Gearing question for 31's or 33's

[jolliffem]

First off I appreciate your guys input. By the sounds of it, it he is screwed, any increase in tire size and he will have to change the gears. I was really hoping he could go with 31's, keep the 3.27's and have money left in his pocket for other things.

 

[MAKG]

He CAN. He'll just have to compensate with shifting.

Most drivers do not shift correctly. Keep the engine above 2000 RPM and the mileage hit will be minimal. Will is wrong in this respect; what he says is true only if the shifting strategy is not changed, and at take-off. Most mileage is determined at higher speed than that, even on residential streets.

When I switched to 31 inch tires, my mileage did not change measurably. My shifting did; I don't do 5th gear at 55 MPH anymore, and residential streets are done in 2nd instead of 3rd.

The other mistake people make is forgetting to recalibrate the speedometer. It's cheap and easy, but if you don't, you're driving faster and farther than you think you are.

 

[mjonesjr]

most '95-'97 4wd Rangers came factory with 3.73 gearing and 31's (265/75/15).....that is the setup my Ranger had stock....it was fine....anyone who tells you 4.10's are best for 31's is nuts....

 

[Greenpig4#4]

I rock 31 10.50's on a 91, 2.9, 5speed.....stock gears. Want to talk slow?

 

[MAKG]

Well, depending on the son, that might be a good thing.

FYI, you can fit 31s without any lift at all, if budget is an issue. It works absolutely fine. That's what my Exploder is doing right now.

 

[hitech_hick]

most '95-'97 4wd Rangers came factory with 3.73 gearing and 31's (265/75/15).....that is the setup my Ranger had stock....it was fine....anyone who tells you 4.10's are best for 31's is nuts....

Yeah, I ran stock 3.73's and 31's with my '94, worked great and no lift was needed.

First off I appreciate your guys input. By the sounds of it, it he is screwed, any increase in tire size and he will have to change the gears. I was really hoping he could go with 31's, keep the 3.27's and have money left in his pocket for other things.

I would seriously consider finding junkyard axles with either 3.73's or 4.10's if possible. For the front axle, all you need is the 3rd member, and rear axle swaps are fairly easy, even if you were to go with an explorer rear.

As mentioned, I ran stock 3.73's with 31's and it ran great. I ran 3.55's and 31's on my XJ (a little lighter than a Ranger) and I noticed a slight decrease in performance. I swapped 4.10's in with the 31's and it is considerably peppier now. If I were you, I would go with either 31's or 32's and 3.73's or 4.10's.


hick

 

[4x4junkie]

most '95-'97 4wd Rangers came factory with 3.73 gearing and 31's (265/75/15).....that is the setup my Ranger had stock....it was fine....anyone who tells you 4.10's are best for 31's is nuts....

Yeah I guess I must be nuts then

It would be totally stupid to use 3.73s and not 4.10s when regearing. Your mileage will NOT be better, your acceleration will be slower, and yet the cost is still the same (the fact Ford used 3.27s in ANYTHING with an overdrive should say something about Ford's choice of gear ratios, they are NOT "best" at all).
BTW, mine came with 3.73s and the 265s also. It's a slug compared to the Ranger I had before it.

.

And I've also said this before too: changing your shifting habits is NOT a substitute for a gear swap. You CANNOT change the fact too-tall gears are harder on the clutch, the transmission has to work under a much higher torque load, and your acceleration will just plain suck. Your close-ratio 5-speed transmission also effectively becomes a wide-ratio 4-speed (or maybe even a 3-speed )

Yeah as said, 4.10 gears came stock in various model Rangers, finding a couple 4.10 axles in the wrecking yards shouldn't cost you much over $600 or so. It's VERY much worth it.

 

[jolliffem]

I guess the way to go is to find the 4.10's if that is the lowest stock gearing Ford went with. What year range would I be looking for? If I can't find any then I would probably go with 4.56.

 

[4x4junkie]

I guess the way to go is to find the 4.10's if that is the lowest stock gearing Ford went with. What year range would I be looking for? If I can't find any then I would probably go with 4.56.

For rear 4.10 8.8s, look in '98-current Supercab Rangers (3.0 and 4.0L). Seems the later you go, the more often you'll find 4.10 vs 3.73.

For the D35, you'll need to look at '90-'92 4cylinder Rangers (and some 2.9L automatics). These can be a bit tougher to find, but they're out there (be aware, the 1st half of 1990 used the D28, make sure its actually a D35 if you pull one from a 1990).

 

[jolliffem]

We'll things are still slightly up in the air. By this time next week we need to decide as the place we are getting his tires and wheels from have a $100 discount ending, along with the fact that I'm tired of thinking about it.
Ideally it would be nice to keep the 3.27's and put on 31's, and that be that, but I'm leary. I don't want him to compromise with the 31's and things turn out to be crap, although he needs to learn life is about compromises but when it comes to this much money, its not the time.

 

[rickcdewitt]

but when it comes to this much money, its not the time.

you might be kicking yourself in the ass if you have to pay for a clutch job in a month or two.he won't be able to haul any weight or tow with those gears.i bet you could wrangle up some axles with lower gears for 400$ or less if you looked around and bid your time.3.55 gears would act like his 3.27's with 31's and some 4.10 gears and 33's would act like factory tires and 3.55 gears.ANY gears would be better so long as you got a good deal and had the time to swap them out.otherwise cross your fingers on that clutch

 

[jolliffem]

Thanks for the advice!!!!!!!!

 

[Blackdog]

Since the lift, axles, gears, tires and wheels will cost 3K or so you might have him do it in stages. Do the lift first as this is what will determine the correct tires and gears.

My build was 2K for the lift, 2K for the axles and gears and 1K for the wheels and tires. In other words my original $500 Ranger turned into a $5,500 Ranger in just a few months. You don't need to spend as much as I did, I went with high buck everything.

Another word of advice, you should put your location in your signature. I have 4:10 axles here and if I knew you were close I would be happy to give them to you.

 

[jolliffem]

I fixed up my signature.
I wish I was closer to take you up on your offer. Hopefully Monday I can make progress trying to find axles, I'm not optomistic locally though.
This seems to be a issue that has just as many opinions on both sides of the fence, 31's with 3.27's, ok and not ok.
Yes if he goes to the 33's, gears will have to be changed. This is probably the safest option though. Unfortunately it is going to take more money and time.

 

[brendank]

Saying that 31's and 3.27's would be undrivable is just plain wrong. It's not ideal, but in reality it's just fine.

A few years back, I put on a lift and a set of 35's. I ran those 35's with 3.27's for over a year. Yes, I could only use 4th on the highway. Yes, it wasn't great. My mileage dropped VERY little. I was still averaging over 20 on the highway. As MAKG already said, it's all about how you shift.

Stock tire size should be 235/75R15, which according to the calculator is 28.9" tall. By going to a 31, you're changing by about 6.5%. That's almost negligible. Do the tire swap, keep the gears, and change them whenever your budget allows.