33" tires and 3.73gears

[MeatyCrab]

Hey guys,

Quick question for you all with 33" tires.

What gears do you run with?

I have 3.73 gears stock and will upgrade to 33" soon. Just wanting to hear about performance issues etc.

If I do upgrade gears as well, should I go to 4.10 or jump to 4.56?

In terms of gas mileage, will the extra jump be noticeable? (I know performance will be better)

Cheers,
BK

 

[TwoToneX]

I just upgraded to 33's and my 3.55's can push them ok, unless I'm going up any sort of hill. I'll be switching to 4.56's next week. A lot of people run 4.56's, so I would personally recommend that. Also, if you plan on going any bigger, might as well go 4.56's...

 

[JoshC]

MeatyCrab, i've thought about the same thing. I did see a thing about it a while back and some one said it just depends on your use really. I think if you weren't going to do to much wheeling then you should stick with 4.10's, but i can't remember, try a search, i'm sure you'll find what you need.

Happy trails!!

 

[addkev]

I don't think you can get higher than 4.10 in the 2nd generation x's. I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure.

 

[TwoToneX]

That's right...I didn't see he had a '98...Also, if he has a V8 in there, would he even need to regear? I know it's tough to get the engine to turn those suckers if it's a v6, but have no experience with the v8's

 

[addkev]

I would think even with a V8, 33's are going to be harder to turn. You don't have a 4lo with a V8 and V8's come with 3.55 gears.

You could do it but it will strain the tranny.

 

[nicholtl]

Just a quick note. Telling people to "do a search" is not helping them at all. I'm sure that's the first thing they've done and when they don't find what they're looking for, then they ask you all for your opinions.

As for your gearing question, yes 4:10 is ideal for 33 inch tires, if you plan to go bigger (35's and up) 4:56 would be better...however since you have a 98 Explorer you won't be able to go larger than 33 unless you do some major fender trimming and I'm guessing a solid axle swap since the IFS doesn't allow for much more lift.

 

[Jefe]

To add my 2 cents

I don't think you can get higher than 4.10 in the 2nd generation x's. I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure.

Sure you can. Just tell you gear guy that your front axle takes Dana 35 reg. rotation gears. Believe me, I've got 4.88's

however since you have a 98 Explorer you won't be able to go larger than 33 unless you do some major fender trimming and I'm guessing a solid axle swap since the IFS doesn't allow for much more lift.

Yes, fender trimming is required to run 35's. . .but it is doable. . even with only 4.5" of lift.

And back to the original question:

If I do upgrade gears as well, should I go to 4.10 or jump to 4.56?

In terms of gas mileage, will the extra jump be noticeable? (I know performance will be better)

33's and 4.10's is decent, although while climbing hills on the freeway, you will need to switch out of O/D. Personally, I'd only go 4.56's if you're going to be doing a lot of 4 wheeling. But I don't know what the gas mileage difference will be. I actually get better gas mileage with my 4.88's and 35's than with my 4.10's.

 

[MeatyCrab]

Awesome guys,

Thanks heaps, those were the type of suggestions I was hoping for.

I wheel hard, but don't get many chances to do so (particularly whilst I'm in outer Mongolia and my car is sulking in a garage somewhere in Australia)

It's a V6 SOHC with 3.73's turning 31" tires at the moment.

I think 4.10 will do the trick, as I don't think I'll be going to 35" tires anytime soon.

I just figured if I were to do a regear, I should try and get some acceleration out of it as well...but as long as the truck's performance will be the same (or very close) after the tire change and regear, it should be fine.

Cheers,
BK

 

[Sandy]

Take the new tire OD and divide it by the old tire OD, multiply the answer by the existing gear ratio, which will tell you what gear to run to keep the same performance you have now.

i.e. (33 / 30 = 1.1) x 3.55 = 3.905...

