Selecting the Right Gears for Your Jeep
Lifting your jeep and putting on bigger tires may be enough for the average Joe who just wants a lifted rig. Just because it looks good does not mean it performs. One of the most overlooked performance items in most Jeep builds is the ring and pinion gears.
What does gear ratio mean? The axle ratio is the number of revolutions the driveshaft must make to spin the axle one full turn. This number is shown in the ratio, which represents the number of the ring gear’s teeth divided by the number of the pinion’s teeth. If a jeep has an axle ratio of 3:73:1, for example, the driveshaft turns 3.73 times for each full wheel spin. In terms of how an axle ratio should be structured, 3.73 and 3:73:1 are technically both correct and mean the same thing.
The best axle ratio for your jeep depends on your application. Are you looking for a jeep with heavy-duty performance? Or, are you more concerned about fuel economy? In any case, the axle ratio matters.
Fuel Economy: When shopping for a jeep with good fuel economy, regard the axle ratio as the amount of fuel the truck burns while operating at highway speeds for any amount of time. If one jeep has an axle ratio of 3.31 and another has a ratio of 3.55, the former will burn less fuel. This is because the first jeep’s engine has lower revolutions per minute than the second jeep.
Performance: Looking again at the ratios used above, the higher 3.55 ratio indicates faster acceleration whether the jeep’s empty or loaded. The higher the ratio, the more revolutions per minute.
Towing: For pickup jeeps released after 2010, the best axle ratio for towing falls somewhere between 3.55 and 3.73. This range provides good acceleration for V8 gas and diesel engines.
Here is a video by BleepinJeep that explains how to Choose Your Axle Gear Ratio.
How to Choose Your Axle Gear Ratio
by: BleepinJeep
Here is a video by Dirt Lifestyle that covers choosing the best Axle Gear Ratio.
How to choose your axle gear ratio. Axle gear ratios can be complicated and choosing the right ring and pinion can be hard.
by: Dirt Lifestyle
Desert Wranglers is not affiliated with or is sponsored by BleepinJeep, or Dirt lifestyle. These videos are intended as information sources only.