You just didn't play the "old fart" card, did you? Come on brah! I've owned my TJ for 13 years. I'm no spring chicken, so I can't fit in the "young" category, but having gone from the stock 30" tire to 31's, then 32's, and now 33's, I can tell you the performance drop as I increased in tire size was noticeable. I ran the 33's on 3.73's with the 5 speed for over a year before re-gearing, so I can't argue with you on the differences between it and the auto, but I can tell you, without a doubt, that re-gearing to fit the 33's with my setup was very significant. I re-geared just before driving to Moab for a week of wheeling, and the performance increase was amazing. I daily drive my TJ, so little nuances are significant to me.