My review of 5.13 gears with 33's and 42RLE

Very nice write up and photos with references to past and present scenarios. However, this idea of "the right gear" is still very subjective, in my opinion. Personally, I would hate to drive 70mph with rpms near 4000. But your Jeep your choice! Enjoy the ride.

Will someone tell @akajibio that the reason we push deep gears for the 42 is precisely to avoid running the trans in 3rd where the rpms would be near 4k rpm at 70mph.
 
  • Like
Reactions: John Cooper
Very nice write up and photos with references to past and present scenarios. However, this idea of "the right gear" is still very subjective, in my opinion. Personally, I would hate to drive 70mph with rpms near 4000. But your Jeep your choice! Enjoy the ride.

The 4k rpms are when he downshifted from 4th (OD) to third., which would be temporary. The first photo shows his cruising RPM’s, 2700ish, at 70 mph.
 
Very nice write up and photos with references to past and present scenarios. However, this idea of "the right gear" is still very subjective, in my opinion. Personally, I would hate to drive 70mph with rpms near 4000. But your Jeep your choice! Enjoy the ride.

Did you see the first picture of 2700rpm at 70mph? That’s OD.

See the second picture? That’s what happens when it has to downshift to 3rd.

If he was undergeared at 4.56 or 4.88 it would have even less rpm’s to hold speed and a lesser incline would force it to downshift even at a slower speed because he’d be lugging and the rpm’s would be screaming.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Unique Username
Got it! you are high!

Arnold Schwarzenegger Weed GIF
 
Can we all just hug and bask in the glow of 5.13 being an OK gearing?
The OP's situation (mountainous areas, even though about 1k or less in elevation, overall elevation is a factor the tuner helps with) is pretty similar to mine, and glad to see that they are happy with the setup he chose.
 
I like my 5.13 gearing. if/when i go to 35s i'll probably go ahead and do the HPTuners adjustments on the shift strategy to help. Hell I'm tempted to do it now so its not always trying to get into overdrive by 50mph. seems like the changes that make it hold onto lower gears longer and be a little more eager to drop a gear go a long ways towards making the driving experience much more satisfying.