I do not know of any 3.90 gears so the next thing will be 4.10s.
If you want more highway gearing and less acceleration then go 3.73, if you want power for trails or acceleration then go 3.27s.

Good Luck on the project, make sure you know what you are doing before disassembling the axles.

 

[Mascman]

Go with the 4.10s

I have 33s and 4.56s on my '98 Sport. At highway speeds I am taching around 2700 to 3000 RPM. I don't run at 3000 for extended amounts of time, just to pass or climb a hill. I did not recalibrate my speedo so I am not sure exactly how fast I am going, but it's probably in the range of 63 to 67 mph. Acceleration is NO problem!

Everyone suggested I go with the 4.56s, but with my 5 speed I think the 4.10s would have been a good choice. The steeper gear probably helps out with the automatics when four wheeling.

With the 4.56s I have no problem towing a small dune buggy and trailer although I seem to be filling up my gas tank a lot more! I just tell myself the extra power is worth it! I would think you'd get better mileage with 4.10s.

By the way, you DO NOT need a new carrier even if you are going from 3.27s to 4.56s on a 2nd Gen Explorer...I know this for a fact because I did it.

The IFS DANA 35 all use the same carrier. The straight axle 35 on Jeeps DO require a different carrier and that causes some confusion. I was getting worried when a couple guys told me I had to get a new carrier...they were thinking of the Cherokee's DANA 35.

Hope that helps!

 

[Robert]

Originally posted by nicholtl
. . .As for your gearing question, yes 4:10 is ideal for 33 inch tires, if you plan to go bigger (35's and up) 4:56 would be better...however since you have a 98 Explorer you won't be able to go larger than 33 unless you do some major fender trimming and I'm guessing a solid axle swap since the IFS doesn't allow for much more lift.

My '97 SOHC 4x4 came stock from Ford with 30" tires and a 4.10 axle. If I were to upgrade to 33" tires, I would need to regear to a 4.56 to keep it as close as possible to the original RPM. My 4.10 is now turning 32" tires and whenever I get into the mountains, I keep wishing I had 4.56s. I did loose some off-the-line performance with the taller tires. Putting a 4.56 in would get it back.

 

[Jason_25]

Here's my personal take on the matter.

If you have big tires, obviously you will be fourwheeling it. Gearing is all about control. With 3.73's and 33's you are UNDERGEARED, meaning that you do not have proper control of your vehicle, especially offroad. Uphill climbs will take a big toll on your vehicle, and depending on different factors, may even overheat your tranny. Also if you don't have low enough gearing you have to make up for it with speed when climbing. Speed+offroading=broken parts. On downhill grades, your brakes will also be excessively worn, and on long grades, can even overheat and cause you to wreck your vehicle. I know with my 32" tires and 3.73's I feel that I definitely do not have the control needed for good fourwheeling. I'll be upgrading to 4.56 sometime soon.

 

[coolchris]

Originally posted by addkev
V8's come with 3.55 gears.

this is not true. my v8 has 3.73 gears... they arent all geared the same

 

[addkev]

That's weird my manual says only 3.55's, that's good to know.

 

[liquidx9]

how do you check what gear ratio you have? maybe the v8 awds have 3.73's and the v8 2wd have 3.55s?

 

[JoshC]

Look on your driverside door jam at that white sticker. There is a little column that says axle, look at that number then look here .

Happy trails!!

 

[Adam Foote]

I am running 33s with 3.73 gears, but i am moving up to 4.56 just for fun.......

 

[txplorer]

does anyone have a part number for a set of 4.56 gears for the front axle, dana 35 IFS? Its going in a 98 sport

 

[Jason_25]

Originally posted by txplorer
does anyone have a part number for a set of 4.56 gears for the front axle, dana 35 IFS? Its going in a 98 sport

Ok there's your first problem. You don't have a Dana 35 IFS. You have a Dana 35. 91-94 Explorers use the Dana 35 IFS. You need standard rotation Dana 35 gears like they use as the rear axle of some jeeps.