Do I need to re-gear with 33's?

[Ken Cooke]

Ouch. I have a friend that knows a 4x4 shop that said they could do it for about $400-500. If i ever regear in the future, ill just go there. (Although ive never been there so for all I know, it couldn't be the best quality job). Ill just cross that road when I get there.

Add another $500 for parts and synthetic differential fluid and you're right back at $1,000

 

[Sexploder]

Add another $500 for parts and synthetic differential fluid and you're right back at $1,000

Guess I didn't think that far ahead

 

[Albino 94LTD]

A lot of people are making this sound much worse than it is.

I ran 33's with 3.73 gears for about 3 years. I even towed a tent trailer over the Cascade Mountains a couple times.

You will see city MPG's go down due to the extra diameter and weight of the tires in a stop-start environment but your highway MPGs wont't suffer and may even go up since you'll be turning about 2000rpm instead of 2250-2300.

Unless you're racing Honda's between stop lights the effect will be negligible.

The other down side of 33's and 3.73 gearing is when you need to crawl very slowly to get over/past a tough obstacle. Lower gearing gives you more/better control but that's where off road experience comes in.

In short, get the tires and run them, then decide if you really need to regear.

Oh, and 5' lift with 31's WILL look silly. If you're stuck on 31's just do TT and shackles

 

[Sexploder]

A lot of people are making this sound much worse than it is.

I ran 33's with 3.73 gears for about 3 years. I even towed a tent trailer over the Cascade Mountains a couple times.

You will see city MPG's go down due to the extra diameter and weight of the tires in a stop-start environment but your highway MPGs wont't suffer and may even go up since you'll be turning about 2000rpm instead of 2250-2300.

Unless you're racing Honda's between stop lights the effect will be negligible.

The other down side of 33's and 3.73 gearing is when you need to crawl very slowly to get over/past a tough obstacle. Lower gearing gives you more/better control but that's where off road experience comes in.

In short, get the tires and run them, then decide if you really need to regear.

Oh, and 5' lift with 31's WILL look silly. If you're stuck on 31's just do TT and shackles

Thanks for the feedback. I knew that there had to be SOME people out there that ran 33s with stock gearing! But by not regearing, wouldnt that cause other problems and excessive wear on other engine parts?
(And yes, I would stick with TT and shackles if I were to get 31s)

 

[Albino 94LTD]

Thanks for the feedback. I knew that there had to be SOME people out there that ran 33s with stock gearing! But by not regearing, wouldnt that cause other problems and excessive wear on other engine parts?
(And yes, I would stick with TT and shackles if I were to get 31s)

Not any more than loading up your rig with 500lbs of camping gear and 3 of your friends tomorrow.

Run 2 tranny coolers and a trans temp gauge (which I would recommend anyway) and go have fun. Then you'll figure out what other mods will best suit your intended use.

 

[2TimingTom]

I love my 33s and 4.56s. City, highway, towing, offroading. It's all good.

 

[Sexploder]

Not any more than loading up your rig with 500lbs of camping gear and 3 of your friends tomorrow.

Run 2 tranny coolers and a trans temp gauge (which I would recommend anyway) and go have fun. Then you'll figure out what other mods will best suit your intended use.

Its so strange to hear completely opposite stories from everyone. I have read all over and people said that its almost essential to regear when you upgrade to 33s and then I hear you and others say that you dont mind it at all and its not that bad. Since I have now heard some positive feedback, I think ill go with getting some BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO in 33X10.5R15LT. From what I hear, its an excellent tire

 

[Sexploder]

I love my 33s and 4.56s. City, highway, towing, offroading. It's all good.

4.56 is a pretty great ratio for 33s though. Im talking about runnin 33s with stock 3.73.....