Going bigger

[sofastnj]

ok i want to upgrade my stock 99 explorer with a 3" ranger pa body lift, and a 1.5"tt and shackles and new shocks, also put on some 33x12.5r16 or 17 tire and wheel combo, my question is with the 4.10 gears my sport has will i see a major decrease in power and gas mileage?

 

[jimbo74]

with 33s you will notice a decrese in power and mileage, 4.56 or 4.88s are the best for 33s

 

[sofastnj]

well i know i will see a decrease of some sort, i was even thinking of goin with 35's, but i love how much truck is kinda quick, atleast it beats all the fullsizes i go up against, anyways after i add performance mods(intake, 70mmtb, exhaust, chip ect..) do you think it will feel like stock power wise? i seen on here sohc dynos with just bolts ons, can get close to 200whp soo i dont think that should have a problem turning 35's

the only reason gettin bigger tires brothers me soo much is my last truck was a 92 ford ranger 4.0ohv extended cab, 3.73 gears 33" tires 4" lift, that thing was a dog! it had no power what soo ever(had to floor it to get it to 85mph)

 

[glfredrick]

I'm running a similar setup (92 - 4.0 stock) 4:10 gears -- 33s and it isn't a race car by any means, but it runs down the road in good fashion.

I don't have any problems with running with traffic and 85 is no big deal at all. Faster than that, I mostly don't do, as I'm running very loose -- no anti-sway bars, soft springs, 18" travel up front, long shackles with soft rear springs out back, etc.

You just have to decide where you are going to compromise. If you are going big, it is going to cost you somewhere. You either spend the money for gears or pay at the pump/performance. There are no easy trade-offs. Even with gears, you will still likely pay at the pump. How badly do you want/need to go big? Your answer to that question makes all the difference in the world.

 

[joshuaj0214]

hey man I've got a 98 sport with 3 in. body lift, 2 inch tt, and 2 inch custom shackels sitting on stock wheels with 285/75/16's (33x11.50's) with 4.10 gears. My truck is a daily driver with 127,000 miles on it and I only lost 25-30 miles to a tank of gas. The tires did not make that much of a difference to worry about. I have a different air filter and recently modified the exaust and the truck pulls harder the it did stock!