The lift and change in tire's to 33's has left my poor little TJ struggling. I am planning a gear swap soon and have seen a lot of discussion on here about them. I guess my question is, is anyone running 4.88's behind their 4 banger. I don't want to go so low that I can't cruise comfortably at highway speeds, seeing that I spend a lot more time on the highway than the trail. Would 4.56's be enough or would I still not be able to use 5th gear. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

i know guys running 4.56's with the 4cyl and 33's. they do well on the highway.

I have 33's and 4:88's. I love it. I have 5th gear now and can fly on the major hwy's when needed.

84CJ7 SOA,35's,OnboardAir,Dual winches,Full Cage,Snorkels, and more
OverMost 4WD Club

Thanks Jersey, that's the warm and fuzzy I was looking for.

I have a 4 cyl YJ, and the stock ratio is 4.1 with the manual trans. I am not sure what the TJ stock is, I am guessing its the same. I am also assuming (for the sake of my point) that your Jeep came from the factory with 27inch tires. So from the factory you had 4.1 with 27 inch tires. With 4.88 and 33 inch tires your RPMs will be just about the same as stock. Give or take 200RPMs. So if you liked the rpm feel of the stock setup then go with the 4.88s

91 YJ 4in lift waiting in the garage till March !
"It takes a special type of person to drink a cup of coffee in a jeep"