I've come full circle- back to stock

[rbattelle]

Thanks for sharing, I too have 48re and 3. 73's and would like to hold diameter to 33" for good towing. Even unloaded, 35's would mean coming out of lock up in OD on the mountain highway I drive which would hurt mpg no doubt. This was a good post- thanks again.

Matt, what tires are you running?



Coolslice - live and learn! What's important is that you've learned. If you never tried all that stuff, you'd always wonder if you'd be better off with it.



-Ryan

 

[tschwab]

Stock-Stock-Stock on this one, even down to the air box. Only mods are Line-X, 5vr tailgaite, 5vr hitch, Prodigy trailer brake, Truxedo roll top, 5" stainless rolled angle cut exhaust tip & a CB radio.



Oh yeah, almost forgot the most important item, 8oz of Stanadyne Performance Formula with EVERY tank.

 

[Coolslice]

I feel so bad for you Coolslice!

So bad in fact that I'll give you my awsome factory chrome rims and cadillac smooth Michelin tires in exchange for your Kore wheels/Toyo's.

Since I'm feeling so generous I'll even swap out the KORE leveling kit and exchange it for my factory springs and shocks. Again NO CHARGE to you!!! Just and even swap!

I don't think you'll find a better deal anywhere!!!

No need to feel bad for me Rover, I've come clean with my addiction and am now in treatment. :-laf I appreciate your offer, but throughout all the madness I somehow had a moment of clarity when I decided to KEEP all of my OEM stuff. Don't give in like I did, trust me, there has been a ton of people wanting to buy my factory wheels and tires, yet I can't get rid of my aftermarket ones. . That tells me something, STOCK ROCKS! :-laf

 

[rbattelle]

Coolslice,



Could you comment a little more about the problems with running 35's with a 3. 73 rear gear and the 48re? No power on the highway? Poor fuel economy? What is the OD ratio on the 48re?



-Ryan

 

[Coolslice]

Coolslice,



Could you comment a little more about the problems with running 35's with a 3. 73 rear gear and the 48re? No power on the highway? Poor fuel economy? What is the OD ratio on the 48re?



-Ryan

Ryan,



Sure, I will try my best. Although I can't help you on the ratios.



My problem is that my truck shifts into OD at approx 50 mph. At 50 mph, I'm turning 1150 to 1200 rpms. This is way too low, the truck bogs down, the egt's go way up, and there is NO power. Since I do a majority of my driving at around 55 mph, you can see the problem. IMO the truck is bogged down until it hits about 1450-1500 rpms, which is about 60-62 mph. Once in OD, the truck doesn't want to downshift.



Fuel economy? Oh man. :{ With the 33's I could almost knock down 20 mpg on the hwy, now the best I have seen is 15. 1. I have been avg about 14. 5 mpg since adding the 35's, down from about 17. 7 with 33's. (With the cost of fuel these days, this is no time to muck with your mileage IMO. ) I can only assume the factory wheels would get better than that. I was told to expect a 1-1. 5 mpg loss, but whoever said that was FOS. The best advice I can give anyone is if you have 3. 73's and the 48re- DON"T GO BIGGER THAN 33's!



Ryan

 

[KCJackson]

What is the OD ratio on the 48re?

48RE overdrive is 0. 69:1

 

[JCleary]

Ryan,



Sure, I will try my best. Although I can't help you on the ratios.



My problem is that my truck shifts into OD at approx 50 mph. At 50 mph, I'm turning 1150 to 1200 rpms. This is way too low, the truck bogs down, the egt's go way up, and there is NO power. Since I do a majority of my driving at around 55 mph, you can see the problem. IMO the truck is bogged down until it hits about 1450-1500 rpms, which is about 60-62 mph. Once in OD, the truck doesn't want to downshift.



Fuel economy? Oh man. :{ With the 33's I could almost knock down 20 mpg on the hwy, now the best I have seen is 15. 1. I have been avg about 14. 5 mpg since adding the 35's, down from about 17. 7 with 33's. (With the cost of fuel these days, this is no time to muck with your mileage IMO. ) I can only assume the factory wheels would get better than that. I was told to expect a 1-1. 5 mpg loss, but whoever said that was FOS. The best advice I can give anyone is if you have 3. 73's and the 48re- DON"T GO BIGGER THAN 33's!



Ryan

Ryan-



Did you have your dealer re-program your pinion factor for the new tires? If not, it can play havoc with your shift points. I had the dealer re-program mine just so I wouldn't get any tickets, but my buddy's PSD shifted all wrong with 38's until he had his programmed.

 

[Coolslice]

Ryan-



Did you have your dealer re-program your pinion factor for the new tires? If not, it can play havoc with your shift points. I had the dealer re-program mine just so I wouldn't get any tickets, but my buddy's PSD shifted all wrong with 38's until he had his programmed.

I sure did. Originally I had hoped that this would fix the problem, but it didn't seem to change a thing. I hate to talk about things I know nothing about, but it seems the shift points are controled by speed and not by rpms. It still shifts at the same speeds, it's just that the rpms are much lower. I just got the call from my tech, and he says he can make all the aftermarket stuff go bye-bye in the morning! Oo. Oo. I can't wait to have a truck that drives normal again and gets respectable fuel mileage. It will be ugly as sin though. Oh well, I now realize that how the truck performs to the owner far outweighs the way it looks to others.

 

[Tim]

I think you're blaming yourself and the aftermarket parts simply because they're not set up correctly on your vehicle. There is no reason you should be making the complaints that you're making. Get your alignment checked after they remove your suspension system--and make sure it's correct when they're done, otherwise you'll find even a stock truck can ride/handle just as crappy as you claim yours does now.

