than the vehicle itself

 

I have a 13 jk with stick, 3.73, and 35s. Its plenty of power. You can do whatever you want with it. I get more than 18 mpg, cruises at 70 mph at around 2200-2300 rpm. You will be happy with it

 

Matt:

Thanks. That's perfect and what I was hoping to hear. Right on par with my wife's jku.

And it sure is about how you drive it!!

 

old thread but i the stock pizza cutters he was talking about were the 225/75-16's they are a tad under 29" so he would probably be a little underpowered compared to what he was thinking.