4.56 or 4.88

[tvalentino]

...Just my .02 cents..

...I've had 4:56 gears and 35's on my Explorer for 3 or more years now...Drive it to the trails on the freeway, offroad it, and drive it home..I also use it locally to haul trailers of material or trash from jobsites..That's it's main job besides getting me to my Ranger...

...I'm totally satisfied with it, don't regret it or it's performance both on the highway and offroad..

yea its my daily and i drive it around town and weekends im usually out somewhere where ever it is...

Depends on your type of driving, but I say 4.88s.

In my first explorer (a daily driver) I had 4.56 with 33s and loved it. It was fine on the street and was great off-road. I moved up to 35s and it sucked off-road. Around town it's as close to the stock ratio as you can get.

My second explorer I bought just for off-road and it had 4.56 with 35s on it already. I never got around to regearing it because I sold it before I could. I also went up to 36s so it really sucked...

Figure out what kind of driving is more important to you and gear it accordingly. The only disadvantage I see with the 4.88s is that you'll have higher RPMs than with 4.56s. To that I say who the F cares?

they are both just as important lol... the rpm difference is only about 200-300 difference i believe right? so i would be at about 3300rpm? at 70mph right now im hitting 2100

4.88s all day!!had 33and 4.88s and loved it,went to 36 and wish i would have went bigger, especially if towing! !never fear the gear!!i have never heard anyone say that they wish they didnt go so big but i have see sooo many people say they wish they went bigger!!

true true... i know many people that wish they went bigger

When I went from 33" tires to 35" tires I noticed a huge difference with my first gen explorer on 4.56's. It downshifted a hellofa lot more than with the 33's. Another factor to consider when people are complaining that they should have went 4.88's over 4.56's is their tire choice. I went from a radial bfg all terrain on stock aluminum rims to a bias ply ltb swamper on a steel rim. Let me tell you those tires are f'ing heavy compared to the 33's. I b*tched to everyone that I should have went with 4.88's! Had I chose a 35" radial on aluminum rims it might not have had the effect it had on my power. You also have a motor that puts out more power than my first generation too.
Now I am running 5.13's with those same 35's cause its as low as I can go with the dana 44 solid and 8.8" fullwidth rear.

Towing a boat around, I would opt in for 4.88's.

i went from the stock alloy to 15x10 steelies with a offset setting the wheels out past the fenders plus the mud terrains and tsl's probably does affect it alot... i will probably just order the 488's since i tow all the boat around during summer

 

[tvalentino]

i found G2's for the rear but they dont make the 488 for the front... which is a better option for the front motive or superior?

 

[1998 sport white]

where I can get a kit for my 98 v6 4x4 sport. of 4.88 cheap