 

[Coolslice]

I think you're blaming yourself and the aftermarket parts simply because they're not set up correctly on your vehicle. There is no reason you should be making the complaints that you're making. Get your alignment checked after they remove your suspension system--and make sure it's correct when they're done, otherwise you'll find even a stock truck can ride/handle just as crappy as you claim yours does now.

Maybe, but I can tell you that the truck drove much, MUCH better before all of this stuff went on. I will CERTAINLY get an alignment after removal of the leveling kit.



I have tried to correct everything that can be corrected by following others advice, but have not seen acceptable results.

At this point you see, it's the whole, not the sum of the parts. Some things could possibly be corrected (although I haven't been able to) and others can't be. Even if I got the truck driving like a Caddy, I will still have pathetic mileage and a bogged down engine w/ high egts and NO power, do to my lack of knowledge with drive ratios, automatic transmissions, and large tires. I never claimed to be an expert. It's all trial and error bro, As great as this forum is, you can research things til you think you are an expert and have others validate your findings, only to find out in the end that you and everyone else who chose to chime in were wrong.

 

[hasselbach]

I think you're blaming yourself and the aftermarket parts simply because they're not set up correctly on your vehicle. There is no reason you should be making the complaints that you're making. Get your alignment checked after they remove your suspension system--and make sure it's correct when they're done, otherwise you'll find even a stock truck can ride/handle just as crappy as you claim yours does now.

The pulling to the right is nothing new with the solid front axle. I also have had 2 3500's do the same exact thing, and called Swift dodge as well. Offset ball joints are one way to cure the lack of cross caster in these trucks.



I totally agree that modding the stock trucks can yield all sorts of new problems. Its basically Looks vs. Performance many times. .

 

[rbattelle]

Oh well, I now realize that how the truck performs to the owner far outweighs the way it looks to others.

Amen to that!



Certainly 33's can go onto the stock suspension without any modifications or any trouble at all.



I appreciate your views on the tire thing, Ryan.



-Ryan

 

[Dieselnerd]

The only things being added to my new one are a fifth wheel hitch, camper tie downs, spray in bedliner, brake controller, BD X monitor and Putco Boss nerf bars. None of these things will hurt the warranty. I've gathered all of the above items so I will have plenty to do for the next couple of weeks. (I work slow, measure twice and cut once)

 

[Cattletrkr]

Let's see. Mag rear cover, X-intake, step bars, GN hitch, Fastcoolers, Juice w/attitude, Gauges on dash, CB, Visor, brush guard, Rickson 19. 5's.



Other than that it's bone stock.



Lessons learned.



1. Even with 4. 10's, I still might go closer to stock size with the next set of tires... I miss the power.



2. Exhaust changes suck. Screwed around with various mufflers and finally ended up stock. I don't run any hotter now than I did with a wide open muffler. I did "modify" the factory muffler before reinstalling it though.



3. I have the power available from the Juice, but I'm afraid to use it 'cause I hate repairs. Level 1-1 for towing and 3-3 for fun is enough for me.



oops, just looked at the time, gotta go

 

[Hohn]

I have similar stories to tell of the "improvements" I've made and how they have sometimes made thing's worse.



There's the mudflaps that I took off before the ate entirely through the paint on the wheel wells.



There's the levelling kit I installed that caused an annoying noise on right turns until it went away just as mysteriously as it came. (I lost a socket doing it, and I'm sure this is what it was).



There's the injectors I improperly installed and left me with hard starting for over a year.



There's the DT track bar that I forgot to use Loctite and the bracket bolts, and now it loosens periodically and and makes clunks. (I'll fix it when the weather is better).



There's the turbo drain line that I forgot to tighten which leaked oil for a couple weeks.









All this to say that half the time I spent wrenching on my truck was fixing something that I had caused to be a problem. Yes, it was frustrating, but I have now fixed everything. My truck has no leaks-- anywhere (knock on rear main seal).



Would I do all the mods I did over again? ABSOLUTELY. But I would have been much more methodical and thought things through more carefully. I went from being afraid to touch my truck to not-quite-afraid-enough, LOL.





It's all been a learning experience for me (and sadly, my poor truck).



Justin

 

[DGFoster]

I like stock. The only mods I made to mine were functional for towing my 5er, the Line-X bed liner, and nerf bars.

Me too,my truck is a ST model with steel wheels and rubber floor,no carpet and we love it,no big tires for me,been there done that,love it the way it is

 

[Matt400]

Cattletrkr- good post on the lessons, here are mine-



Now pulling out the SRT-10 A-Pillar cuz I want more gauges and I may destroy it getting it off because I overtightened one screw that now wont come out. Must be a nut tacked to the pillar that came loose.



Drilled and brazed the trans pan for the temp sensor and later confirmed the trans port gives the same temp reading.



Drilled my dash for the VA knob and now want something more hidden so will have a hole.



Carpeted floor mats don't work in the winter and are already faded- they were expensive.



Went 5" and a big Donaldson and was rewarded with a big drone so redid it all over with 4" and a different Donaldson, now its ok but stock was stealth!



Probably the most expensive was trusting the 6,150 lb tow rating on the window sticker of our new 1500 to tow our travel trailer and dumping it at only 7000 miles for another new truck.

 

[Crunch]

Wow! This thread has really turned into a True Confessions gig. A few more of these posts and TDR might have to put in a 12 steps forum...

 

[Coolslice]

Wow! This thread has really turned into a True Confessions gig. A few more of these posts and TDR might have to put in a 12 steps forum...

Thats the truth! :-laf I'm going to get a call from A&E wanting me to be on their show "Intervention". This weeks episode- A meth addict self-mutilating freak, and a compulsive B. O. M. Ber

 

[red-rider]

That or E's True Hollywood stories. :-laf