@icrashbikes
Where he is located and the trails around he will encounter practically dictate at least 5.13 gears.

 

Rubi T-case. His crawl speed will be much slower than any of those other JK's with 5:13's and Sport t-cases.

I agree, 4.88 is the right choice for the 3.6 on 37's if he wants to maintain any sort of highway drivability (not being at 3-3.5K RPM the entire time).

 

Hell their's not any JK's that run trails down South that are not Rubi's or that
don't have an Atlas.....go at at least 5.13 if not 5.38 and trailer it to parks.

 

May as well toss D60s with 5.38 and 40" tires under it then. Be done for good. Sounds like those trails just gonna break D44. So, OP, you need to buy a new F250 super duty and a trailer too. We've got you set up with a trail rig for the 1% of the time you want to wheel those 3-star trails.

 

Truth be known most the JKU Rubicons in our club have went to Dana 60"s
on 40's to 43's with superchargers and now one with a Hemi in it. With his
original post about upgrading and adding truss's and all that made it sound
like he was interested in moderate trail riding. I mentioned to be careful of
getting hooked. Seeing where he lives and that I've been doing all the parks
around the south for 10 years I still say at least 5.13's for the trails. Yes if he
stays mainly around the mall and occasional trails then go lower by all means.
Just heard to many members wish they had geared lower.

 

Atlas and deep/non-streetable gears (5.38) are not for "moderate trail riding." You're talking about building a crawler without any regard for the street. I would also never go that low in a 44 or 30 for obvious reasons if I plan on thrashing on it. You said it yourself:

T-case gearing makes much more of a difference for crawling, which is how I am able to wheel very difficult trails (Rock Creek at Raush Creek, Corum's Special at the Cove, Trails 15, 21, 46, 16, 18 at Windrock) with 4.56 gears. Once I pop it into 4-Lo it doesn't matter if I'm running 4.56 or 4.88 (or 4.88 vs 5.13) because the 4:1 ratio makes it so slow I can't even stall out unless I slam the brake pedal all the way to the ground. The marginal gain isn't worth it, but the marginal loss is huge with regards to street-ability. In hindsight I wish I would have gone 4.88 just so I have some more peppiness back on the street, but my gears haven't ever been what limits me from running a trail...and 2500 RPM @ 70mph is pretty sweet.

5.13's are what everyone in my area recommends too, but most of them are running 3.8's or Sports/Sahara's...so they need it. Funny side note: most of those guys who "swear" they need 5.13's also back out the second they encounter a section of trail with a possibility of body damage...pft. There will never be a situation where a Jeep with 5.13's is more capable than an identically setup Jeep with 4.88's.

I don't think you know what you're talking about. Do you have the 3.6? What gears are you running? Your profile indicates that they're stock gears, with your stock Sport t-case. Just go plug it all into a crawl speed calculator to see how small of a difference it actually makes with a 4:1 t-case in 4-Lo. You're also using a cookie-cutter, sink-or-swim approach with no regard for SC's and engine swaps. Plenty of rigs running blacks and reds that are rolling 4.88's. It's like people asking if it's worth re-gearing to 4.10 from 3.73...no it's not, it's much too small of a jump to notice a difference.

What do I know though? I don't have 5.13's so I'm just another mall crawler.

*Hey OP, turn your first rig into an overbuilt crawler that can do things beyond your skill level and experience. Who cares if it's your first Jeep? Run those greens and blues with style! Also...go buy a big expensive truck and trailer so you can tow your new $35k Jeep*

 

My last commentary was obviously being facetious.

 

Sorry about being absent i've been busy with work, taxes and valentines day stuff!

So I would love to buy a 2500 cummins and tow this but dont have the money for that yet lol i've been looking at different lifts and wondering if the metalcloak game changer would be a better fit for me? its the 3.5" lift. It won't be as high as the currie lift. Some have said it nets 4" instead of the currie being like 5"+.

https://metalcloak.com/jk-wrangler-g...t-edition.html



After reading everyones comments I feel even though I love the higher up look its not worth it to get it as big. But i have no problem putting in the money in for the upgrades i just think being a little shorter will be less stress for everything right? I was ready at any second to buy a lift kit but i underestimated this build hahaha i appreciate everyone's input for helping me understand what all goes into this. I want to do it right and get all 8 control arms in a kit right away. If that means taking a couple more weeks to get it then that's what its going to take. I want to do this right the first time.


Also for gears i feel 4.88s would be my best bet. I will most likely be more easy on my jeep since I honestly don't know how to off road really. I went off roading once stock when i first got it and I still have a lot to learn and experience to gain. I do plan in the future to buy a mostly off road rig and build that up for that purpose only.

 

Out of curiosity, what's the sport tcase ratio? And I'm pretty sure OP in post #1 said things like first build, DD, some trails once a month, etc. Being in a Rubicon on 37s myself, I'm pretty sure 4.88 or 5.13 will suit this guy just fine. I get out to Rausch and I do stupid things and I don't feel like the setup holds me back at all.

 

You seem like you have your head screwed on right. I like that. Keep in mind that ride height is almost a side effect of a lot of factors. A 3.5" kit wont be 3.5" on every Jeep, and probably not on most of them. Weight is going to be a big factor in where you sit. My 2 door is built pretty light and there's a visible difference in ride height between winter Jeep and summer Jeep just with the weight of the hard top and doors. The good news is that you're prepared to make a good foundation to fine tune down the line. Once you've taken care of the control arms, driveshafts, steering and axle work, most of your components will have some adjustability. See where the Jeep sits on the springs in your kit and if you ever want to change it, it should pretty much just cost you new springs and some tuning. Part of the journey is screwing up some now and learning along the way. Your taste will likely change the deeper into it you get too, as will what you want from your Jeep.