Axles, gears?

[Nehring13]

ok, sorry, dont want to bother anyone, but i am a noob when it comes to this area, i have a limited supply of knowledge when it comes to cars and trucks, and am looking to boost this knowledge so i can do more on my own. i have a 98 ranger 3.0 v6 5 spd 4x4. i have 373's in it, i put 31" mudders in it. is this an ok gearing for it, or is something better, for a little bit better performance? any info is much appreciated. thanks
~Mike

 

[michowski]

Thats the same tire and gear size I run and I dont have any problems. Same motor and everything. I have no problem chirping the tires from a dead stop and it for me it has enough low end. If you want more low end then the next step would be to get some 4.10 gears. One thing to remember tho, if you give it higher gearing your low end will increase but your top end will go down slightly. Right now you can do 65mph cruising at like 2300rpm. If you put the different gears in it your rpms will be like 2600 rpm. If you hardly do any highway driving and want more low end grunt then I would get some 4.10 gears. If you plan on getting bigger tires in the future I would hold off on the gears. For me I have plenty of bottem end for anything. I can haul 800 pounds of stuff no problem, chirp the tires just fine. If you want more low end then 4.10 gears will give you a little more.

 

[MAKG]

Cruising at 2600 RPM isn't even a slight problem. If that's the ONLY reason not to put 4.10s in, put the 4.10s in. Though the usual reason is cost, especially for a 4WD.

31s are not that big. The difference between 3.73s and 4.10s is about 10% in acceleration. You won't be losing any torque at 2600 RPM vs. 2300 RPM. And the top speed is still ridiculous -- the engine won't redline until around 130 MPH, which is far too fast for the suspension and steering to handle.

Some trucks come from the factory with 3.08s. Those could use some help.

If you want to see what the truck is like on the highway, put it in 4th. That's equivalent to about 1.5 steps in gearing.

 

[4x4junkie]

I'd go a step further and run 4.56 gears with 31s on a 3.0L (the 3.0 runs it's best at a bit higher RPM than some other motors like the 4.0)

You will not be limiting your top speed at all. As MAKG said, the steering & suspension (as well as the truck's aerodynamics) limit your top speed FAR sooner than such axle gears would.