Time to Re-Gear

[Jrama]

Current Set-up
D30-3.73- Aussie locker
D44- 3.73- Factory LSD
NV3550 5 speed
33x10.50 KM2's 85+ % tread

I have decided it is time to Re-Gear the Jeep, Primarily because I drive it everyday and 3.73 and 33" is less then desirable, also future plans include the move to 35" tires. Since I am in the process of Re-gearing I have also decided that i am going to put an Eaton- E- Locker in the rear at the same time. ARB would be ideal, but due to high cost and a more intricate system the simplcity of the E-Locker is more appealing. I have done hours of research regarding the topic and still have some questions regarding the process. Essentially i am just looking for real world experience and opinion as I already have tons of information. Trying to gather some final advice before I go ahead and order all the parts.

I still have decent tread on my KM2's wich are 33", I intend to move to 35" tires in maybe a year. Would 4.56? be a livable ratio with 35" tires?
Conversley, would 4.88 be reasonable on 33" for about a year?
Just to confirm the carrier is for 3.73 and up which means that I do not need a new carrier for the D30?

I have done multiple gear calculators, read mutiple threads the general concensus seems to be, 4.88 is  too high 33" but perfect for 35" tires, While 4.56 is ideal for 33" tires but leaves some performance on the table with 35" tires. Opinions range from everywhere inbetween to some completely off the norm. Seems like a small issue, but spending all that cash and not being satisfied with the gear swap is not an option. I am leaning towards runnin 4.56 simply because it seems to be the more versatile gear choice.

Also anybody running an e-locker, any comments?

[cLAY]

If you are going to run 35s I would go with 4.88s. You find many people that regret not going with as low as possible buy not many saying they went too low. Do you do a lot of highway driving with it? If not you'll find you'll just upshift sooner, its only on the highway you'll find rpms a bit high.  If you find that the 4.88s are unbearable with your current 33s, then just sell them and get the 35s sooner. Super easy to sell a good set of 33s.

For installation are you thinking of doing it yourself? If so there are numerous threads on here about that. Price out all the needed tools and then decide. Getting the right pattern can take 4-8+ hours per diff. I just talking getting the pattern, reassembling the rest of the diff is on top of that.

FYI I'm running 5.13s with 36s and a V8 and like it. Rpms are bit high on the highway but totally livable. I don't daily drive it though. Also with the extra weight of the tires a bit more gearing is desirable.

[slimbeam]

4.56 with  35" rubber an e-locker in rear truetrac in front works great for me with my 4.2L. Lots get up and go on hiway and crawls around good to, love the selectable rear only engage when you need it.

[JackstandJohnny]

from what you've said, it sounds pretty good!

4.56s will be liveable with your 33s.  as liveable as your 3.73 gears.  instead of no '5th' you won't have '1st'  haha.  i rarely use first, with 4.56s and 35s.  the short answer is, the 4.56s will be good with 33s. you won't mind. and 35s will be great.....

as for your locker choice, i agree also;  the ARBs are great; when its warm.......... in the winter, they are finnicky at best.

your choices sound logical...............  IMO, 4.56s are good, 4.88s would be great with 35s; but if you are hell bent on 33s for a year, 4.56 is good...... but clays right; a good set of 33s will sell easily...

[Rubi03 jef]

im running 5,13's on 35's on a daily driver and i wish i was running 4,88's

so 4,56 and 4,88 would be a good gear to be looking at

with 5,13's i can launch in 2nd gear and spin my tires right into the red no problem on dry road .. but i can only do like 120 max on the high way in 6th gear

it sucks

[Jrama]

I appreciate all the input so far.

Basically it comes down to the lesser of two evils,

1. 33" at 4.88= 2700 rpm at 110 kph- Too high for my liking / 35" at 4.88 =2500 rpm at 110 kph
2. 35" at 4.56= 2300 rpm at 110 kph- Factory is about 2200 at 110kph with the 30" GSA's / 33" at 4.56= 2500 rpm at 110 kph

IMO the 4.56's seem like the most road worthy gear between the two tire sizes, 2300 at 110 kph isn't bad and is still slightly higher than stock. Plus 110kph is too slow for highway driving, I usually keep it at 120, sometimes 130 cruising. I don't go on the highway a lot, but compromising its abilty to do so, I don't like. I want to drive it over to the whipsaw trail and down to the states one day and hit some different trails.
It seems the guys who claim 4.88 is the ideal ratio do a lot more rock crawling, while the guys who drive it on the road say 4.56 is fine.

