Should I upgrade to Dana 60s to run 35s?

JMT said:
Great off-road. I just hope you never have to change a tire, never have to get the tire off the rim, never have a run in with the law and can afford several hundred dollars for a tire change. They are a PITA in so many ways. If you have a dedicated rock Crawler I can see that. Otherwise, no need. Air down to 10psi and go have fun
Click to expand...
Definitely a pain to change a tire, but at least that's always done in the shop. As to the law, up here its not an issue but down there you just need to buy dot approved beadlocks. Hutchinson is one, I believe trail ready is another. I think a couple of other companies are doing the dot appoved stuff now as well but don't quote me on that.
A slightly cheaper opinion is h1 takeoffs but that doesn't let you pick your bolt pattern unless you get them recentered(but that probably kills the dot approval)

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JMT
jjvw said:
I would want 15" wheels with 35s for the extra sidewall. I would not want a Dana 60 with 35s because of the loss of ground clearance compared to a perfectly adequate Dana 44.
Click to expand...

Do you have a measurement on the Dana 44 from center of tube to bottom of diff? I've been meaning to compare it to my RJ60.
 
tworley said:
Has anyone ever been pulled over for non-DOT beadlocks? Is there even such a thing?
Click to expand...

If you have and you got it ticket for it there is (was?) a bounty setup for the first person to either prove that they are illegal or get a ticket. As far as I'm aware it is still unclaimed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Serbonze
toximus said:
If you have and you got it ticket for it there is (was?) a bounty setup for the first person to either prove that they are illegal or get a ticket. As far as I'm aware it is still unclaimed.
Click to expand...

Thats what I last remember too...
 
tworley said:
Has anyone ever been pulled over for non-DOT beadlocks? Is there even such a thing?
Click to expand...
Despite what a marketing department says, I don't think there is such a thing as a DOT approved or non-approved beadlock.
 
I would run beadlocks on my daily without a second thought. In the last 5 years, I have plugged one hole. I have never had reason to remove a tire from the wheel.

That being said, the one time I lost a bead it was my own fault for driving stupid in the snow. So far, I can't say that I would personally benefit from beadlocks.
 
BradC said:
Question for @LaneTJ

I just bought an '04 TJ with 17" wheels and 35" tires and auto transmission but unfortunately the rear axle is a dana30 with 3.73 gear ratio. I'm told it's really not ready for off-roading. I'd be interested in everyone's opinion on where to go. I was thinking an atf cooler, a used dana44 rear axle and add/make sure it has 4.56 or 4.88 gear ratio. I want light offroading, not rock climbing. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Your front would be a dana30, your rear would be a dana 35.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JMT
I am planning to run 35s with my Jeep in winter due to Duratracs not being available in 37s and they're such a great tire. Losing ground clearance in the winter isn't so bad too.
 
BradC said:
Question for @LaneTJ what gear ratio do you have on your dana44 rear axle? This chart suggests that to run 35" tires you would want a 4.56 or 4.88 gear ratio. https://www.quadratec.com/jeep_knowledgebase/article-26.htm

I just bought an '04 TJ with 17" wheels and 35" tires and auto transmission but unfortunately the rear axle is a dana30 with 3.73 gear ratio. I'm told it's really not ready for off-roading. I'd be interested in everyone's opinion on where to go. I was thinking an atf cooler, a used dana44 rear axle and add/make sure it has 4.56 or 4.88 gear ratio. I want light offroading, not rock climbing. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I currently have 33’s and 4.56, it’s fine but as @Chris told me once upon a time, if I moved to 35’s I would probably regear to 5.38. I can’t imagine how sluggish your TJ feels compared to how it should feel. The 4.56 with 33’s is perfect for me right now but not with 35’s.

Are you sure the rear axle is a Dana 30 and not the 35?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
BradC said:
Question for @LaneTJ what gear ratio do you have on your dana44 rear axle? This chart suggests that to run 35" tires you would want a 4.56 or 4.88 gear ratio. https://www.quadratec.com/jeep_knowledgebase/article-26.htm

I just bought an '04 TJ with 17" wheels and 35" tires and auto transmission but unfortunately the rear axle is a dana30 with 3.73 gear ratio. I'm told it's really not ready for off-roading. I'd be interested in everyone's opinion on where to go. I was thinking an atf cooler, a used dana44 rear axle and add/make sure it has 4.56 or 4.88 gear ratio. I want light offroading, not rock climbing. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I also have the 42RLE Auto tranny.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jjvw
Thanks for the reminder! My RJ60VXR with the skid plate attached is some where between 6.25" and 6.5". (mind you, this is different from a Dana 60 and different from a RJ60).

Just about every inch of the housing is taken up:

20180419_inside-front-rockjock60vxr-super60.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: jjvw and Chris
Yeah, I misspoke. Dana30 on front and Dana35 on back. Yes, it's sluggish but I'm just city driving at the moment so it's not a big deal.

I feel good about the engine and transmission, and I like the tire size so I don't expect to change it out, but the rear axle and gears seem like the best place to put my money if I want to do some light or medium trails. I still want to be able to drive the thing around town without it sounding like it has to run at 3500k rpm just to cruise down the road. Thanks for the encouragement to go higher though. I will lean that way.
 
To give you an idea of rpm, with a 42rle and 5.13 gears with 35s I ran 2200 rpm at 60mph now with 37s I run 2000 rpm. When the jeep was a stock rubi with 31s and 410 gears it ran 2000 rpm. The extra weight from larger tires really does mean you need to bump the rpm a bit over a stock rubi for good preference. Mine ran well on 35s, with 37s it's a bit of a dog and drops back to 3rd trying to keep speed consistent on the highway.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
 
BradC said:
Question for @LaneTJ what gear ratio do you have on your dana44 rear axle? This chart suggests that to run 35" tires you would want a 4.56 or 4.88 gear ratio. https://www.quadratec.com/jeep_knowledgebase/article-26.htm

I just bought an '04 TJ with 17" wheels and 35" tires and auto transmission but unfortunately the rear axle is a dana30 with 3.73 gear ratio. I'm told it's really not ready for off-roading. I'd be interested in everyone's opinion on where to go. I was thinking an atf cooler, a used dana44 rear axle and add/make sure it has 4.56 or 4.88 gear ratio. I want light offroading, not rock climbing. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Due to your 42RLE automatic, pay no attention to gear ratio charts which are WAY off for that particular transmission. Something few people realize when looking at gear charts is they they don't show the engine rpms you'll get with the Overdrive on. The rpms that chart shows would only be seen if you turned your Overdrive switch off. The 42RLE's Overdrive lowers the engine rpms down to only 69% of what a chart indicates.

I'd recommend 5.38 for 35" tires as I'm running but your front Dana 30 can only be geared to 5.13 so gear both axles to 5.13. 4.88 is not even close to being enough gear for 35's with the 42RLE, that's how my used TJ came and I had to regear it last year to 5.38 so it would stop lugging on the highway, its highway rpms were too low at even 70 mph... the engine was lugging.

Both of your axles are more than up to 35" tires, especially that you only want to do light offroading.
 
Top Bottom
Back