I'm changing out the t-case gears of my Samurai with a 6.5:1 gearset. I'm currently running 31" tires and when these wear out i'll go to 33" tires.  Do I need to change the ring and pinion when I change the t-case gearset?  If so, what ratio is ideal? Trail Tough is the only website I have read across that recommends changing the ring and pinion along with the t-case gearset.

Thanks!

i run stock gears with my 6.5 t/c gears and 32s some times 33s cruze down the freeway in 5th gear all day long

Cool -- thanks for the help!

Can you go off-road in 4High or do you have to put it in 4Low because of the tires?   What kind of speeds can you get with 6.5:1 in 4 Low?  I'm having the 6.5:1 installed next week and was just curious.... I'm new to the Samurai Game.

low range top speed about 15mph  as for wheeling in high range it all depends on terrain if you are looking in too get more power look in to a 1.6 swap i did a 16v swap gained  alot of power

Cool -- this one has a 1.6L 8v.... just rebuilt few 1000 miles ago... i'll have to stick with it for now..heh.  I'm guessing running 33s will be fine on that motor and a 6.5:1 tcase.

Do you have samurai axles or did you do an axle swap? I did learn something quick -- it's all about how much money you want to put into it!

i have stock samurai axles bent a front axle tube but haven't broke any axle yet
I have over 7 grand in to my samurai

Here are a couple of good websites to check out what gearing will do to your speed vs rpms and your crawl ratio :
http://www.lepayne.com/gears.html
http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html

I started with 5.12 R&P w/ stock t-case and I was spinning 4000rpm |removethispart||removethispart||removethispart||removethispart||removethispart|@ 65mph and had a crawl ratio of 42:1
I then went to 4.30 R&P w/ 6.4 t-case and now I am spinning 4000rpm |removethispart||removethispart||removethispart||removethispart||removethispart|@ 65mph and have a crawl ratio of 100:1
Right now I am running a 31" tire but I plan on going to 33" tires on my next tire change.
The first setup sucked off road but I couldn't do any t-case gears because I still wanted to daily drive the Sami and didn't want to run on the freeway for long periods over 5000rpm. I was stuck and had to re-do the R&P gears so I could do a combo of gearing to where I wanted to be for both street and off-road.
In the end I have gearing that will work great off and on road.

I have over 7 grand in to my samurai

- these little things can be money pits and I have WAY to much into mine and keep finding things that I "need".... next thing you know you have the cost of a new car into an old Sami. Just enjoy it and have fun.... don't added up the numbers.

ha...when the wife is the bread winner i have to ask permission. the trick is to get her actively involved in whatever i woud like to do - then she's all for it!

I'm going to take a look at ring and pinion ratios then play with the calculator.  seems like 4.57 and 5.38 is what's mass available..where did you buy your 4.30 from?
Thanks so much!

ha...when the wife is the bread winner i have to ask permission. the trick is to get her actively involved in whatever i would like to do - then she's all for it!
I'm going to take a look at ring and pinion ratios then play with the calculator.  seems like 4.57 and 5.38 is what's mass available..where did you buy your 4.30 from?
Thanks so much!

that's a good idea no matter what. I couldn't imagine the war "within the walls",that would happen on my harebrained conversions and ideas if the wife wasn't cool with it (and likes wheeling too).

anyways.....another point to make is going to higher gears (numerically lower) is also a good idea for gaining pinion strength. those ultra low gear sets >5.00's don't have much pinion meat. that kinda helps justify the conversion a bit too.
and those 4.30's are available and kinda hard too find,sometimes though you can find people on here that want to trade them for lower gears. look for 4.62's there much more available and cheaper.

for 4.62's there much more available and cheaper.

Cool - thanks!  I'll look for the 4.62--  

And based on your reply in my other thread -- I may just end up sticking with 31" if they are a better fit for the setup I have... then a 6.5:1 tcase would be an overkill and i may can get by with a 4.9:1... of course the 6.5:1 would cover it all and may still be the best bet.

I never thought to ask...usually -- when people mention re-gearing the ring and pinion -- are they talking about the front or the rear or both?  The gear calcuators only mention differentials...never specify front or rear --

You have to re-gear both the front and rear at the same time.  Otherwise they will move at different rates and bind up.  So your front end will try to pull the rear end around, or the rear will push the front.

I run 5.12 gears with a 6.5:1 with 33x12.5 on my SJ-410.  It's great for power but I run out of top end in low range quickly.  And in high range I max out with the 4 speed around 53 mph. 

You have to re-gear both the front and rear at the same time.  I run 5.12 gears with a 6.5:1 with 33x12.5 on my SJ-410.  It's great for power but I run out of top end in low range quickly.  And in high range I max out with the 4 speed around 53 mph. 

oh ok..yea so that's where the costs comes in when changing gears... 1 isn't bad but replacing both sets it adds up. 

thanks for the real world numbers... what's your RPM at 53mph?  I am hoping to get 60mph... the 4.57-.62 should get a little higher on the upper end? but heck 53mph when only traveling 11 miles to work isn't bad....