What gear ratio for a 97 TJ with 35" tires?

Winks42

Winks42

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 2, 2020
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Pennsylvania
Hey guys, I recently bought a 97 tj for a pretty good price. I noticed that it felt sluggish when accelerating , I asked the dude I bought it from and he said he just threw on the lift (4")and tires(35") and didn't mess with the gears (3.55). (Dana 44 rear, and Dana 30 front)

Most of the threads i'm reading say to go for a 4.88 which looks like a huge difference. Will this remove the sluggish feeling while driving?

Thanks guys
 
Winks42 said:
Hey guys, I recently bought a 97 tj for a pretty good price. I noticed that it felt sluggish when accelerating , I asked the dude I bought it from and he said he just threw on the lift (4")and tires(35") and didn't mess with the gears (3.55). (Dana 44 rear, and Dana 30 front)

Most of the threads i'm reading say to go for a 4.88 which looks like a huge difference. Will this remove the sluggish feeling while driving?

Thanks guys
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What transmission? I have 4.88's with 33's and a 6 speed. I love it.
 
With 35s and the ax-15 you'd want at least 4.88, but I think some would still say that is not deep enough so you could consider 5.13s, I have the NV3550 5 spd and plan to go 5.13 since its only about 100-200 rpm more and it would benefit alot offroad in 4LOW
 
I have 4.88s on 33s with a 5 speed and it is really nice offroad. I geared it planning for 35s and look forward to being able to drive at a lower rpm on long highways trips. I personally would go 4.88 unless it rarely sees highway speeds then 5.13 or deeper would be a good choice.
 
I loved my 97 4.0 TJ with 5-speed and 35's after regearing to 4.88. The ratio seemed optimal to me even in my local hilly/mountainous terrain.
 
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5.13s are an absolute blast for me in the mtns of Colorado. I can hold 60 mph easily on Eisenhower/Loveland pass which is 11k feet and a 7% slope. Plus offroad is even better. 75 mph is right at 3k for me
 
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