Getting New Gears, Need Suggestion

[burnthefurniture]

Hey guys I'm new to the forum, so if I missed something in my search, please forgive me, I don't quite understand the ins and outs of the site yet. That aside, I have a 2006 Crewcab 1500 2wd with a 5.3. I have 265 70r17 tires on it. Pretty much everything else is except for exhaust and a few other little things. It has 3.23 gears in it right now. I tow some and spend almost all of my time driving city miles. Currently, gas mileage is at about 12-13 city with those tires, and the truck is currently in the shop getting a warranty tranny rebuild. I want to extend the life of my next tranny and want to swap to 3.73s or 4.10s. I want to stick with my tire size and will not be lifting the truck. Which of those two would be recommended? I'm aware highway mpg would probably go down, but is it possible for city mpg's to go up with the additional leverage. 3.23's lug around too much for me. Also, if I switch, will I have an issue with the ABS light that i've read about? I have a hypertech to change the speedo, but what are people's experiences on that? Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post.

[asilverblazer]

The Hypertech should correct the computer, so no lights for you. I'd go 4.10's but thats me, not you.

[burnthefurniture]

The Hypertech should correct the computer, so no lights for you. I'd go 4.10's but thats me, not you.

 

Thanks for the reply. 4.10s were what I was actually planning on ordering, but don't want to go overkill. My main goal is less stress on drivetrain and hopefully more city mpg. I've been told that its based more on throttle position than rpms to an extent. That is to say it takes more gas lugging around at a lower rpm than it does at a slightly higher rpm running more efficiently and in the powerband. Any truth to this?

[Zembonez]

The Hypertech should correct the computer, so no lights for you. I'd go 4.10's but thats me, not you.

 

Thanks for the reply. 4.10s were what I was actually planning on ordering, but don't want to go overkill. My main goal is less stress on drivetrain and hopefully more city mpg. I've been told that its based more on throttle position than rpms to an extent. That is to say it takes more gas lugging around at a lower rpm than it does at a slightly higher rpm running more efficiently and in the powerband. Any truth to this?

 

I just ordered Richmond 3.73s for mine to replace my crappy 3.23s. 4.10s certainly won't HELP fuel mileage. If anything it will drop. I doubt the difference will be much though... maybe 1 mpg city.

[2000DV4.8]

I say go with the 4.10s too, if most of your miles are in the city. You probably won't see any huge fuel economy increases, but the driveability of the truck should be GREATLY increased. Going from the 3.23 to 4.10 it should feel like a whole nother truck.

[burnthefurniture]

The Hypertech should correct the computer, so no lights for you. I'd go 4.10's but thats me, not you.

 

Thanks for the reply. 4.10s were what I was actually planning on ordering, but don't want to go overkill. My main goal is less stress on drivetrain and hopefully more city mpg. I've been told that its based more on throttle position than rpms to an extent. That is to say it takes more gas lugging around at a lower rpm than it does at a slightly higher rpm running more efficiently and in the powerband. Any truth to this?

 

I just ordered Richmond 3.73s for mine to replace my crappy 3.23s. 4.10s certainly won't HELP fuel mileage. If anything it will drop. I doubt the difference will be much though... maybe 1 mpg city.

 

 

why would you think it would drop? I would figure decreased stress and more mechanical leverage would mean more efficiency. My friend with an identical truck and 3.73s gets 16-17 city, my 3.23s only 12-13 :-(. But you may have had experience with this, and I haven't. Does anyone on here have a crewcab that came stock with 4.10s?

[burnthefurniture]

I say go with the 4.10s too, if most of your miles are in the city. You probably won't see any huge fuel economy increases, but the driveability of the truck should be GREATLY increased. Going from the 3.23 to 4.10 it should feel like a whole nother truck.

 

My goal is not to really go from 12 to 17 mpg or anything but if I can increase driveability without going DOWN thats my main goal.

[2000DV4.8]

If most of your time is spent below 45-50mph, I highly doubt your gas mileage would go down.

 

IF you can keep your foot out of it, that is.