 R

[Rubi03 jef]

ur not going to want to be doing 130km anymore with 35's     trust me

[BlackYJ]

I am running 4.10s with my 33s and it is okay on the highway and I can use 5th.  It runs the best in that 100-110 range.  About 5-10 years ago, 4.56 was the standard gear for 35s until rock crawling really took over and everyone now wants to go as low as possible.

For an all around rig, I think the 4.56s would serve you well as you really are not getting that much more if your crawl ratio between 4.56s and 4.88s.  But, if highway performance is important I would good to the 4.88s, as will have more "power" on the highway, but the trade off is higher rpms.

[w squared]

ur not going to want to be doing 130km anymore with 35's     trust me

Words of wisdom

Even with the longer wheelbase, heavier weight, and longer control arms on the 4 door JK, I noted that my "comfort" cruising speed on the highway is lower with 35's than it was with 32's. Aluminum wheels and Toyos that will actually balance helps out...but 35X12.5 is still a big heavy tire to be spinning at that speed on a 4000 pound Jeep.

[Vinman]

but 35X12.5 is still a big heavy tire to be spinning at that speed on a 4000 pound Jeep.

It doesn't have to be if your selective with your tires and rim choice.
I had 35x12.50/15 BFG KO's on AR Baja 15x8's and they weighed a hefty 69 lbs per corner, a full 5 lbs LIGHTER than the stock MTR's on my old Rubicon.

Vince

[Jrama]

Anybody have opinions on the E locker?
Most of the reviews give this locker a thumbs up but i have came across a few concerns, Primarily with longevity of the unit.

Its going into a dana 44, and I have heard that it is a mere 2 pinion design as opposed to an ARB 4 pinion design. I have heard numbers thrown around qouting the E locker to only have %60 of the strength of the ARB. Anybdoy have any opinions or experience with E locker durability. I'd really like to get one but I don't want to have to replace it in 5 years.

[Shearcon79]

Don't mean to throw a wrench in the thread but what about OX lockers? I have been debating all three. The only difference in price seems to be that ARB's need a compressor which is about another $140 for the locker only and $230 for the tire inflation capability.

[Jrama]

I dunno about the price for an OX, but the qoute from northridge on a E locker is puts it at the top of the list. The new Design for the OX seems to be extremely dependable and something definately worth considering if the E locker proves to be unreliable.

Problem is I hear all this talk about the Dana 44 E locker having a inferior 2 pinion Design, which is apparently no good and unworthy of anything but the lightest use. YET, I cannot find one D44 E locker failure anywhere. I am talking pure strength, not solenoids, wiring etc, strength. infact I keep reading the opposite, i read reviews of people with d44's using 37's for years of trouble free wheelin

Is this 2 pinion strength issue purely academic? or does anyone know of any actual failures, experienced them or have a reasonable argument why I should buy a different brand?

I'll probably end up getting the E locker- It just bugs me that they are coming out with a new 4 pinion design in a year or two. Just leaves me to wonder if there really is any strength issues, or if there just doing to it to put this whole debate to rest and make a superior locker to the ARB

[Jrama]

Well just to add some closure Here is all I decided upon, I thank everyone for their time and opinions

 I decided to go with the 4.88 gears. I may be running 33's right now but the future certainly holds 35's so the choice was obvious in the end

Eaton E-Locker for the dana 44- Debated long and hard on this one but in the end No one could supply with a strong argument to justify the added expense of the ARB. I searched for hours and came up short everytime. People complained of the 2 pinion design being weaker, which I am sure it is, but atleast in this application their is no signifigant failure rate that causes concern. It would seem this argument doesn't hold that much water in actual practise.

[cLAY]

I have an Eaton elock in the front D44 of my Grand with a V8 and its been fine for two years. I did break the wire for it in Moab but it was a 10 min fix. Jennsen on the board here has one in his XJ front D44 and competes hard with it and its been ok as well.

When I was in Moab last year a friend had an Ox locked D30 that kept giving trouble. His hit the cover where the cable goes in and couldn't get it adjusted right and it wouldn't stay in. Also have seen many ARBs fail due to broken lines or leaky cases. The ARB owners though usually had MANY tough miles on their units before they caused troubles and generally were quite happy with them.