Hello from Wyoming

Even If I had the Rubicon model I would still opt for the deeper gears. With the 4:1 gearing and the 6 speed with 5.13 gears it would crawl over anything.
I guess it just depends on what all you are trying to climb,and if you want to trialer it most places.
 
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I looked for an impact orange LJ for 3 years before buying mine in red. Started looking in 09, bought my red LJ in 2012.
i found my orange sport in casper,and then found the orange rubicon about a year later in denver.
 
with that low of gearing you wouldn t be able to go very fast wihtout tacking 4000 rpm
I currently run 4.88 with 35's at 75 I'm at 3125 rpm. With 5.13 gears that rpm wouldn't increase that much. The 4.1low range in the transfer case wouldn't make any difference on the highway. the 4.0 runs great at that rpm/speed, when I need to shift into 5th for some of the hills around here on i70 it jumps up to around 4k and still runs fine. And I run about 14mpg.
 
Welcome from NY and another IMPACT ORANGE!
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No such thing as to low of gearing.
Well,

So gearing, how low. In 4LO, 1st, put the front tire against the biggest thing you will need to get over. Let out the clutch, modulate the throttle. If it stalls, go deeper. If it lifts, yer good to go. But can you go too low. Of course. You need tall enough gearing for a comfortable cruise and reasonable gas mileage when running around town or commuting or travelling the highway. The bigger the tire gets, the smaller the engine, the narrower the window gets, the greater the need for compromize. And for the Interstate you should gear for power in direct, down 1 gear, saving OD to drop rpms when you don't need all that power.
 
Well,

...

I guess I should have said "to an extent". I was only trying to tell the OP that 5.13 or 5.38 would be a good choice and he would still be able to DD it. Most tend to think that when they hit 3k on the RPMs while cruising its a bad thing.
 
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Most tend to think that when they hit 3k on the RPMs while cruising its a bad thing.
It is a bad thing. If you are cruising at 65mph, 2K rpm is ideal, and down shift for power. If you gear for a 3K rpm cruise in OD you will get shit mileage, excessive noise, and 50% more engine wear.

But it is also dependant on tire size, engine size. 35s on an SE, you will need 3500rpm at 60mph. 40s on a 4L, same. But 33s on a stock Sport, 2000rpm at 65mph is a sweet spot on the highway. And 4LO will give all the gearing you need unless you climb waterfalls.
 
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It is a bad thing. If you are cruising at 65mph, 2K rpm is ideal, and down shift for power. If you gear for a 3K rpm cruise in OD you will get shit mileage, excessive noise, and 50% more engine wear.

But it is also dependant on tire size, engine size. 35s on an SE, you will need 3500rpm at 60mph. 40s on a 4L, same. But 33s on a stock Sport, 2000rpm at 65mph is a sweet spot on the highway. And 4LO will give all the gearing you need unless you climb waterfalls.

I would completely disagree with that. My Jeep almost never sees 2000rpm when I'm driving it. I shift at around 3500 and run my engine on the highway at 2750 minimum. I think it'd be pretty brutal cruising around at 2000 rpm.

To the OP. I used to live in Wyoming (Jackson). I've been to Casper plenty of times. When I lived there, the only the only thing I wished was different about my Jeep was the gearing. At the time, I was running 4.56's and 33's with my 5 speed. Climbing Teton Pass on the Idaho border was always a bit of a chore (3rd gear floored going 45 mph). I definitely wished I had gone for 4.88 (at a minimum). I would put 5.13's in with your 6 speed.
 
And I live in the BC Rocky Mountains, TJR with 4.10s and 33s. I wish for 3.73s. So my preference is for 2000rpm cruise. And drop to 5th, 4th, even 3rd to pull a steep mountain grade with a trailer. Where you live, a turbo or supercharger would make more sense than regearing.

My previous Jeep was an '87 YJ with 33s and 3.07s. A bit too extreme, I never used 5th on the highway, but Canada to Colorado, I'd get 25mpg on the Interstate. The big plus to 33s and 3.07s was running forestry roads in 4LO, it was like a Mustang, I could hit 60mph in low range, very cool if you like speed.

My Uncle was a mining engineer in Wyoming and Colorado for 40 years. I loved the high country. I remember a "water slide" from the 1960s called the Screaming Mimi in Wyoming. It was all day entertainment.
 
It is a bad thing. If you are cruising at 65mph, 2K rpm is ideal, and down shift for power. If you gear for a 3K rpm cruise in OD you will get shit mileage, excessive noise, and 50% more engine wear.

But it is also dependant on tire size, engine size. 35s on an SE, you will need 3500rpm at 60mph. 40s on a 4L, same. But 33s on a stock Sport, 2000rpm at 65mph is a sweet spot on the highway. And 4LO will give all the gearing you need unless you climb waterfalls.

I guess that is where we disagree. I am approaching 50k miles with 4.56 gears. I see 2800-3k RPMs consistently when traveling to the trails or simply going to work. My engine is fit as a fiddle.
 
I guess that is where we disagree. I am approaching 50k miles with 4.56 gears. I see 2800-3k RPMs consistently when traveling to the trails or simply going to work. My engine is fit as a fiddle.

226,000 miles on my 4.0L. Never been opened once (original everything including head gasket). It has been driven up to 3,500 RPM since it was brand new. It has driven across the country 5 times "screaming" at 3,000 RPM the whole way. Still runs just like it did when it was driven off the lot in 2001.
 
At 75 running 3k rpm I'm only at maybe 1/8th throttle, the response, mileage, and drivability is 10 times better than it was when I was on 31's with the stock 3.73 gears.
 
I would completely disagree with that. My Jeep almost never sees 2000rpm when I'm driving it. I shift at around 3500 and run my engine on the highway at 2750 minimum. I think it'd be pretty brutal cruising around at 2000 rpm.

To the OP. I used to live in Wyoming (Jackson). I've been to Casper plenty of times. When I lived there, the only the only thing I wished was different about my Jeep was the gearing. At the time, I was running 4.56's and 33's with my 5 speed. Climbing Teton Pass on the Idaho border was always a bit of a chore (3rd gear floored going 45 mph). I definitely wished I had gone for 4.88 (at a minimum). I would put 5.13's in with your 6 speed.
I m thinking that I will go with the 4:88. The 6 speed is geared lower in first gear than the 5 speed and 6th gear on the 6 speed is also geared lower than 5th gear on the 5 speed.
 
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This is a typical first day at the office .. ,we all do the same things , like drive TJ s and wear our wife’s clothes when she is out of town, but disagree on RPM and gearing .