4.56 gears vs. 4.88 gears for 33's

[legoms013]

Cost wise its slightly cheaper to go with 4.88's for my D35 and ford 8.8. My thinking is that I have it all apart, and only want to re-gear once.

I do alot of driving on the highway, but wouldn't mind if I had to drive slower.

I know 4.56's are slightly deeper than what a 33'' tire desires, but thats fine with me.

Am I crazy to think I should go ahead with 4.88 gears instead?

I'm positive I'd love the extra grunt off roading and for towing, but how unhappy will my 4.0L be around 55-60 mphs?

According to the TRS chart RPMs will be around 3220 with overdrive off. With overdrive somewhere around 2737 @ 65mph. I would drive slower though between 55-60mph.

I also would consider going to a taller tire later down the road...such as a super swamper 34x10.5 or a tall, narrow 35" metric tire.

I don't go wheeling that often, but when I do don't want a thought in the back of my mind saying I should have geared 4.88.

Bottom line, 4.56's or 4.88's for a person that does many highway miles (driving behind semi's), wheels infrequently, only wants to ever run a 35" tall tire max in the near future, and desires to spend a little less and get a little more functionality out of my gear selection in the long run.

Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Hahnsb2]

The 34x10.50s are just as tall as a 33... If you only want to go 60, 4.88 and 33s will be fine (about 2400RPMS in OD) and they'll be good for 35s. I have 4.56s with 34x10.50s and I like to do 70+ so I wish they were 4.10s sometimes.

 

[Frank The Tank]

I hated 4.88s with 33's........ my truck wouldn't run 80mph. went back to 4.56's had 4.10s stock. I can still take off in second if it's flat. but it even got the speedo within a cpl mph

with 4.88s though i shifted 2nd straight to fifth.

 

[legoms013]

I'm no speed demon driver, but currently with 3.73's and 33's, the best speed to "cruise" at which seems to work the motor least in OD is about 75-77 mph. I don't really like driving that fast but @ 60 mph neither OD on or OD off seems to work great, or yield the best mileage....not to mention the motor feels extremely sluggish and has no passing power.

If I could drive at 60 mph, with decent power, in OD, I'd be happiest.

Plus I tow a Rhino and the extra gearing would be appreciated going up the Sierras.

 

[--weezl--]

The 34x10.50s are just as tall as a 33... If you only want to go 60, 4.88 and 33s will be fine (about 2400RPMS in OD) and they'll be good for 35s. I have 4.56s with 34x10.50s and I like to do 70+ so I wish they were 4.10s sometimes.

WHAT!?!?! no, 34 and 33 inch tires are not the same, there's an inch difference!

4.10's are pretty perfect for me and my 33's, but a little more umphf wouldn't be bad... 4.27's would be good for me... 4.56 would be as low as i would go... 4.88 on 33's would be wee todd did for driving on the highway ever

 

[wahlstrom1]

I'd run the 4.88's and go to a 35" tire when the 33's wear out. You can never have enough gear.

 

[Frank The Tank]

Yes you can........

But it sounds like his mind is made up......... hell while your at it just get 5.13's

or if your too concerned with it get dual t cases

 

[--weezl--]

the way i look at it, do you need a lower gear when you are in 4L? because with my 33's and 4L i don't... i rarely use 1st, i am typically in 2nd in 4L

 

[Sunk]

I liked 4.56s and 33s, even when wheeling. I really didn't do any crawling, but I often found myself in 2nd or 3rd. Since you do a lot of highway driving I'd go 4.56.

 

[Bennybooster]

I would get the 4.88's if you ever want to do any real wheeling

 

[wahlstrom1]

I used 2nd gear a lot in mud, and 1st on hill climbs etc.... but when I really wanted to crawl I always wanted a deeper gear with the 4.56's and 35's. It's not always about crawling the biggest rocks etc, but about control... slow = control.

 

[--weezl--]

first gear for around her isn't used for too much... hill climbs are 2nd or 3rd, but you need momentium for our hills, as they are often loose shale, or wet clay... not much for lots of grip...

1st gear DOES get used though, often in mud, trying to keep the tires turning in the thick crap we have, and trying to climb out of the ruts, or out of the bump at the end of the hole

 

[Frank The Tank]

I use first low when i'm backing up in my moms driveway...... she lives on a 1-2 grade hill and she doesn't want her gravel messed up!!!!

 

[trail B2]

I wouldn't go below 4:50s with a 4.0 and that's just so you could run 35s later if you want.Running at a high RPMs on the highway is real annoying to me.If you do the math you will see that highway speeds are affected much more by gear changes percentage wise.

Last weekend I went with friends two hours out of town.Then we four wheeled all day and came home.I had a much better time without the motor revving for four hours on the highway.I wouldn't have gained a thing on the 4x4 end of it ether.Whats bad about my 4:10s is I think there to high if I wanted to get 35's.

 

[legoms013]

I like what Wahlstom said...you can't have enough gear.

I would be fine with 4.56's if I wasn't ever going to consider going to 35's....but honestly this truck won't always be my daily driver (2 more years max) and at that point I want to go to 35's and NOT have to re-gear again. 4.88's would be perfect me thinks.


Whether the higher RPM's and lower top speed gets annoying on the highway, I won't know unless I actually go ahead with 4.88's.

I am still undecided