Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) 3.55 to 4.10

[PHellen]

Never understood esp. if you have a Man. transmission Why you would Change your gear ratio. Just tow in 4th if you have a 5 speed. It's the same Gear ratio. That way when your not towing you have over drive. Same deal for 6 speed. Tow in 3rd. with auto or a gear vender so you still have split gears and over drive. Diesel Isn't Cheap anymore hate to make the mpg even shltter

 

[SnoKing]

Well with 4:10's I am getting around 12 towing at 18250 lbs combined weight, 15 to 16 around town and high 18's on freeway driving. SNOKING

 

[Hohn]

Never understood esp. if you have a Man. transmission Why you would Change your gear ratio. Just tow in 4th if you have a 5 speed. It's the same Gear ratio. That way when your not towing you have over drive. Same deal for 6 speed. Tow in 3rd. with auto or a gear vender so you still have split gears and over drive. Diesel Isn't Cheap anymore hate to make the mpg even shltter

I agree. The beauty of the 5600 to me is that I can run the tall axle AND tall tires, and still have enough bottom end grunt to get going just fine.



I have the luxury of not towing (at least, not very often, and when I do it's light), so I can basically simulate the benefits of a GV by going to a taller tire.



W/ 315s and 3. 54 axles, I could run 77mph at 2K rpm. The gear splits of the 5600 are near-ideal, so if I need to get more grunt, I can slow down and drop a gear.



The main benefit of this setup is that it turns the super-low 1st gear ratio into an useable gear, and enhances the useable range all the way to OD.





True, you have to turn a bigger tire (and maybe lose mpg) but the upshot is that you might gain enough MPG to offset this. Thus, you can run a bigger tire with little or no MPG penalty. That would be nice.



JLH

 

[Beast2B]

i'm on the edge. i like the 3. 54 and 37" tires cause it's 2000rpm at 60mph in 5th, perfect for towing. 2000rpm is near 80mph in 6th. 1st is almost too tall taking off from a standstill with the trailer (near 19000 loaded), gotta slip the clutch a bit on any incline... oh well, it's never perfect and i got more hp to buy!