To gear or not to gear....

[Limited Ex]

I have had 32s on my ex now for awhile with stock gears and am ready to put a new set in. I am tired of the loss of power and torque when towing something and am trying to find out as much as I can about the pros and cons of putting a new ring and pinion in. So my questions are what do I have to look forward to with a lower gear? What do I have to fear? And with a 94 Explorer with 32s, sooner or later going to 33s, what gear would you suggest I use? Its a daily driver an do some towing, so I need something functional, but something that would do good when on a trail. Any info would help!!!!!

Caleb

 

[LukeDog3D]

What gear are you running right now? I am assuming you have an automatic tranny...

One small disadvantage of changing the gears (besides the $$)
is the fact that your speedometer and odometer will be off...a simple fix however. If i were you, I'd have the 4.56's on order right about now...

 

[kvo]

If it's a daily like mine, I'd suggest 4.10, it's a perfect combo with 32", same ratio as the 3.73 with 235s. 4.10s on moderate trails are fine, unless you plan on doing lots of rock climbing.

 

[Sandy]

Gear Ratios

If your vehicle came with a 30 inch tire then 4.10s should be good even with 33s.
But some people think a little deeper is better.

The formular is as follows:

(A divided by B ) times C equals D

A = New Tire Dia
B = Old Tire Dia
C = Old Ratio
D = New Ratio

When you divide the new tire dia by the old tire dia you should come up with a figure larger than one, Then multiply that number by the old gear ratio. That will give you the new ratio to run.

33" new tire dia divided by 30" old tire dia, equals 1.1, times the old gear ratio which equals 4.103 or 4.10s.

In theory the 4.10s with 33s should bring your vehicle back to its stock performance, I would run something deeper by one ratio.
I am not sure what the ratio would be but for a Dana44 it would be around 4.27s.

Of course there are a nember of other facter that should be considered:
Your towing: should have deeper gears.
Do you have an over-drive, yes deeper could be OK, no deeper gears will increase Hy-way RPM.
What type of off roading do you do: slow rock crawling heavy trail use you could use lower gears. If your trail riding is for unpreped road or fire roads then lower gears are not needed.

What all of this boils down to is this, make sure you need the lower gears, don't go too low if you drive on the road more than on the trails.

Good Luck in your choice, it is all up to you and how you drive.

 

[Limited Ex]

Hey thanks a lot! This has helped narrow my search. I was thinking of going with 4.10, now I probably will. Thanks for all the input! I will let you know how it goes......

Caleb

 

[Steve A]

If you were going to tellico every month and off roading it, Maybe 4.56's would be a better option. If you had a manual trans I would suggest 4.56's for off road & towing! Reason? It is much easier on the clutch starting out and first gear is really nice off road. Even with 31's i think 4.56's are the way to go, unless you drive a lot of 70mph or plus stuff. If you have 3.73's already and you are not happy now, then go with the 4.56's. If you have the 3.55's or 3.27's or a lower numerical gear ratio then probably the 4.10's will make you happy.
Good Luck

 

[CONavajo]

Hope you haven't bought the 4.10's yet. IF you want to run 33's definately go 4.56. My Navajo now runs in the engines power band now so there is less abuse on it. I get the same gas mileage and drive it at 70+ often. I also have to go up 2 passes to get to Denver and I can cruise up them at 60-65 turning 3000rpm, passing most vehicles while doing so. I think it is fun to motor pass a brand new 350 chevy pickup with my little 6 and its oversized tires quietly humming along. Plus when you take it offroad the slower you can crawl the better the truck will like you.

 

[tiessen]

I run 4.56 with 33's with lots of onroad driving. With the auto, it's the BEST ratio in my mine. Just slightly lower than my 3.73's and 235's stock.

Cheers

Dale

 

[Sandy]

Hard to beat real life !

If they are using the ratios and the tire size then it is hard to beat it.

Good Luck on your choice,

 

[Limited Ex]

Okay, now I am starting to reconsider. The only reason I am hesitant is because money is not exactly tight, but its low enough to where I want this to be a one shot deal. Where when I buy them, I will be happy with them. Now if I had enough money to be able to pick and choose, then I would. I am thinking of going with either the 4.56s or the 4.10s. Whats the worst that could happen if I go with a gear lower than what is needed? And I suppose knowing exactly what my stock gear ratio is would also help. Its either 3.55 or 3.27, am not sure though. The little tag on my diff is too marred up to read. Anybody have any idea what the stock ratio is on a 94 Limited?

Caleb

 

[Steve A]

Originally posted by Limited Ex
I am tired of the loss of power and torque when towing something So my questions are what do I have to look forward to with a lower gear? What do I have to fear? And with a 94 Explorer with 32s, sooner or later going to 33s, what gear would you suggest I use? Its a daily driver an do some towing, so I need something functional, but something that would do good when on a trail. Any info would help!!!!!

Caleb

Caleb,
All of us with the 4.56's seem happy, plus the mainshaft in your automatic will live longer putting less stress on it when towing and your acceleration from a standing start will be dramatically improved especially when towing too! Plus you already have 7 inches of lift and you are not trying to sustain a race on the expressway! IMHO if you want to do sustained speeds of 70 +mph or more the 4.10's are better in that respect only. Besides if you hit a headwind and your towing with a lift? 60mph/4.56's is a "sweet spot" you will keep hauling up those hills too! My .02c keep it at 60-65 mph and make up the time coming up that hill at the same speed too. Plus you'll drive safer with your lift, on the road that is. OFF ROAD?Hehehe...enjoy!

 

[Limited Ex]

It seems that a 4.56 is the decent way to go! I can always use the extra towing power. Steve I noticed that you have a Skyjacker lift on your Ex, I ahve been considering flipping my springs onto my axle and buying the front end parts for the Skyjacker to get more height. What all is included in just the front end lift? And where and how much did it run? I am thinking if I put the 6" in the front, which is only 2"s higher than it is now, and flip the leaf springs, it should be pretty level, maybe a little higher in the rear.

Caleb