New 15” Wheels. What gear ratio?

[Curious Hound]

I have hauled over 2,000 before with my 4.45 ratio.

You weren't supposed to.

Um, 3.45 ratio?

 

[sgtsandman]

how much can I haul when i move to a 3.73? The manual I uploaded it here and saved to my phone. The manual says 6,000 lbs. so a max of 1,240lbs? I have hauled over 2,000 before with my 4.45 ratio. View attachment 142574

Around 1,250# is pretty much the standard for the Ranger and that is usually the leaf springs they come with.

Keep in mind the max combined weight on the door jam sticker is the max you are supposed to carry, even if you upgrade the front and rear springs, since that is what the truck is rated for and in some states, registered for.

Plus, if the insurance company finds out you were over weight after an accident, you could be dropped or the claim denied. That will depend on your agent and the insurance company you have. I also want to emphasis the could part.

This isn't to give you a hard time. Just to make you aware. I've been over weight. Sometimes on accident, some times on purpose, but ai don't make a habit of it. So, it's a pot calling the kettle black kind of thing. Or as some others like to say, when you point a finger at one person, three are pointing back at the pointer.

Just be aware of the situation and act accordingly. Also, don't advertise it. Especially since we do get some inexperienced people who may take it the wrong way and end up crashing their truck and/or getting hurt because they over extended themselves beyond their abilities.

 

[sgtsandman]

So with 4.10 ratio and all terrain tires the average is 21 highway? I would guess that all season tires would be about the same with 4.10. How is it driving on the highway at 70 mph?

Roughly about what you are getting with the 3.45 now is what you will get with the 4.10 in my experience. 3.73 will probably be a little better but the truck won't be as lively.

All terrain tires tend to not roll as easily as an all season or highway terrain tire and they tend to be heavier because they are built to take more punishment on a off road trail. So, there will be a mpg penalty. Figure somewhere in the +/- 2 mpg area.

 

[gungfudan]

Around 1,250# is pretty much the standard for the Ranger and that is usually the leaf springs they come with.

Keep in mind the max combined weight on the door jam sticker is the max you are supposed to carry, even if you upgrade the front and rear springs, since that is what the truck is rated for and in some states, registered for.

Plus, if the insurance company finds out you were over weight after an accident, you could be dropped or the claim denied. That will depend on your agent and the insurance company you have. I also want to emphasis the could part.

This isn't to give you a hard time. Just to make you aware. I've been over weight. Sometimes on accident, some times on purpose, but ai don't make a habit of it. So, it's a pot calling the kettle black kind of thing. Or as some others like to say, when you point a finger at one person, three are pointing back at the pointer.

Just be aware of the situation and act accordingly. Also, don't advertise it. Especially since we do get some inexperienced people who may take it the wrong way and end up crashing their truck and/or getting hurt because they over extended themselves beyond their abilities.

I only hauled it once I went to the scrap yard with it and it was in Mississippi not in the mountains. I did the math already and that is why I was surprised.

 

[gungfudan]

Roughly about what you are getting with the 3.45 now is what you will get with the 4.10 in my experience. 3.73 will probably be a little better but the truck won't be as lively.

All terrain tires tend to not roll as easily as an all season or highway terrain tire and they tend to be heavier because they are built to take more punishment on a off road trail. So, there will be a mpg penalty. Figure somewhere in the +/- 2 mpg area.

I get 20 on the highway and 15-17 city. I take trips regularly to Mississippi. So I am back and forth between 3.73 and 4.10. I know my gas mileage will suffer a lot going to 4.10. I found an 8.8 rear end that is 3.73 basically it would be around $400 for it. I do plan to got to a u pull it parts yard to see what I can find.

 

[gungfudan]

You weren't supposed to.

Um, 3.45 ratio?

It might have been like 1800 lbs now that I think of it. It was about 7 years ago. The next year I had a really small trailer hauling 2 mini bikes through the mountains and that was the last time I hauled anything. Now I just have almost all my tools in the truck bed.

 

[sgtsandman]

I get 20 on the highway and 15-17 city. I take trips regularly to Mississippi. So I am back and forth between 3.73 and 4.10. I know my gas mileage will suffer a lot going to 4.10. I found an 8.8 rear end that is 3.73 basically it would be around $400 for it. I do plan to got to a u pull it parts yard to see what I can find.

That is the point where only you can decide which will be the best match for your needs. I can see arguments for going with ratio over the other and vice versa.

With the commute I have to work now (double what it was before), I'm reconsidering getting 4.56 gears and going with 4.10. I'm in the same boat. I keep going back and forth.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Gearing is more about drivability and less about mileage I believe, I doubt the engine cares what is going on mileage wise as long as you don't go too crazy if you run the math on tire size and gear ratios and keep the engine speed at the maximum speed you plan on driving within a reasonable range. For a 3L if you planned on a top rpm at cruise around 3000rpm or less at whatever your top cruising speed is you should be fine, for a 4L I would probably plan for 2500rpm just since there's more torque available... My '97 drives good and it runs 3000rpm at 72mph and will get the same mileage as if it was doing 55mph at like 2500rpm. My '90 with 35" tires and 5.13's drives great but I think it runs 3k at around 60mph? I haven't ran the math in a while and the speedo is off still and I don't drive it on the road much... It would be a bit much for a daily driver although I need to drive it more.

 

[Things2do]

I'm a little late to the gas mileage discussion, but in my 1994 4.0 4x4 5 speed with 3.73s I got about 22 MPG, and used half a quart of oil, running 70 and 80 MPH crossing the Rockies eastbound on I-70 with a cab height camper shell, a friend, a week's worth of camping stuff, and most of my tools. Westbound on that trip I got closer to 19 MPG, but I also idled it for probably an hour and ran around town driving it harder than usual several times while burping the radiator on that tank. That's on smaller-than-stock 235/75R15 A/T tires and corrected for the fact that, according to my calculations and a GPS, my speedometer is geared for 33s. My leaf springs are flat, so the height reduction from my worn out factory suspension might be helping a little.
Purely around town I usually get anywhere between 15 and 18. On this last fill I got 22.3 MPG from two hours on the highway in the mountains, an afternoon in low range on a 4x4 trail, and the rest around town. That's all on 85 octane with however much ethanol they have in Denver. I shift the lower gears at no less than a little over 3,000 because I can't go from first to second at less than that if the engine is at high idle.

I do wish I had a lower first gear, but that's mainly for rock crawling purposes. As it is I can drive a mile across town before shifting out of first if I catch a little traffic.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Yeah, the M5OD would benefit from a little lower 1st gear. I replaced the M5OD in my F-150 with a ZF5 and love the creeper 1st gear. 2nd gear in the ZF5 is almost as low as 1st in the M5OD that was in the truck.