I have a 2012 JKU, 6-speed, 4.88, pr44 front, Currie 60 rear, 38" MTRs.

Live in Idaho. We have plenty of rocks.

I just trashed my rubi transfer case. I've decided to upgrade to a Atlas-4.

I'm currently town between

2.0, 2.72, 5.44 ratio or

2.72, 3.8, 10.34

Does anyone have a 5.44 and wish they had gone lower?

Is the 10.34 too low. I worry the brakes won't handle it.

Also, how is the shifter install look after with ASs kit.

I don't have atlas but I do have a rubicrawler so I have 2:72-1 and 7:2-1 it's in a auto its a little on the low side witch is nice but it seems like I'm always looking for something in between 2:72 and 7:20 I think somewhere in the 5s would be good. I almost have to two foot the brakes in 7:20 I mostly play on the rocks

It's very much an opinion thing, but personally there's no question I'd go with 2.72-3.8-10.34

You of course want the middle number for general trail use.

2.72 is great for things where you want low gear. 2.0 is really excessively low numeric gearing, you could just be in 4hi.

3.8 is perfect for general trail use with 4.88 gears on 38's. 5.44 is getting numerically too high and at least for me would be really annoying for general trail use. 2.72 is too low numeric gearing for a lot of more technical crawling.

10.34 would be really cool to have, very rare you'd use it but great for extremely slow crawls, and especially deep snow if you do that. Brakes would indeed struggle with it, probably want bigger than stock brakes, but really you're not using this gear much at all, and in a lot of it's crawling applications you're not really trying to stop much at all, just keep the wheels turning constantly very slowly. You'd have to be very careful with this gear, tap the gas in a bind and flip a coin on what will snap.


Basically, I see 2.0-2.72-5.44 as a really awkward set of gears where none of them are particularly useful. 2.72-3.8-10.34 on the other hand has every gear being very useful in certain situations.


Unrelated, I'm curious, how'd you wreck the stock case? Did you blow it up on the highway? That's about the only failure mode I've heard of

I knocked a hole in it on the trail. Time to invest is better skids I guess.


I ended up ordering the 5.44 option after talking to Advanced Adapters.


The 2 and 2.72 will be useful for trails... getting to the Rocks.

3.8 would of been too high... I wanted lower than 4.1.

5.44 should be great on the rocks with my 6-speed.

10.34 would of just ended up breaking shit.

Rory

I want to hear how the 2:1 is with the 6 speed. I'm really considering this case for the dunes.

I use the 3.8 most of the time and 2.72 for a bit faster run. The 10.3 gives massive traction but I don't use it much as it slow and tends to break stuff if you get into a bind. Although running 10.3 in second gear is roughly the 5.0

If I were to do it all over again I would likely go with the 2 speed with 5.0 to save the weight and have the longer front driveshaft for a bit more angle available.

I would also recommend running flanges instead of yokes at the transfer case as I have been breaking those when running 10.3

I did think about the 2-speed case, but I do miss my 2.72 when my jeep was a plane old Sport. We have hundreds of miles of desert and mountain trails where 2 and/or 2.72 would be perfect.

Now I need to think about brake upgrades.

I understand your thinking but you have 6 gears to select from and unless you just run in 1st gear for everything. Shifting the transmission is easier and faster then shifting the TC. Shifting in a 5.0 will give you ratio's that are a very close match to a 2.0 or 2.72 in first. 5.0 in third is a 8.6 ratio vs a 2.0 in first at 8.92. 5.0 in second is 10.3 ratio vs 2.72 in first at 12.31 Once you get to 3rd gear in a 2.72 you are basically in 4 high 1st gear and with a 2.0 in second gear you are close to 4 high second. Finding a good spot for the third shifter can be a challenge too on a stock interior.

Right now for me the weight is the biggest issue, looking back I they and find things to keep a jeep light.

Anyway you are going to love the atlas and good luck with the install.

Completely agree. That's what I plan to get for the same reason.

A little lower than street gears for real off road trail running (when 2.73 is a little too low).

Lower than 4:1 for the knarly stuff.

The Hero 3 speed case is worth a hard look. We have not seen one adapted to a JK yet, but it should be possible. Much more logical set of ratios and seriously strong.

For what it is worth, we have brand new crate Rubicon t-cases in stock for $1450 shipped.

I picked up a Hero 3spd to go in with an LS swap. Went with 2.78 and 4.33. Haven't started the swap yet so I can't say how it fits but, I don't see it being much different than an 2spd Atlas. The 3spd Hero is actually .159" shorter than the 2spd Hero.