Another re-gear thread: 2004 TJ 4.0 with 31" tires

I'll add another item to this - going downhill. I gear it down and stay off the brakes. There's been multiple times when I'll pull over on a downhill to let others pass and have a bunch of idiots shaking their fists at me and honking. THEN - a mile or two later, I smell burning brakes, come around the corner and there's the same idiot with his head under his vehicle wondering why his brakes are burning up! I just toot the horn and wave - I'll get to the bottom way before said idiot will - unless he runs over a cliff that is. If you don't respect the mountain, it certainly won't respect you!
 
well, now you've made me want to pop up there to make sure. I can tell you that everyone wants to go way faster than I can...I would like to keep up with the speed limit is all. You are correct that Stevens isn't as safe as 1-90 over Snoqualmie (6 lanes) but people still like to speed over it.


Agreed on going downhill. best not to stand on the brakes.
 
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well, now you've made me want to pop up there to make sure. I can tell you that everyone wants to go way faster than I can...I would like to keep up with the speed limit is all. You are correct that Stevens isn't as safe as 1-90 over Snoqualmie (6 lanes) but people still like to speed over it.


Agreed on going downhill. best not to stand on the brakes.

I think its unrealistic to keep up with the speed limit on a road like that - but that's me. I Also think 99.9999% of the vehicles sold in this country are ridiculously overpowered. I expect to slow down on an uphill that is more than moderately steep. Try SoCal's "Grapevine hill" sometime - its long, its steep, and its slow. Yea, there are some that blow up it at full speed in the fast lane - kind of silly, but its safe enough on a multi-lane freeway such as that one is. Everybody else is going slow, slower, and slowest. *shrug* Me? About 35 or 40 MPH as I recall, and I wasn't the slowest by any means. Another fun one is the road that runs past Lake Isabella. "Straight up" for about 20 miles or so, then "straight down" for another 20 miles or so. Two lane winding road. I don't give a damn how much power someone has, its a 25-35 MPH road, and if you go faster, you're going over the side! But if people want to go fast, I'll let them - that doesn't mean I have to. I'd rather have the speeding idiots ahead of me rather than behind.

I'm reminded of when I had a diesel truck and 5th wheel trailer. Hit a big hill, it would slow down to whatever it was going to slow down to pretty quickly, then continue at that speed the rest of the way. The overpowered gas rigs would blow by me near the bottom - BUT - if the uphill was long enough, I'd catch up with them gasping and wheezing near the top as my slow-but-steady torque monster engine would just keep on going!
 
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I have a 2004 TJ 4.0l and 3.73 gears with 31" tires that really struggles on mountain passes or any relatively steep hill. I live in the Cascade foothills, so i hit a pass anytime I go east. I also tow a little travel trailer of about 1000#. I want more power for towing and climbing.
She is my daily driver, and I put a lot of miles on her (230,000 on the clock) but I avoid the freeway if possible. When I can't, I don't go much over 60-65 mph.

Will regearing to 4.56 give me the power bump I want and still allow at least 60mph on the freeway? I keep going back and forth because it's an expensive job but would be worth it if my TJ gets a little more guts.

Opinions?

I'll be another to voice support for 4.56 gears with 31s. That's the combo I use, and I really like it. I'm in CO, so I probably encounter similar grades when driving to those you experience. I can still do 80mph on the freeway when needed, but it's PERFECT for cruising in that 60-65mph range you mention.
 
I have a 2004 TJ 4.0l and 3.73 gears with 31" tires that really struggles on mountain passes or any relatively steep hill. I live in the Cascade foothills, so i hit a pass anytime I go east. I also tow a little travel trailer of about 1000#. I want more power for towing and climbing.
She is my daily driver, and I put a lot of miles on her (230,000 on the clock) but I avoid the freeway if possible. When I can't, I don't go much over 60-65 mph.

Will regearing to 4.56 give me the power bump I want and still allow at least 60mph on the freeway? I keep going back and forth because it's an expensive job but would be worth it if my TJ gets a little more guts.

Opinions?

I have the identical TJ as you with 31s, and I can maintain speed on Colorado passes by downshifting. I looked into regearing, and after a few quotes I decided to just downshift. Don’t get me wrong, it would be really nice, especially off road, but I can live with it.

At your vehicle’s mileage, I would do a compression test first. When was your clutch last replaced?
 
Well, I have decided to exercise my privilege as an American and get some Revolution gears installed. This isn't just to maintain the speed limit on hills, it's also to be able to pull my little travel trailer over the passes at a reasonable speed too. It's about 1000# and I do have brakes installed, and I understand that a TJ isn't the best choice for towing, just sayin'. I've been towing it for about a year.

The compression test is good feedback, I'll have the shop do that.
 
Well, I have decided to exercise my privilege as an American and get some Revolution gears installed. This isn't just to maintain the speed limit on hills, it's also to be able to pull my little travel trailer over the passes at a reasonable speed too. It's about 1000# and I do have brakes installed, and I understand that a TJ isn't the best choice for towing, just sayin'. I've been towing it for about a year.

The compression test is good feedback, I'll have the shop do that.

Which shop is installing your gears?
 
I have many, many times. Americans expect gargantuan amounts of HP in order to maintain 65/whatever uphill and down - which I find ridiculous. If its a 2 lane road, I'll pull over to let others go by when it is safe to do so AND there isn't any credible way for them to pass. OTOH, if the road is straight as an arrow for miles with no opposing traffic, if they're too stupid to pass me they can stay back there and be pissed off - not my problem. But I have yet to see a 2 lane mountain pass where the limit is anywhere near 65 - regardless, on such a road many are going slow, and I'll let the guy who can go 45 or 50 pass me when I can. Blowing up a road like that at 65 is foolhardy at best, and I'm being kind.

My duramax spins the tires at 70mph uphill 🤠🇺🇲
 
The Revolution 4.56 gears were installed and broken in a week ago. I LOVE them! For my style of driving, almost all town/hiway/byway and practically no freeway, they're perfect! It's great to easily go right up the hills at speed and keep up with the traffic. My TJ doesn't feel over powered to me, she just feels alot more capable, which is what I was hoping for. Also, my gas mileage appears to be unchanged, so I'm happy with that.
 
I used to go slow over mountain passes.
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The Revolution 4.56 gears were installed and broken in a week ago. I LOVE them! For my style of driving, almost all town/hiway/byway and practically no freeway, they're perfect! It's great to easily go right up the hills at speed and keep up with the traffic. My TJ doesn't feel over powered to me, she just feels alot more capable, which is what I was hoping for. Also, my gas mileage appears to be unchanged, so I'm happy with that.

Great to hear. Personally, I have never understood the ‘I wouldn’t regear for 31” tires” argument. I’m glad you didn’t do 4.10.
 
The Revolution 4.56 gears were installed and broken in a week ago. I LOVE them! For my style of driving, almost all town/hiway/byway and practically no freeway, they're perfect! It's great to easily go right up the hills at speed and keep up with the traffic. My TJ doesn't feel over powered to me, she just feels alot more capable, which is what I was hoping for. Also, my gas mileage appears to be unchanged, so I'm happy with that.

regarding your comment about gas mileage appears to be unchanged, did you do any sort of speedometer/odometer correction after the gear install?
 
I’m jealous! You folks are discussing 4:56/4:88/4:10 regearing and I’m still looking for decent used carriers so I can get away from 3:07’s. 😂
 
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