Newbie says Hi and First question about Gears

[Hurricane]

Newbie says Hi and First question.

Hi, people, my name is Frank and let me tell you, this is the most amazing forum of Explorers in the entire Internet.

I have a Explorer Sport Track 2001 2WD, it has been a nice car, couple of minor problems fixed, but I think Is time to bring some changes, I was planning to install new oversized tires, but then I found my Gears are 3.73 which is not so good for oversized tires, I also read here is recommended to change Gears but I have no idea what could be a good size.
I already did a huge search in all the posts here but I can’t find any table or chart of reference to know what gears go with that size.

I don’t know if I explain my self, Sort of
Gears 3.73 go up to 235/70 R16
Gears 4.10 go up to 255/70/R16

I want to do it right; already the fuel economy in my car is very fragile, so maybe if I go to far I will feel it in my wallet.

Since I found here the most experienced crowd in Explorers I think is the place to make this kind of question.

Keep the good job guys.

Frank Hurricane.

 

[spindlecone]

Wellcome
I am running 265/18s with 3:73s and average 18 mpg, 4.10s will serve you will also

 

[Hurricane]

Wellcome
I am running 265/18s with 3:73s and average 18 mpg, 4.10s will serve you will also

Hi spindle cone,

I was thinking to go little more extreme, like 285/70 R16.
I’ve read here many folks have decreased the MPG when they go that far.
I don’t want to mess on this, tires will be kind of pricey.
So I am trying to figure out how to calculate the right gears for the tire size, but I cant find anything to help me out.

I thank you for your answer.

Frank Hurricane.

 

[Toy_to_Force]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97410

This a thread in the "useful thread" area that can answer your question Hurricane. And welcome to the site.

 

[Hurricane]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97410
This a thread in the "useful thread" area that can answer your question Hurricane. And welcome to the site.

Thanks for the welcome Toy_to_Force,

Actually I went thru all the thread before post the question.
It found there plenty of info to help me decide about the tire size, but nothing about the gears that should be used with the tires.
Maybe I am kind of stupid to understand, I found another thread which talk some more about gears
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109815
But still not clear for my small brain.

I want bigger tires but I don’t want to loose (or at least not to much) fuel economy.
I am thinking that 4.30 for my SOHC V6 should be enough to handle the new size, because if I go farther than that my MPG in highway trips will be decreased, even some one comment that 4.56 could jump my RPM over 3000 which is not good.

Sorry to insist but isn’t there any chart like the thread that you show to talk about relation between tire size and gears?

I don’t want to sound like a stupid monkey, I just want to be sure before spend any money and then find out the consequences of a bad decision.

I thank you for answer my question.

Frank Hurricane.