What's in your rear?

[ranger]

i had 3.73's with 31's on my 5speed 2.9 and i liked it alot. I now have 33's and 3.73's a little slower so i am putting in 4.10's in the spring

 

[strvger]

i'm getting 21mpg on trips, hauling an extra 27 gal of gas in the bed. pic in avatar, specs in sig. i'm happy with that, but that's just me.

 

[badmts]

4.56 open 31.6 in tire

I put 4.56 in my 2.5L 5-spd 4x4 (open diff) Lt265/75r16 tires (31.6") MPG increased ,cruise all day at 70mph - if you are gonna re-gear go 4.56 or more because it is easier to live with too much gear than not enough-more mpg,less clutch abuse,you get OD back-best bang for buck so far IMHO

 

[Frodo]

I have 96 with a 3.0v6. I have a stock rear end. 7.5 w/3.73 gears. Im on 33's. I am wondering if I should swap in a 8.8 or throw in 4.56 gears and limited slip in my 7.5. Its a 2wd and mostly a dd. But I do go out to the desert on the weekends.

 

[IndianScout]

I'm pushing 31's with 3.73's on a 3.0, I don't notice much difference around town but cruising at 70 is a different story if it's up hill, no OD anymore..

 

[Frodo]

Agreed. Around town im ok. Its freeway driving and large hills. Truck struggles to go past 70mph. Which is why tryin to figure out if I should swap an 8.8 in or regear my 7.5

 

[yodaman1151]

i had 3.45's with 33" swampers and it pushed them alright but was definitely a dog. when i switched to my BFG's it had more power and drove decent on the road. It boggles my mind how well it did with 33's and 3.45's i almost wanna say its just a power house (unlikely) or the gears aren't what BOTH tags say they are. i really noticed in low range that the truck moved too fast and i was on the clutch alot.
i'm going to 4.10's and plan on running 35's.... also i've got a 5 spd and 2.9L

 

[AllanD]

with a 2.9 and 235/75-15's I thought 4.10's were the best combination.

With a 4.0 and the same tires 4.10's are a bit much if you do a lot of freeway driving

With a 4.0 and 235's 3.55's are slightly too tall for happiness in hilly country like where I live in Pennsylvania, but would be great for Kansas, Nebraska Iowa, etc....

AD

 

[legoms013]

i had 3.45's with 33" swampers and it pushed them alright but was definitely a dog. when i switched to my BFG's it had more power and drove decent on the road. It boggles my mind how well it did with 33's and 3.45's i almost wanna say its just a power house (unlikely) or the gears aren't what BOTH tags say they are. i really noticed in low range that the truck moved too fast and i was on the clutch alot.
i'm going to 4.10's and plan on running 35's.... also i've got a 5 spd and 2.9L

You should probably gear deeper than 4.10 if your gonna run 35's.

 

[4x4junkie]

I have 96 with a 3.0v6. I have a stock rear end. 7.5 w/3.73 gears. Im on 33's. I am wondering if I should swap in a 8.8 or throw in 4.56 gears and limited slip in my 7.5. Its a 2wd and mostly a dd. But I do go out to the desert on the weekends.

My recommendation: Get the 8.8", throw some 4.88s in it (along with a locker or a good tight L/S if desired), and swap that in.

 

[Frodo]

Thanks 4X4junkie. That is what Im leaning towards. A buddy of mine is putting in a 9' in his ranger so I got dibs on his 8.8

 

[KyleTay]

So I just did my long stint from Oklahoma City to Atlanta.

Distances throughout testing was based on GPS, odometer readings varied from 0% variance to 3.5%.

First 200 miles I averaged 20 mpg @ 65 mph (minimal downshifting, steep grades only)
Second 200 miles got me 16 mpg @ 75 mph (minor grade caused downshift)

I slowed back down to 65 for the rest of the trip.

Before the trip my city/highway (70%/30%) fuel economy was about 19 mpg.

Here is my summary:

With 235/65-15 highway tires, and 265/70-15 highway tires, my 4.0L auto Ranger was capable of 25 to 26 mpg @ 65 mph. After moving to all terrain treads the Ranger is now only capable of 20 mpg @65 mph.

My next step is to change to a 4.10 differential and retest.

I believe the 4.10 will increase the driveline torque to overcome the added drag from the all terrain tire's softness therefore reducing downshifting to that similar to the smaller tires with highway tread. I expect only a 2 to 3 mpg increase. Not sure if all the mpg loss is from the soft tread or lack of power with the decreased torque of the taller tire.

I am lead to believe that a highway tire, even at 31" would have minimal negative affect on the mpg achieved. But who wants tall ass highway tires?