1. Welcome to Jeeps.net!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Jeep discussion topics
    • Transfer over your build thread from a different forum to this one
    • Communicate privately with other Jeep owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

2016 Wrangler Sport 3.5in lift and 315/70r17 Mod

Discussion in 'Performance & Tuning' started by Sierra91, Feb 1, 2017.

  1. Feb 1, 2017 at 6:52 AM
    #1
    Sierra91

    Sierra91 [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2016
    Member:
    #430
    Messages:
    3
    Gender:
    Female
    Kansas
    Vehicle:
    2016 Wrangler Unlimited Sport
    3.5in Suspension Lift 315/70r17 wheels and tires added
    I put a 3.5 inch suspension lift and 315/70r17 on my stock jeep and I'm wondering what exactly I need to modify to have it run smooth. I definitely need to get the alignment done as it's got too much play in the steering wheel and the traction control comes on whenever I get on the highway. I also am aware that I need to change the gear ratio. I haven't been able to find what the stock gear ratio is or a calculator for what my new gear ratio should be. What gear box am I supposed to change? Is there any chance that there's an entire kit I could buy online that would be cheaper than taking it to the shop and relatively easy to do at home?
     
  2. Feb 1, 2017 at 7:19 AM
    #2
    Rc Jeep

    Rc Jeep Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2016
    Member:
    #190
    Messages:
    465
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Ryan
    Vehicle:
    '16 Rubicon
    Evo mfg front coil overs Evo mfg rear coil overs Jks drag link flip Je reel 1310 front & rear driveshafts 37" Nitto trail grapplers 17x9 atx slabs Evo mfg quarter pounder w/stinger Evo mfg rear fascia w/ d ring mounts
    For highway I would say 4.56 gear ratio of you off-road a lot specifically crawling I would suggest 4.88.

    3.5" of lift is right around where you need to upgrade other suspension components. A steering stabilizer or ram assist would help with the loose steering. Also some people right around your lift hight put in a high steer kit.

    @OFFGRID seems to have some very good knowledge and maybe he will chime in.
     
  3. Feb 1, 2017 at 7:44 AM
    #3
    Sierra91

    Sierra91 [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2016
    Member:
    #430
    Messages:
    3
    Gender:
    Female
    Kansas
    Vehicle:
    2016 Wrangler Unlimited Sport
    3.5in Suspension Lift 315/70r17 wheels and tires added
    It is definitely more of a toy though I want it to be more of a jack of all trades jeep. Fairly good at trails, mudding, and rock crawling.
    Have never heard of a high steer kit. I'll look into that. Thanks
     
  4. Feb 1, 2017 at 8:01 AM
    #4
    OFFGRID

    OFFGRID Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2016
    Member:
    #317
    Messages:
    2,018
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Peter
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    1979 Jeep CJ7, 258, TH350, NP208
    Howell fuel injection, header, HEI distributor, TH350, NP208, SOA lift with YJ springs in the front & GW springs in the Rear. AMC20 with G2 1 piece chromos trussed, Dana 30 with G2 chromos and 760x ujoints and MM Stainless Hubs, Geared 4.56. Tom Woods shafts, Metal cloaks, Caged, 37" Toyo MTs.
    Regearing for 35s isn't necessary IMO, but if you do you will regain some of you fuel economy and power back. Are you Auomatic tranny or stick? Autos get 3.73 gears and sticks get 4.10 gears. Formula for finding new stock equivalent gear ratio after changing tire size is:

    New tire height X Old gear ration / Old tire height = New gear ratio

    35 X 3.73 / 32 = 4.079 round up to 4.10 gears.

    Probably not worth the expense to me to regear, but I bet you could find a set of JK axles out of a Jeep with a stick for around a $1000. Swap em and then sell yours for $1000 and you are not out any money and you get the 410 gear ratio.

    If you plan on hard wheeling and/or going up to bigger tires in the future you might consider 4.56 gears.

    With a 3.5in lift you can run 37in tires probably without any other suspension or body mods. I ran 37s on a 4in lift on an otherwise stock jeep. I now run 40s on the same setup except that I now run aftermarket flares and regeared to 5.38s. This is strictly a trail jeep now, I do run it on the Highway to get to the trails.
     
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2017
    Rc Jeep likes this.
  5. Feb 1, 2017 at 8:03 AM
    #5
    OFFGRID

    OFFGRID Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2016
    Member:
    #317
    Messages:
    2,018
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Peter
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    1979 Jeep CJ7, 258, TH350, NP208
    Howell fuel injection, header, HEI distributor, TH350, NP208, SOA lift with YJ springs in the front & GW springs in the Rear. AMC20 with G2 1 piece chromos trussed, Dana 30 with G2 chromos and 760x ujoints and MM Stainless Hubs, Geared 4.56. Tom Woods shafts, Metal cloaks, Caged, 37" Toyo MTs.
    As far as steering goes I did not run ram assist until I went up to 40s. I do run a dropped pitman arm to fix the bump steer.
     
