gears

[jeremy33]

im doing a straight axle conversion on my 96 explorer v6. im putting a dana44 front and ford9 in rear and i plain on put 38" tires what gear ratio would be best for 80 cruising speed with out high rpms but still have good take off

 

[hunterdan]

My guess would be 5.13's or maybe 5.38's. With the V6, the lower the ratio the better off you should be, especially with 38's.

Dan

 

[hiridin]

i'm running 38's right now that measure (37.1") actual heigth and i have 5.13's and i should've gone with 5.38's no doubt in my mind. 5.13's are just enough to live with. 5.13's are good for 35's and 36's not 37's and 38's. atleast not with the 4.0 ohv and a manual tranny u definitely want to gear low as u can or you'll regret it. an auto can get u by without being geared quite right. but anyways go with 5.38's imho. but if u have an auto tranny and your running 5.38's with 38's your rpm's will be a little high on the highway. which won't be the best for gas. but power will be nice and if u have a manual tranny don't even considere 5.13's an option. not unless your tire is on the short side like mine (37") and even then i'd still want 5.38's. gas mileage will suck either way. that big that tall... bad combo... mine is absolutely horrible. i actually can't believe how bad it is. i think the 5.38's would help it cuz it wouldn't struggle soo much.
edit: just reread your post and u wanted one that would be decent on the highway so that would be 5.13's...

 

[jeremy33]

so the 5.38s would be best

 

[explorer99xlt]

edit: just reread your post and u wanted one that would be decent on the highway so that would be 5.13's...

ds

 

['97 V8]

5.38..Low rpm doesnt matter as much when the engine is under a load all the time. At 2000 rpm on the highway, my engine is always under a load cuz of the dam gearing. 33's and 3.73. You need the lower gears to have more power to move the truck, requiring you not to be on the gas-be-gone pedal.

 

[jfman]

My cousin has an SAS ranger with a 5.0 swap and he has the 5,38's too even with a 302 you need those to run 38's.

 

[hiridin]

5.13's and 38's would be best on the highway but only only only on the highway at HIGH speeds... all the stopping and going is what kills u (me). so i was WRONG in saying 5.13's over 5.38's, when u really think about it u should go with 5.38's anyways. screw what i get on the highway my city mpg is soo bad that i can get 6 mpg with only easy city driving and with mixed driving i only get 9 mpg - 10 mpg. and my tires are really only 37" tall... it struggles that much i guess. so when u look at it like that the lower rpm's at highway speeds don't mean squat. that or something is seriously wrong with my truck