New 15” Wheels. What gear ratio?

[sgtsandman]

I have been looking in the Tech section to see the codes.

Beautiful! I forget that it is there sometimes. So, it's great that you are doing so already. I need to practice what I preach better at times.

 

[gungfudan]

Beautiful! I forget that it is there sometimes. So, it's great that you are doing so already. I need to practice what I preach better at times.

Gear ratio is 3.45 I need to go 3.73. I do a fair amount of highway miles, but I carry the majority of my tools in the back because I am a handyman. I also live in the mountains so I need the truck to have some more torque.

 

[sgtsandman]

Gear ratio is 3.45 I need to go 3.73. I do a fair amount of highway miles, but I carry the majority of my tools in the back because I am a handyman. I also live in the mountains so I need the truck to have some more torque.

If the mountains are anything like around here, 4.10:1 might serve you better. I had 3.45 in my 1998 and it was a dog. Granted, the 2.5 Lima isn't exactly a power house of an engine. Going to 4.10 woke the truck up and the fuel mileage never changed.

3.73 gears in my 2011, with the 4.0 SOHC and stock tires (235/75R15) were mostly adequate but were found wanting on some of the steeper grades, requiring downshifting that in my mind shouldn't have had to happen. With 31" tires, the truck can really struggle now. 4.10 will get it back to about where it was and 4.56 will likely get me where I want. 4.27 gear would be ideal but they don't make those for the Dana 35 front axles. Even the 8.8 axle gear set can be hard to find.

4.10 axles are not as common, so finding them may be a bit of a hunt. 3.73 should give you a bit of boost though. So, if you are mostly happy with how the truck drives now. 3.73 should be the "Chef's Kiss". Only you can really decide that.

 

[gungfudan]

If the mountains are anything like around here, 4.10:1 might serve you better. I had 3.45 in my 1998 and it was a dog. Granted, the 2.5 Lima isn't exactly a power house of an engine. Going to 4.10 woke the truck up and the fuel mileage never changed.

3.73 gears in my 2011, with the 4.0 SOHC and stock tires (235/75R15) were mostly adequate but were found wanting on some of the steeper grades, requiring downshifting that in my mind shouldn't have had to happen. With 31" tires, the truck can really struggle now. 4.10 will get it back to about where it was and 4.56 will likely get me where I want. 4.27 gear would be ideal but they don't make those for the Dana 35 front axles. Even the 8.8 axle gear set can be hard to find.

4.10 axles are not as common, so finding them may be a bit of a hunt. 3.73 should give you a bit of boost though. So, if you are mostly happy with how the truck drives now. 3.73 should be the "Chef's Kiss". Only you can really decide that.

I hate how sluggish it is. The 3.0 doesn’t really have great power. I have been back and forth between 3.73 & 4.10. I reall hate downshifting so much.

 

[scotts90ranger]

When I got my '97 I tried like 4 sizes of tire to see what changed and how it drove, for mileage the only thing that changed that was tread style, all terrains or winter tires got 21 on average and car tires got 23 on average and I went from about 27" to 29" diameter, 27" was spunkier with 4.10's and with 29's I had to shift too much out of 5th so I settled on 28" which is a reasonable balance. For mileage part of what changed things is how I drove as well, accelerating but shifting around 4k instead of 5k gained me like half a mpg! For cruise I stick between 2k-3k. I honestly expected the tire size to make more of a difference but it's more on the tread design...

3.73's are one of the most common ratios, 4.10's are harder to find but are out there (I didn't know my '97 had them until I looked, it was just a happy accident), assuming you have options out there finding an axle is going to be more cost effective than regearing an axle, with regearing you have $200 for gears and $200 for an install kit and if you are going after a stock ratio the math doesn't usually work out...

 

[Curious Hound]

I honestly expected the tire size to make more of a difference but it's more on the tread design...

For this comparison, did you just go by straight odometer readings? Or did you calculate the true mileage with the odometer error for the different sizes?

 

[scotts90ranger]

For this comparison, did you just go by straight odometer readings? Or did you calculate the true mileage with the odometer error for the different sizes?

I calculated the odometer change based on the speedometer check area that's on a local area of I5 in all aspects and kept everything checked on the same area, my current setup is 2% off... I had a discrepancy for a while and changed my speedo gear to get as close as I could...

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Yeah, I hauled construction stuff in all my Rangers. My 3.0 one had 3.73 gears which if you let it rev, it scooted around alright. I did often find myself wishing for a lower first or reverse though. 4.10 gears would help with that I’m sure but I didn’t want to give up my highway mileage.

I took the 4.10 axles out of my green Ranger when I did my V8 swap and went to 3.73 gears because the intention was to run a smaller tire anyway and I was hoping for a little better highway economy. The 5.0 did a satisfactory job with 31” tires and 3.73 gears but I don’t think I’d enjoy a 3.0 or 4.0 in that configuration. Although my 92 4.0 did surprisingly well on 30” tires with 3.73 gears after I took most of the slush out of the automatic in it with a shift kit and valve body work. It may have done better than I’d expect on 31’s.

 

[sgtsandman]

I hate how sluggish it is. The 3.0 doesn’t really have great power. I have been back and forth between 3.73 & 4.10. I reall hate downshifting so much.

Reving the engine higher will help but since you aren't happy with the current gearing, putting a 4 10 rear end in it will put some pep in it's step and the fuel mileage shouldn't change. At least that was my experience with the 1998.