Advice on 2006 TJ

[ChipotleTJ]

Good day to everybody, I am new to this hobby and working on my Jeep that I bought stock.
So far my specs are pretty stock with only a 4.25 Zone Offroad lift. (3 suspension, 1.25 body)

Engine: 2.4l (4 cyl)
Transmission: NSG370 6Spd manual
Tire size: 32'
Gears: 4.10 (Factory)
Differential: Dana 30 / Dana 35 (Stock)

I am having a hard time keeping speed and been thinking into regearing to 4.56 but not sure if it will make a difference from 4.10. I am kinda disappointed with the specs are I hear the trans is not the best and there's a lot to upgrade, but for the price ($5k) at 82k miles and no rust I didn't hesitate.

What would you all suggest me? I been also looking into lockers instead of gears but I am new to this hobby.

 

[Alex01]

@Jerry Bransford, @Rob5589, and many others could point you in the right direction.

@Chris had a chart somewhere but I can't seem to find it now.

 

[Steel City 06]

Good day to everybody, I am new to this hobby and working on my Jeep that I bought stock.
So far my specs are pretty stock with only a 4.25 Zone Offroad lift. (3 suspension, 1.25 body)

Engine: 2.4l (4 cyl)
Transmission: NSG370 6Spd manual
Tire size: 32'
Gears: 4.10 (Factory)
Differential: Dana 30 / Dana 35 (Stock)

I am having a hard time keeping speed and been thinking into regearing to 4.56 but not sure if it will make a difference from 4.10. I am kinda disappointed with the specs are I hear the trans is not the best and there's a lot to upgrade, but for the price ($5k) at 82k miles and no rust I didn't hesitate.

What would you all suggest me? I been also looking into lockers instead of gears but I am new to this hobby.

Check out this chart:
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...angler-tj-lj-and-other-re-gearing-faqs.17063/
4.56 or 4.88 would be okay with the NSG370 and 4cyl. Personally I would go with 4.88s, as you would see a bigger difference. The highest you can go is 5.13. If you intend to install larger tires in the future, strongly consider going straight to 5.13.

Right now you should be at about 2600 RPM at 70 mph, which wouldn't have all that much power, but should be able to keep speed. 4.88s would put you at about 3100 rpm.

For a good comparison, 5th gear on 4.10s is about the same final ratio as 4.88s in 6th gear. So I recommend going for a test drive (before you settle on a ratio) on the highway and never touching 6th gear; just drive everywhere in 5th. How that responds is almost exactly the same as how 6th will respond on 4.88s.

5.13s would give you plenty of torque, as well as the capability to run 33s in the future. The trade off would be a small loss in fuel economy at freeway speeds.

 

[Steel City 06]

Also, with these engines and transmissions, do not be afraid to downshift and rev the engine up to keep speed. 4th gear at 70+ mph (~4000 rpm) should help you climb hills and pass people. 5th gear can help you hold higher speeds with a headwind or small hills.

If you want to accelerate quickly, don't be afraid to floor it and shift just below redline. You get the most power just below redline anyways. I routinely shift at 5000 RPM when I want to accelerate quickly. For climbing longer hills, running it at 4500+ RPM for a couple minutes won't hurt it, as long as the engine is in good condition.

If I had the 4cyl, I would probably cruise close to 2500 RPM in most situations, maybe 3000 on small hills or heavy traffic.

 

[Steel City 06]

As for lockers, the best time to install them is during a regear, and vice versa. The labor involved in setting up new gears involves removing the carrier. The labor involved with replacing the carrier involves setting up the gears again.

Doing the regear and lockers together can save you on the order of $1,000 in labor costs versus doing them separately. If you're installing lockers, the only additional cost to a regear is the cost of the new ring and pinion. If you're regearing, the only additional cost to lockers is the parts and a small amount of labor to wire/plumb them, depending upon the type of locker.