I have a 87 sammy and am new at the off roading.  Just had a quick question.  This will be a 1/2 time driver as well as an off roader.  What would be the optimum gearing set up for my 33 in tires?  I was thinking, 5.125 diff gears and a 6:4 transfer case.  Any suggestions appreciated.

thers all kinds of ways to go, trail tough is a good solution, 6:4:1 t case is going to be your best bet, but for diffs 5:12's or 4:53 will work anything is better than stock, make sure u get the lockers! or it is not even worth spending all that $!

Here is a link to an Article I just wrote. I hope it will help you out in your quest to decide which t-case will work best for you. Just click below

Gears, Gears, GEARS!

this from calmin website a stock sammi t-case reduces the 2 hi and 4 hi running gear. if you change ur t-case gearset u lower both the ur running gears as well as ur 4 lo.



Unlike what's currently available in low range gear kits for the Samurai, you won't find any junky welded gears in this kit or the need to heavily alter the factory transfer case.   Our kit contains 4 completely new gears machined from billet material! Manufactured in the USA to exceed factory tolerances from quality SAE 8620 alloy. Now, you can re-gear your Samurai drive train completely through the transfer case. A TRUE 20.2% Hi-Range reduction will correct highway gearing for 32â€? -33" tall tires. A whopping 187% reduction in low range offers a range that is over twice as low as our current 4.16:1 kit - It’s almost too low for some instances. Either way, this is the lowest ratio gear reduction kit for your Samurai. We don't leave anything out - It's a complete kit sold with Input Shaft, High Output Gear, Low Output Gear, Counter Gear, Counter Shaft & bearings, thrust washers, gaskets and detailed instruction booklet. Installs like factory parts - NO GRINDING or CUTTING is required to install! It even comes with oil! The mandatory first step towards building an awesome off road Samurai.
USED IN U.R.O.C. COMPETITION !
MOAB SPECIAL THROUGH APRIL 1, 2005
VEHICLE PART NUMBER PRICE
1986-95 Samurai, SJ413 SS5031 $695.00 REG. $795.00

If you plan on driving it on the road then do your home work and figure out your highway speeds depending on tire size, r/p, and t-case gears. For ex: I'm running 5.8:1 case, 5.12 r/p, with 35 x-terrains = 62mph |removethispart|@ 4000rpm. With 31's I could only do about 50 mph.

I would go 4.30's if you drive on the street alot or 4.62's if combination of street and trail. with trail tough's 6.4's

I would say 80% street and 20% trail.  What all would I need to put in 4.62's and what do those come in?  Or do I have to buy them new.