does anyone here have a gear ratio of 3:55 and runnin on 33s

[Rusty]

you're right better gas mileage as long as you never have to slow down then get back up to speed.
What they are saying is if you want to go to 33's and keep your gears then thats fine but expect it to be really doggish and get horrible gas mileage
If you want it to repsond pretty well and get around like a normal or more than normal ex then you need to regear... as well as the added bonus of having the correct gearing mix so that you have decent accerlerating power as well as cruising rpm range so you get good gas mileage.
I dont know where you live but i live in Massachusetts just outside of boston and i NEED to have my wife's ex which has stock tires 235/75/15 and 3.73's with the sohc to accelerate onto most roads. People are crazy up here. I just put 31's on my ex which is the ohv 5 speed with 3.73's if it wasn't a 5 speed it would be a dog. If it were me... i would go 4.56 with 33's maybe not right away but definately asap so i wouldnt burn up the engine.. tranny and so i wouldnt get rearended!
my $.02!
And you are dead wrong about getting better gas mileage due to the simple fact that unless you drove a considerable more amount of time at 65 to make up for all of the intown/stop and go driving you would do then it wouldn't make up for it!

 

[johnnydee3]

theres no way that goin 65mph at about 2800rpms is good for ur engine

 

[Burns]

I do 3000 at 70. I have a completely different combo than you want but its not that bad

 

[JDraper]

As has been mentioned above several times, it's because there is less strain on the transmission. More rpm's does not mean more stress. When you have numerically lower gears in the axles, it takes more torque to hold a given speed or to accelerate, more torque=more stress.

 

[lennymu]

Not to mention, your motor is much happier in its power band. The OHV motor likes being in the 2000-2500 RPM range better than 1500-2000 RPM range when it comes to milage. Sounds strange I know, but these things are designed this way.

 

[JDraper]

Just for additional info, I was just out in my truck. At 65 MPH with 4.56 gears and 33" tires, I'm turning 2200-2300 rpms in overdrive. In straight drive, I'm turning 3100-3200 rpms. Right where it should be.

 

[FROADER]

That's awesome. Ask for advice, and everyone tells you the same thing and you say they are all wrong.

 

[JDraper]

Ya can lead 'em to water, but ya can't make 'em drink...

 

[bigcoltrick]

Just curious what about 3.73 and 33" inch tires, I have the 4.0 SOHC? Is this chart right? Would I get better mpg?

http://www.4wheelparts.com/gear_ratio.html

 

[DeRocha]

theres no way that goin 65mph at about 2800rpms is good for ur engine

I hear what your saying, but if you think about it in terms of a 16speed mountain bike it may make more sense..

3.55 will feel like a 16speed mountain bike that is always 3 gears too high.. So when you're going up a steep hill and really need to be in 1st gear your bike would be 3rd (not good). Think of how much you need to strain to keep the bike going.. This feeling translates directly to your Explorer. The only time you will benefit from 3.55s with 33s is when traveling on FLAT roads where you don't have to use lots of power to maintain speed.

Gearing can be confusing because unless you've driven the same vehicle with different gears its hard to imagine how it will feel and perform. Crunching numbers is one thing, but actually driving a vehicle that has been regeared provides infinitely more insight.. The good thing is that many great people have already done this and have provided you will great feed back and advice within this thread.

At this point you can simply get 33s and drive around with your 3.55s gears and see how it feels.. But in your back pocket be pre-paired to pony up some $$ to gear...

 

[johnnydee3]

I hear what your saying, but if you think about it in terms of a 16speed mountain bike it may make more sense..

3.55 will feel like a 16speed mountain bike that is always 3 gears too high.. So when you're going up a steep hill and really need to be in 1st gear your bike would be 3rd (not good). Think of how much you need to strain to keep the bike going.. This feeling translates directly to your Explorer. The only time you will benefit from 3.55s with 33s is when traveling on FLAT roads where you don't have to use lots of power to maintain speed.

Gearing can be confusing because unless you've driven the same vehicle with different gears its hard to imagine how it will feel and perform. Crunching numbers is one thing, but actually driving a vehicle that has been regeared provides infinitely more insight.. The good thing is that many great people have already done this and have provided you will great feed back and advice within this thread.

At this point you can simply get 33s and drive around with your 3.55s gears and see how it feels.. But in your back pocket be pre-paired to pony up some $$ to gear...

ahh...i get it now...thanks man

 

[Weatherman]

OK, I've got a '91 with 3.55s and 33s. It is sluggish but tolerable for me. I've got a manual trans, headers, catback, open intake etc. so it doesn't bother me that much on the major roads where I'm running 65 mph without traffic lights. I do shift to fourth gear when going up very steep hills though. That being said, I'm going to kill my clutch much earlier than its expected life and with the opened intake and exhaust my low end torque is pretty much shot and that doesn't help it either (my entire exhaust system rotted away a while back, so it wasn't like I just set out one day to attempt to compensate for the tires). My only reason for not regearing is that I haven't stopped building on it. I don't know what tire size I'll stop at, where I'll settle on lockers, solid axle in the front, etc. so I don't feel like throwing the money at it right now.

What I'm saying is - you can drive it with 3.55s and 33s BUT you'll actually feel the stress on your driveline all day long!

Ben

PS - I drive a sedan 90% of the time...

 

[FROADER]

I think I put this in every thread like this, and Weatherman this is not directed at you because you obviously know it's wearing your parts fromt what you just posted.

The people that say 33s and stock gears is fine are the people that haven't re-geared. If they would re-gear to where they "should" be, they wouldn't recommend driving on 33s with stock gears. The stock transmission is already a POS, so why take the chance of having to pay ~$2k to rebuild it because you don't want to get gears?

 

[DeRocha]

OK, I've got a '91 with 3.55s and 33s. It is sluggish but tolerable for me. I've got a manual trans, headers, catback, open intake etc....
What I'm saying is - you can drive it with 3.55s and 33s BUT you'll actually feel the stress on your driveline all day long!

Ben

PS - I drive a sedan 90% of the time...

The HUGE part of the above is the MANUAL transmission.. With it you'll have far greater control than with an automatic.. Obviously 3.55 isn't ideal with either, but with a manual transmission its at least tolerable for a short time.

 

[Weatherman]

Totally agreed

Rule #1 - If you want to dance you gotta pay the fiddler...

Driving the ex in rough territory - I can deal with rolling it because I have another car to drive to work on monday morning. Likewise I can live with killing my trans. Make sure you can too.

Froader - you're correct - I had a set of 235/75/R15s on it for a couple of days last week (long story) and will definitely go back to that level of performance when I get a chance.

Ben

 

[johnnydee3]

by the way...i did not mean to contradict what you guys where sayin....I know that you guys know alot about this **** and did not mean to disrespect you in any way. It just wasnt making sense in my head

so i want to apologize to FROADER AND JDRAPER

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

yeah man, no one will ever intentionally lead you into the wrong, this site is fore useful information, i used to be like "wha???" to some things, but then i figured out there are a bunch of experts, and a bunch of guys here who have practiced with this stuff for a loooooong looooooong loooooong time.