Is 33s on a stock 2006 TJ with 3.73 gears asking for trouble?

Always seems to me these gauge clusters are designed to give you that 'all is well' feeling at a glance when the needles are more or less straight up. Interesting how that puts the RPM gauge at 3000. Never gave that much credence before reading this thread..
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Also, after adjusting my shifting to stay mostly in the 2200-3000 range I noticed that I'm in 2nd at 35mph, 4th at 65mph (3.07 on 31s). Now I'm thinking I might re-gear even before going to 33s. It would be nice to make the full range useful and intuitive to use again.
 
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Just read the whole thread.
Keep in mind the intended use and which transmission you have. I have a 4.0 and 6 speed Manual with 3.73 . It seems geared low for the daily driving I do with 31s.
 
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I'm confused I have 04 rubi with 4 speed auto and 4.10 gears ... what's different that some have 3.07 or 3.73 and want to go to 4.10 or 4.88 to go with 33s ... would 33s work for me without getting gears changed ... total noob here
 
Scott alcorn said:
I'm confused I have 04 rubi with 4 speed auto and 4.10 gears ... what's different that some have 3.07 or 3.73 and want to go to 4.10 or 4.88 to go with 33s ... would 33s work for me without getting gears changed ... total noob here
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Rubicons were among the few TJs that had factory 4.10 gears.

In your case with the 42rle auto, you really want 5.13 to push 33s. Gearing choices have everything to do with the transmission's final drive and tire size.
 
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Scott alcorn said:
I'm confused I have 04 rubi with 4 speed auto and 4.10 gears ... what's different that some have 3.07 or 3.73 and want to go to 4.10 or 4.88 to go with 33s ... would 33s work for me without getting gears changed ... total noob here
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I've ran 4.10 gears 42RLE on 33's for a couple of years without complaint......UNTIL I use OD.

I hit the OD off every time the Jeep is started.
The ratio may not be optimal but acceptable in my case.
 
Re-gearing is one of the most satisfying things you can do. It changes your whole driving experience. 33, 42rle and 4.10? Livable but not Lovable.
 
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Scott alcorn said:
I'm confused I have 04 rubi with 4 speed auto and 4.10 gears ... what's different that some have 3.07 or 3.73 and want to go to 4.10 or 4.88 to go with 33s ... would 33s work for me without getting gears changed ... total noob here
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with the 4spd auto you have to compromize. the jump in overdrive of 0.69 is massive and the bigger the tire the more dramatic the shift is. even with 4.10s you might be turning the OD off a lot with 33s. Chris will have lots of good advive, I think he has had a few.
 
RitualHabitual said:
Also, after adjusting my shifting to stay mostly in the 2200-3000 range I noticed that I'm in 2nd at 35mph, 4th at 65mph (3.07 on 31s). Now I'm thinking I might re-gear even before going to 33s. It would be nice to make the full range useful and intuitive to use again.
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3.07s and 33s, you will never need OD. But in 4LO you will be able to hit 60mph. Yer TJ will feel like a Mustang on backroads.
 
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Scott alcorn said:
I'm confused I have 04 rubi with 4 speed auto and 4.10 gears ... what's different that some have 3.07 or 3.73 and want to go to 4.10 or 4.88 to go with 33s ... would 33s work for me without getting gears changed ... total noob here
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This previous post might be helpful. I believe he was talking about the same setup you have--4 speed auto:
page 5 of this thread.
Jerry Bransford said:
For 33's, I'd go no less than 4.88 though I personally would go 5.13. For 35's, no less than 5.13 though I'd go 5.38. My 4.88 gearing with my 35's absolutely sucks on the street and highway with the automatic but that's what it came with after my previous TJ was stolen.
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Quick summary of my contemplations for fellow noobs considering this upgrade in the future--maybe it will save you some time and headache: I'm new to Jeeping and want to take time to learn technique and develop a relationship with my TJ, and to space out upgrades. Eventually I'd like to do things like crawling Moab and the Rubi trail, but in the near term I'll be in the hills and trails here in Oregon, and on the dunes from time to time.

After a bunch of reading I think eventually I'd like to be on 35s, but unless you're in a Rubi (and maybe even then) I gather there will be time+money spent first. I'm in a 2000 4.0 Sport 5-speed manual on 31s currently and am going to need to re-gear from 3.07 to 4.88 to meet my needs. If I was going to be on 33s full-time and long-term I'd go with 4.56 per advice in this thread, but 4.88 will give flexibility to move to larger tires comfortably later on down the road. I'll get more giddyup at 4.88 on 33s (if I'm understanding correctly) and better mileage around town, but will lose some hwy-friendliness as I'll travel at higher rpms at speed (69mph @2500rpm for 4.56, 83mph @3000rpm). Later I'll bump to 35s, but I'll need to upgrade to a Dana44 rear axle first. With the same gearing (4.88) highway performance on 35s will improve (lower rpms at speed--73mph @2500rpms in 5th, 88mph @3000rpm), but acceleration will suffer.

In short, better performance around town and in the mountains and worse on the hwy on 33s @ 4.88, stepped-down performance around town and in the mountains but better mileage and more comfortable driving on the hwy on 35s.

For what it's worth! Really appreciate all the advice and feedback here.
 
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billiebob said:
Mileage vs Power, the huge question. My TJR is a daily driver. With 4.10s and 33s I have no problem with power, and if I stay under 60mph I can almost hit 20mpg.... with a very light foot. I'll never go bigger than 33s. I'll never do any extreme off roading. Most everywhere I go any good 4x4 could follow. But I wish I had 3.73s because I know I could get better gas mileage. And I have no trouble shifting to stay over 3Krpm when I need power.
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Forgive my french, but how in the F**king hell?!

I commute about 13 miles one way for work, OD is off, Cruise Control set at 55, engine RPMs right around 2500. I never stomp the gas, don't really ever take the engine beyond 3000rpm when accelerating, etc..

I'm lucky if I get 11-12mpg.
 
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LCL-Dead said:
Forgive my french, but how in the F**king hell?!

I commute about 13 miles one way for work, OD is off, Cruise Control set at 55, engine RPMs right around 2500. I never stomp the gas, don't really ever take the engine beyond 3000rpm when accelerating, etc..

I'm lucky if I get 11-12mpg.
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Yeah mine gets less than 20 with ignition off.
 
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lovemachine said:
It still feels awesome. And it's my Daily driver.


There's sever people out there that are driving vehicles with large tires and crappy gear ratios. But there still having fun. I wouldn't let a bad gear ratio stop me from going to 33's. 35's, yes.

You can live with 33's and 3.73.
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I have a question. Can I run 32s on 20x12s with -44 offset rims on a 2inch lift
 
Just read through all of this, and I think now I know why I get around 12 mpg. I'm usually around 2000 rpm on the highway, and usually lower on city roads. I gotta start getting in the practice of shifting higher and keeping my rpms higher, I'll see how much difference it makes.

Planning on going from my 31's to 33's with my 5 speed, 4.0, and 3.73 gears and am a little less enthusiastic about it than before. I'll plan on keeping that for a while and eventually regear (probably 4.56 from what I'm seeing)
 
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