Any thought on gears?

[88Racing]

Well general rule is to go a step up. So if the info pointed you to 4.30 then go to 4.56. Or is this toooo radical?

[JWBFX4]

I would think 4.10's would be a perfect fit. But IMO i would not go over 4.30's

But you will sacrifice some mileage at the higher speeds (interstate driving)

[Jackpine]

And, Ford's torque control is going to get in the way if you go too high. Bill posted about this somewhere a long time back and I can't really think of a good "search string" to find it. Maybe if you search on all posts by "Power Hungry" and "gears" you may get lucky?

At any rate, if you put the gearing too high. the PCM won't see the need for power and will limit what you can get (at least that is what I understand).

Bill also published an Excel spreadsheet "RPM vs MPH calculator.xls", recently that you may be able to find pretty quickly if you look for it.

Personally, I would not go above 4.10.

- Jack

[BlackSTX]

Thanks for the info!

I'm guessing that 4.10's may win out, though I am curious about trying 4.30's. I'll admit, I don't know about the torque limiting effect of the PCM.

I believe it's always a bit better to wish you had a bit more gear than wishing you hadn't gone so extreme. I know 4.56's or better can get you up and running pretty quick, but there's certainly a down side with them. The answers I got on another forum some time ago was very extreme..... 4.88's.... really! I couldn't even consider them to be serious, especially since I'm not planning on lifting my truck and running 36" tires, nor am I planning on taking it to the track.

I knew I'd get more logical responses here, not to mention some other info. worth considering, thanks!

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by BlackSTX

Thanks for the info!

I'm guessing that 4.10's may win out, though I am curious about trying 4.30's. I'll admit, I don't know about the torque limiting effect of the PCM.

I believe it's always a bit better to wish you had a bit more gear than wishing you hadn't gone so extreme. I know 4.56's or better can get you up and running pretty quick, but there's certainly a down side with them. The answers I got on another forum some time ago was very extreme..... 4.88's.... really! I couldn't even consider them to be serious, especially since I'm not planning on lifting my truck and running 36" tires, nor am I planning on taking it to the track.

I knew I'd get more logical responses here, not to mention some other info. worth considering, thanks!

With my tires, going one step up in gear ratio adds about 200 RPM in the 66 mph range. A bit more than that at 76, maybe around 250 RPM? I think anything more than that would make the engine sound like it was screaming at cruise speeds. I know I hate to listen to it when I have to drop into 3rd while towing at 65, sounds to me like the engine's running much too fast.

- Jack

[BlackSTX]

I know what you mean about listening to the engine upon dropping to third for inclines and such. Before the programmer and tuning I was kicking down for slight inclines. I've at least eliminated that a vast majority of the time. I also think a gear swap will help this out a bit more too since it won't be under a strain for a slight incline.
My last Ranger had 4.10's and a 5-spd auto. it was a perfect combination; I just wish I had this set up in the 150.

By the way, Jack.... Thanks for the tip about the excel file Bill posted; it's a big help. Bill out does himself with the helpful tools like that.

[Jackpine]

Yup, he does, doesn't he? (Bill, that is). Glad I could help.

- Jack

[dave-m]

Originally Posted by JackandJanet

And, Ford's torque control is going to get in the way if you go too high. Bill posted about this somewhere a long time back and I can't really think of a good "search string" to find it. Maybe if you search on all posts by "Power Hungry" and "gears" you may get lucky?

At any rate, if you put the gearing too high. the PCM won't see the need for power and will limit what you can get (at least that is what I understand).


- Jack

I think this may be what you're thinking about

Originally Posted by Power Hungry

What many folks forget is that the PCM operates on a load-based strategy. The higher the load, the more power it will allow the engine to make. This is why 4.88 geared trucks often fall short in performance when compared to 4.10 or 3.73 geared counterparts.