kneeman

I ordered my Sahara last week, before I did I researched and people said the 3.6 geared at 3.73 was like the old 3.8 geared with 4.56 or 4.88
I drove a 2011 with the 3.8 with 35s (not sure what gear) and it sucked, people said get 4.56 or 4.88 as this will mainly be a street Jeep.
Last few nights I read on forums where some people say that the 3.6 with 4.10 gears was the lowest to go with 35s.
I know everyone has opinions and recommend what they have, but here is what I observed today.

On flat ground leaving the dealer I felt no difference and was shocked and optimistic. While driving on the flats and down hills it felt the same. I then went to some steep longer hills I drive every day and both of them did not downshift going up the hills as I maintained the same speed going up (I stayed at 55 going up hill in both, I didn't want to fly up at 70 with the motor all revved up I wanted to stay lower where it would down shift sooner if needed)

Then I tried accelerating going up hill and also pretending to pass cars by flooring it while going 50mph. Doing that the one with 35s felt about 90-95% as strong as the stock one. I did notice the stock one seemed to coast longer and faster than the one with 35s.

I drove the one with 35s first and was thinking is this sluggish compared to stock, it feels better than the 2011 engine, then I hopped in the 2012 and was prepared to feel a lot less power than I did, so that is good right?


My question is....I ordered a manual JKU and no dealers ever have manuals on the lot here. Will my manual feel more or less powerful than these autos I just drove? I know the new auto is geared lower than the last auto. I don't know if I should switch to a Rubi, I know I will not need the lockers or sway bar or beefier dana front axel but I would like the 4.10 gears, I could regear if I need to but why spend 12-1500 on that when you could spend 1500 more for a Rubi and resale, coolness and ability I might need one day even though I know I will not need it.


I did drive a 2012 auto 3.73 before I ordered my JKU and it blew away my memories from last years test drive so I thought I would be ok with 35s, even more so after reading you guys post (not all of you)

The Jeep with 35s had a 2.5" lift and they were General Grabbers, I am going to use Duratracs.

thedrod

The old motor was really really sad. I don't see a need for a Hemi Swap anymore with the new motor in the 2012s. If the 3.73s aren't enough for your 35s, swap out the gears. It should cost around $800-$1200 total, I'm pretty sure you could get along fine with the 3.73s though.

hypeiv

I would guess the manual will feel better than the auto since the manual still has a lower first few gears than the new auto:

1 - 3.59
2 - 2.19
3 - 1.41
4 - 1.00
5 - 0.83

vs

1 - 4.46
2 - 2.61
3 - 1.72
4 - 1.25
5 - 1.00
6 - 0.84

The new auto is a huge improvement over the old one but the 6mt still gives you the best of both worlds (lower lows, equal highs for cruising)

If you really don't think you will need other upgrades from the Rubi it would be cheaper to just regear than to pay for the Rubi upgrade just for the 4.10 gears, but I think 3.73 + 6mt will be pretty happy with 35's

Moe.JKU

well if the rubi is only 1500 dollars more why wouldn't you go for that. i couldn't get one within 6k of my sahara when i bought my jeep in the summer

dozer2012

I currently drive my 6-speed 2012 2 door with 35" duratracs and a 3.21 ratio. Honestly, it drives great. SLIGHTLY more sluggish, and I cruise in 5th instead of 6th, but It's really not bad. I can cruise in 6th, but it's virtually unresponsive. I'm looking to go to 3.73 but I don't think I'll need to go to 4.10.

Basecamper

When I test drove two JKUR both 4:10's one stick and one auto I thought the auto felt stronger. Having said that I still bought the 6spd becuase it was more fun to drive and I also assumed I was just a crappy shifter