    Rc Jeep likes this.
  6. Feb 1, 2017 at 8:16 AM
    #6
    OFFGRID

    OFFGRID Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2016
    Member:
    #317
    Messages:
    2,018
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Peter
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    1979 Jeep CJ7, 258, TH350, NP208
    Howell fuel injection, header, HEI distributor, TH350, NP208, SOA lift with YJ springs in the front & GW springs in the Rear. AMC20 with G2 1 piece chromos trussed, Dana 30 with G2 chromos and 760x ujoints and MM Stainless Hubs, Geared 4.56. Tom Woods shafts, Metal cloaks, Caged, 37" Toyo MTs.
    One more thing. There is a ton of labor involved in a gear swap and the tools required to do the job correctly cost me $1000, but I plan on doing more jeeps in the future (worth the cost). If you are going through the time and expense of regearing, you might as well add a locker in the back and selectable locker in the front. The labor is the same because you have to completely break down the axles to regear anyway. I run a Detroit locker in the back and an Eaton E-locker in the front. I have been very happy with my set-up (Eaton E-lockers are new on the market).
     
  7. Feb 1, 2017 at 8:16 AM
    #7
    Sierra91

    Sierra91 [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2016
    Member:
    #430
    Messages:
    3
    Gender:
    Female
    Kansas
    Vehicle:
    2016 Wrangler Unlimited Sport
    3.5in Suspension Lift 315/70r17 wheels and tires added
    Mine is an automatic. It has the whole option to go manual and it will use the gear you set but probably still has the 3.73 gear ratio. So are you saying then that regearing isn't based on lift but more so tire size? My assumption was always that it was lift based.
    I will have to check the area for axels, sounds like a viable option.

    I did get a dropped pitman arm with my suspension lift. Sounds like it may be a good idea to get the alignment done first and then see how that feels before anything else.
     
  8. Feb 1, 2017 at 8:46 AM
    #8
    OFFGRID

    OFFGRID Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2016
    Member:
    #317
    Messages:
    2,018
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Peter
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    1979 Jeep CJ7, 258, TH350, NP208
    Howell fuel injection, header, HEI distributor, TH350, NP208, SOA lift with YJ springs in the front & GW springs in the Rear. AMC20 with G2 1 piece chromos trussed, Dana 30 with G2 chromos and 760x ujoints and MM Stainless Hubs, Geared 4.56. Tom Woods shafts, Metal cloaks, Caged, 37" Toyo MTs.
    Yes. Gear ratio is based on tire size.
     
  9. Feb 1, 2017 at 11:41 AM
    #9
    Rc Jeep

    Rc Jeep Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2016
    Member:
    #190
    Messages:
    465
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Ryan
    Vehicle:
    '16 Rubicon
    Evo mfg front coil overs Evo mfg rear coil overs Jks drag link flip Je reel 1310 front & rear driveshafts 37" Nitto trail grapplers 17x9 atx slabs Evo mfg quarter pounder w/stinger Evo mfg rear fascia w/ d ring mounts
    I am almost positive that it isn't the difference between stick and auto that dictates the gear ratio stock. Everything that is not a rubicon is 3.73, rubicon auto and manual get 4.10.
     
  10. Feb 1, 2017 at 3:10 PM
    #10
    OFFGRID

    OFFGRID Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2016
    Member:
    #317
    Messages:
    2,018
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Peter
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    1979 Jeep CJ7, 258, TH350, NP208
    Howell fuel injection, header, HEI distributor, TH350, NP208, SOA lift with YJ springs in the front & GW springs in the Rear. AMC20 with G2 1 piece chromos trussed, Dana 30 with G2 chromos and 760x ujoints and MM Stainless Hubs, Geared 4.56. Tom Woods shafts, Metal cloaks, Caged, 37" Toyo MTs.
    You may be right. I just checked that as of 2017 3.21 is the new standard for non-Rubis, and it is an extra $695 to get the 3.73, and Rubis get the 4.10 standard with a 3.73 as a free option. I always pull the diff cover and look anyway when looking at a used axle. You never know when someone has made a swap. I will do more research. In the early days of the JK a I thought that my earlier statement was the norm.
     
  11. Feb 1, 2017 at 4:28 PM
    #11
    OFFGRID

    OFFGRID Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2016
    Member:
    #317
    Messages:
    2,018
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Peter
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    1979 Jeep CJ7, 258, TH350, NP208
    Howell fuel injection, header, HEI distributor, TH350, NP208, SOA lift with YJ springs in the front & GW springs in the Rear. AMC20 with G2 1 piece chromos trussed, Dana 30 with G2 chromos and 760x ujoints and MM Stainless Hubs, Geared 4.56. Tom Woods shafts, Metal cloaks, Caged, 37" Toyo MTs.
    Steve Nantz owner of Moab 4x4 outpost (M40) agrees with me on the Auto 3.73 and the Stick 4.10 gearing being standard, but he did say that the inverse for both trannys were optional for either. He also said that you were right about the Rubis. So you will need to look at the ring to see the ratio to be safe. Just trying to narrow the likely options for the search if that is the rout to go.
     
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2017
  12. Feb 1, 2017 at 8:43 PM
    #12
    C2T

    C2T Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2016
    Member:
    #42
    Messages:
    763
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Richard
    Helena, Montana
    Vehicle:
    Jeep
    2.5" AEV Dual Sport lift, 35" Treadwright Guard Dogs, Black Rock Wheels, AEV Front & Rear Bumpers with Tire Carrier, Fuel Caddy 10 gal. Aux. fuel tank, Warn 9.5ti, 125' synthetic winch line, front axle skid, 20" LED light bar , Bilstein Shocks, steel steering skidplate,
    Though 3.73s will work, I think the 4.10s are great with 35s. It makes a very streetable rig that is very capable off-road as well. For those who want to change that to an off-road rig that can go decently on the street, then 4.46 with 35"s work. 4.88s are for those who don't mind not being able to drive at normal highway speeds and really want low gearing for the trails.

    JMHO....
     
    OFFGRID likes this.
To Top