now im thinking about waiting to regear until i can afford no slip lockers and do both at the same time

 

Ya. That would be the most cost-effective approach. My xj pulls pretty good on 31s. No problem on the hills. It has 3:55s.

 

I'm running 456 gears and 35's

 

LongHorn,
Just realizing you are in Maine.
I was born in New Brunswick, and lived there for 30 years... So I know the kind of weather and roads you deal with.
Maine, with a max. posted speed limit of 65mph on the interstates, and secondary roads with lower speed limits...

4.56's and 31's will be perfect.

As far as automatic lockers and snow go... no thanks.
There are people that will say it's fine, I disagree. I urge you to put true-tracs or selectable lockers in it. (assuming you drive it in the winter)

 

im going to be running 4.88s and 35s

 

thanks i never thought about that not having control over the lockers in winter makes a big difference

 

I run 31's and 4.10's. My Speedo is off when it says 65 I'm running 60 according to my gps. 70-71 is 65 and so forth. I have a autolocker in the rear and a truetrac limited slip in the front. In the snow the autolocker in the rear is not the problem. Auto lockers in the front on snow and ice are the problem.

I live in So IL and most of the time when we get something it's ice... My XJ does fine w/ the limited slip in the front and the autolocker in the rear. When the weather gets bad, I drive it 48 miles one way to work.