[burnthefurniture]

btw zembones, are you doing the install yourself? If so, take some pictures along the way, I'd be very interested. Thanks!

[burnthefurniture]

If most of your time is spent below 45-50mph, I highly doubt your gas mileage would go down.

 

IF you can keep your foot out of it, that is.

 

Most of my time is spent driving around campus or stop and go in traffic. I am towing a decent amount through neighborhoods (landscaping business) with short stints on the interstate. Keeping my foot out of it may be hard though, I always enjoy showing my friends yet again that their f-150's are dogs.

[Zembonez]

btw zembones, are you doing the install yourself? If so, take some pictures along the way, I'd be very interested. Thanks!

Nope. Going to have a friend that builds high dollar hot rods do it. I'll be there to hand him beer.

 

I don't mean to rain on the parade here, but the theory of less strain on the drive train keeping mileage the same is false. Every vehicle I have ever regeared lost MPG by some measure. If you keep your foot out of it, the drop might not be much but it will drop. Driveability and performance will increase but at some cost at the pump. What a buddy gets is really not a good indicator. Every vehicle is different and drivers are too.

[burnthefurniture]

btw zembones, are you doing the install yourself? If so, take some pictures along the way, I'd be very interested. Thanks!

Nope. Going to have a friend that builds high dollar hot rods do it. I'll be there to hand him beer.

 

I don't mean to rain on the parade here, but the theory of less strain on the drive train keeping mileage the same is false. Every vehicle I have ever regeared lost MPG by some measure. If you keep your foot out of it, the drop might not be much but it will drop. Driveability and performance will increase but at some cost at the pump. What a buddy gets is really not a good indicator. Every vehicle is different and drivers are too.

 

 

Fair enough, still planning on 4.10s though. I'll report back the results when I get them in. Regardless, a little cost at the pump is going to be less than getting my trans rebuilt again (as I am typing this I just drove home from the dealership where my warranty with less than 1500 miles left thankfully covered a 2000 dollar rebuild).

[Zembonez]

Fair enough, still planning on 4.10s though. I'll report back the results when I get them in. Regardless, a little cost at the pump is going to be less than getting my trans rebuilt again (as I am typing this I just drove home from the dealership where my warranty with less than 1500 miles left thankfully covered a 2000 dollar rebuild).

I agree 100%. I wasn't saying ya shouldn't... just that it might not HELP mpg. A small hit at the pump isn't a big deal for a better driving truck. I'm still doing mine. I do believe the regear will save the equipment... less stress. Let us know what happens with the mileage. I'll post my results as well.

[burnthefurniture]

Fair enough, still planning on 4.10s though. I'll report back the results when I get them in. Regardless, a little cost at the pump is going to be less than getting my trans rebuilt again (as I am typing this I just drove home from the dealership where my warranty with less than 1500 miles left thankfully covered a 2000 dollar rebuild).

I agree 100%. I wasn't saying ya shouldn't... just that it might not HELP mpg. A small hit at the pump isn't a big deal for a better driving truck. I'm still doing mine. I do believe the regear will save the equipment... less stress. Let us know what happens with the mileage. I'll post my results as well.

 

 

very cool I appreciate all of the help and info!

[alwcurlz]

I say go with the 4.10s too, if most of your miles are in the city. You probably won't see any huge fuel economy increases, but the driveability of the truck should be GREATLY increased. Going from the 3.23 to 4.10 it should feel like a whole nother truck.

 

My goal is not to really go from 12 to 17 mpg or anything but if I can increase driveability without going DOWN thats my main goal.

 

 

Thing is, you have to realize that the faster your motor runs to gain the same speed requires more gas. A lot more. Thing I have to ask though, what do you mean by "increase driveability". What is happening that is making your truck lose it's driveability?

 

My truck isn't exactly relevant but, I get 16-17 MPG city at 35-40mph and 20-21MPG highway at 60-70mph. I don't know what it has for a rear-end but it's stock. 1999 Silverado Z71 Ext Cab, 5.3, 265/65/R18 tires.