Tire size?

Matt89447 said:

Semi new to channel. Matt from Yerington. 70 years young.
Old Jeep was an 1977 CJ5. New is a 2018 Wrangler 2 door with a 6.
Considering going to Method Rims and 35" Nitto tires. Will I ever see 8th speed again without re-gearing?
I've also been told my gas mileage will go down with a heavier tire and rim.
Thanks for being kind.

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What Wrangler? Sport? Rubicon? If Rubicon I’d say you’re fine with the factory 4.10s thanks to that 8 speed (so as long as you recalibrate with a Tazer)

If a Sport it may still be fine depending on where you live (roads, hills, elevation) but probably would want to do 4.56 gears eventually to get it feeling factory again.

depends current gear ? 35’s you won’t loose much. flat lands you’ll see 8th plenty.
Honestly fuel economy in a jeep is what it is.

You’ll see it as it doesn’t disappear. Might not be able to use it though.

Went to 37's on my 4 door JL Rubicon with the 3.6L and put about 20K miles on it before regearing. Prior to regearing the biggest modification would be calibrating the speedometer, that really changed how the jeep drove. The 3.6 and factory 4.10:1 gearing was very drivable with the 37" tires.

Swapping to 4.88:1 gearing with the 37's gave the Jeep a whole bunch of low end torque and made it super peppy for around town driving. On the highway with the stock gearing it would only shift into 8th gear with a tail wind or on a slight downhill grade. While the transmission isn't shifting into its highest gear the taller tires are effectively making your jeeps final drive ratio higher anyway so it's kind of a moot point for highway driving. Regearing gives you back the bottom end making the double overdrive (8th gear) usable again.

You will probably see a decrease in fuel efficiency going to a taller tire regardless of gearing.

DirtHeadDavis said:

What Wrangler? Sport? Rubicon? If Rubicon I’d say you’re fine with the factory 4.10s thanks to that 8 speed (so as long as you recalibrate with a Tazer)

If a Sport it may still be fine depending on where you live (roads, hills, elevation) but probably would want to do 4.56 gears eventually to get it feeling factory again.

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Yes, sorry a Sport. I momentarily forgot all Wranglers are not equal.
I'm seeing folks say skip the 33's but maybe I should stay there.

JT@623 said:

depends current gear ? 35’s you won’t loose much. flat lands you’ll see 8th plenty.
Honestly fuel economy in a jeep is what it is.

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I'm getting 23 per gallon, way more than I thought I'd be getting. I'm very easy on accelerator. I hit 24 every so often. But I'm ok with losing a little. Thx

Matt89447 said:

Semi new to channel. Matt from Yerington. 70 years young.
Old Jeep was an 1977 CJ5. New is a 2018 Wrangler 2 door with a 6.
Considering going to Method Rims and 35" Nitto tires. Will I ever see 8th speed again without re-gearing?
I've also been told my gas mileage will go down with a heavier tire and rim.
Thanks for being kind.

Click to expand...

Yes, you will see 8th speed again. But it is still good to regear (to 4.56) if you can afford it.

I have 35" Nitto tires on a 2-door Rubicon and it still does often run in 8th on the highway. However, I have the 2.0T motor which develops a lot of torque while at speed. I do wish the gearing was better, but I mostly notice the difference at low speeds rather than on the highway.

If you do not have at least 4.10 gears then you should definitely regear.

Matt89447 said:

I'm getting 23 per gallon, way more than I thought I'd be getting. I'm very easy on accelerator. I hit 24 every so often. But I'm ok with losing a little. Thx

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What is your average elevation? My 2-door gets really good mileage at higher elevation (>5k), but the mileage really goes down at low elevation. At higher elevation the air is less dense so it is easier to drive through.

Matt89447 said:

I'm seeing folks say skip the 33's but maybe I should stay there.

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Unless you really feel a need for bigger tires, I personally would stick with the 33's if only because they're more affordable, will still get the job done and as you've already seen, don't rob you of too much power.