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dkemm
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
1/03/2005
22:14:57
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 Subject: tires and gears
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Message:
About 2years ago I purchased a 99 sport xcab 4x4.
It had 31's, and I have upgraded to 33x10.5x15 since. The stickers on the door and glove compartment show 235's and 3.55 gears. I am assuming that the 31's came with the sport package, but I am not sure if the gears are correct. The speedo was more or less correct when checked with my GPS. How can I determine if the gears are correct without cracking the cases. I have been happy with the acceleration as I dont race, but the auto trans shifts do seem less than optimium. I am considering the hypertech tuner and possibly new gears. I havent had a problem towing (dont do it often). It has actually been nice not to spin a wheel on wet pavement with the new tires.....I am assuming due to the larger tires (different gearing). On a recent hunting trip, I had no problem getting out of some steep/rocky terrain..with a full load.
Any help or ideas would be appreciated.
-dk
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Kowalski
GenIII
1/04/2005
18:08:35
|  RE: tires and gears
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Message:
There may be a sticker in your glove box or on the axle - 3.55s are most likely. If not, you can jack up rear in netral and count how many times driveshaft spins as you turn tire 1 revolution by hand - about 3 1/2 times would be 3.55, about 4 times is 3.92.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way
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dkemm
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
1/04/2005
20:22:02
| RE: tires and gears
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Message:
Yeah, the sticker does list 3.55, but also a different tire size.
Thanks for the idea on the tire rotation.
I will try that the next time I jack it up.
-dk
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99Dak5.2L4x4
Dodge Dakota
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1/05/2005
01:11:22
| RE: tires and gears
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Message:
This can tell you pretty quick. If you truck is hunting between 4th and OD all the time around 70 mph then you probably have the stock 3:55. 33s are a tall tire for 3:55s. I pretty much had to drive 75 to keep my tranny from hunting with 33s and 3:55s.
I think at 70 mph my rpms were 1850. With my 4:10s my rpms are now at 2150 with 33 BFG a/t
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dkemm
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
1/06/2005
01:52:37
| RE: tires and gears
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Message:
99 Dak
I am thinking about a gear change...
are you happy with the 4.10s?
I have looked into going that "extreme", but not sure if maybe I should go a little more conservative.
I mostly do city driving with work, some highway ( 65/35%)
I dont do much off road except for hunting....which is typically some sort of 2track...which I have dealt with using 4L if needed. About the only time I tow something is a trailer with ATV, possibly some sort of load in the bed.
What is your MPG like with 4.10s, have you always had those, or did you upgrade?
AS it is about 5yrs old, I have to really consider a $600+ upgrade at this point. I have not plans to get rid of it - as I am happy with it, but will weigh the cost of gear upgrade vs gas cost.
I havent been displeased with the gearing so far - for what I use my truck for.
Any insight is appreciated.
thanks for everyones input.
-dk
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99Dak5.2L4x4
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
1/06/2005
11:17:55
| RE: tires and gears
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Message:
Am I happy with the 4:10s absolutely, when it comes to pulling, and crusing the town. On the freeway though I cannot drive much faster than 75 otherwise, I can watch my gas litterally move.
I originally had 3:55 stock gears with 31 stock good year tires. Use to get 15 city 17 Hwy. Over time milage dropped as I got to 45,000 miles.
I then ran 32 procomp all terrains with 3:55 gears. Dropped city milage to 11-12 and hwy 14 -15. My truck did ok with this set up but I could always feel the lack of power band and often in the city I would have to turn the OD off.
I ran my new 33 BFG/AT with the stocker 3:55 and that was really bad this summer of 04. I pretty much just drove with OD off all the time. Unless I was driving 75 or 80 on the freeway here in TX I couldn't use the OD.
This summer 04 I put on 4:56 with my new 33s BFG and that sucked big time too. Way way way to high of RPM. I thought I was going to have to buy 35s but then the gear installer messed up the install. I had some shady shop install them and they blew it and I lost a lot of money. They also suggested the 4:56. They were morons.
I then had 4wheel parts install 4:10s and an auburn LSD after purchasing the 2 year warranty it was close to $1400 bucks. It was it worth it I think. However, if you could find used a front and rear stock 3:92 assembly w/gears for around $300 or $400 bucks off this site that's what I'd go with and then just bolt that sucker right up. Save yourself some money. Not much difference between 4:10 and 3:92.
All-n-all though I happy with the 4:10s but I've lost gas milage. If I drive all city I get 200 miles before the gas light comes on. So with my 4:10s and 33 BFG A/T I am getting 10-11 city and 13-14 freeway. It's great for towing my boat. On the freeway at 70mph my rpms sit at 2150 or 2200. Tranny never hunts up small hills anymore.
Also consider the true size of a tire. My BFG 33 A/T are not true 33s... they are just a tad over 32. If you had true 33s then 4:10s would absolutely be the right decision for you on your 99 based on my experience.
The front end seems to be handling the bigger tires ok. My truck has close to 122,000 miles and it's pretty much on it's last leg I think. The ping and knock in my engine is constant now even after a belly pan gasked fix and 92 octane. So I just run 87 and I'm going to run this truck till it dies. I'm not putting any more money in it. I want a F350 dually
If you have any more questions let me know.
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