JPop

Oh man, please don't go there.

Lots of this stuff is outside of my wheelhouse and it took me a long time to get my head around gearing an under powered vehicle. The rules are practically 180 degrees from what I know from drag racing and most of what I have pieced together is from the knowledge of others.

Much like a lot of others, I'm sure my JK build would have been a lot different if I knew then what I know now. Making mistakes is as good of a learning tool as any, hopefully I can cut someone off before they head down the same path.

///JK

Thanks for all the help guys. What size gears are the best for me and does anybody recommend any brands?

ibjeepr

Same set up i have except I haven't installed the exhaust yet. I'm hoping once that's done I'll see a nice improvement. Also I just have the Jet stage 1 chip. I'll also be adding NGK Iridium IX plugs and Garadelli wires.

Also, I never see anyone mention this but either the engine or the chip really seem to prefer Premium fuel. I think the higher octane seems to make a difference.

I have a manual and 3.73's and I don't want to regear. I don't want to spend that much, I won't run anything bigger than 33's and I like being able to get decent gas mileage when i'm not off-roading. With the manual and the upgrades so far I had no issues at the Northwoods Jeep Jamboree last year. Once I have the remaining upgrades installed I know I'll be happy.

viking

that is all I use is the high octane
But then I have 4.11 gears . If you have 3.23 or 3.73 I can see a regear too.

///JK

I have 3.73

ibjeepr

I got all of those upgrades for:
CAI & TBS (Airaid,TBS was free ) (4wd.com) $260
Performance Chip (Jet stage 1)(used) $140
Exhaust Performance Cat-Back (MBRP Off-road) (MBRP, long story) $162
Spark plug wires (Granatelli MPG) (4wd.com) $94
Spark plugs (NGK Iridium IX) (Napa) $56

Total $712

Hi, I agree that with the auto and if you want the jeep to have more grunt off the line in town, improve towing, use bigger tires or keep the rpms lower while off-roading the gears are the way to go.

I was only speaking from the perspective and goal of:
Manual tranny, improve or maintain mpg for daily use, modest power increase ( i admit it isn't a lot), never going over 33's and keeping costs low. The 3.8 requires higher rpms to achieve it's optimal power output than the I-6, just have to get used to revving it higher when necessary. With half my mods installed so far milage has not decreased, I've noticed more power (even from a stop below 3k) and have had no issues off-road. I'm sure a Hypertech programmer would be better than my used Jet chip as well. I wanted to avoid a regear in order to avoid the hit to mpgs and the high (all at once) cost. I also would be unable to do the intall so i would have to pay a shop to put the gears in.

Castalone

I have an auto with 33's. I did superchips, dynomax, and drop in k&n. The superchips made the most noticeable difference. The Dynomax sounds great, is a relocation kit you can install yourself, and came with an i-pod! The K&N is cheap and safe. These together made mine ok to drive and around 2 mpg better, but with 35's I would regear first to get the low end torque for off roading.

rope12

airraid, unichip, flowmaster 50 series and a 4.88 regear with 33's on a manual 08 2door. Cai and chip made a noticeable difference in acceleration. the regear made the biggest difference. they'll spin the 33's. flowmaster puts out a nice rumble but i would go with the 40 series if i could go back. i've almost hydrolocked myself several times with the airraid so take that into consideration if you think you'll ever see more than a few inches of water.