Dana brought their ultimate Dana 60 Crate Axle for the Jeep Gladiator and a bracket-less version for most everything else to the 2019 SEMA Show, held at the Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

“For guys who still come from the Jeep world of building their own stuff and making their own custom stuff, we’re offering a bracket-less version of the 60 axle so you can fashion those to fit whatever you want, whether it’s old Chevy truck or golf carts or whatever your heart desires,” said Randall Speir. 

Dana 60 Axle on display at 2019 SEMA Show

Speir added that all the products showcased by Dana during the 2019 SEMA Show were all powertrain products to make vehicles a little more capable for those going off-road, or maybe on a little more adventure. 

“We want you to get down the trail. Have a great time. Get back home. Be the hero, mom, dad, and parent, you know, and have a good time with friends and not stuck out on the trail.” 

Speir added that when the Jeep Wrangler morphed into the truck the opportunity presented itself to upgrade the axles that are underneath those vehicles. “So we have the ultimate Dana 60 axle package for the JK done already and we have one for the JL already done. Then because the JT the gladiators so new, we had to do some development on the rear axle because the suspension is different just to make sure that our product is going to work well.” 

Speir added that with all Dana products, customs should know they have been well-engineered, validated, and tested before its produced. “We’ve got a couple of prototypes that are running the show that you see that we’ve gone and done validation and we’ll probably start running a production of the axles in February.” 

According to Speir, one of the largest mistakes people make when putting on bigger tires to their vehicles is that they may not understand the relationship between the tire size, the transmission, and the engine. Spier says it is important to re-gear your axles after changing the wheel and tire combination, especially on the new JL and JT due to its new 8-speed transmission. 

“Although Jeep gave us a lower first gear, which makes it feel like because you put bigger tires on, you don’t need to re-gear it because you can now get up and get going and it doesn’t feel sluggish. You’re not utilizing sixth, seventh, or eighth gear in your transmission anymore.” 

Dana 60 Axle at 2019 SEMA Show on display

He added that in such a situation, Jeep owners will be running around in fifth or sixth gear ultimately wearing it out prematurely and it’s a step back from all the technology that Jeep developed with the new 8-speed transmission. 

“Re-gearing your axles is super important to maintaining that relationship of efficiency, power, torque so you’re not wearing your stuff out,” Speir said. 

Speir added that upgrading the axles is a bolt-on solution that used to cost a lot of money, Dana has brought value to the industry by giving consumers a well-engineered, well-built product. “If you can install a suspension lift kit, you’ve already done all the work, you can just put in a better axle and now you’re having fun not worrying about it.” 

Speir said the products offered this year are to make your vehicle a little more capable, especially when you go off-roading or overlanding, “We want to make sure the things that have an effect on your axles, like the tire size, all words to complement the transmission and the engine.” 

For more information, check out the Dana website.