Well i have a 4 banger and went with a 4.10 geared axle when my 7.5 shattered the ring gear. Then i lifted it and put 31s and i have had them on for months now. It has been ok for my truck jus not really low enough for my liking, but since my truck was my dd i didnt want to lower the gear ratio because i didnt know how it would effect gas mileage, now since i have a nice lil car that gets 30+ mpg its time to do the truck a favor.

Running 65 in my truck (which i dunno how fast im really running) its at 2300 rpm with a aftermarket tach. It pulls great from 60 and up on flat road but on the hills out here i lose alot, sometimes havin to go to 4th or 3rd. Plus take off it kinda bogs down, i know 4 cylinder truck and not my turbo 4 car, but still its bad. So i been looking today at gears and went to the the ranger station and used their gear cal. It said with 4.30s i would be at a 3.73 gear ratio which was my stock gearing, and with 4.56s i would be at a 3.99 gear. Im leaning towards the 4.56s since i might move to 32s. A shop i use to work at told me they would do it for $200 no matter how long it took them so i got a shop i trust to do it fairly reasonable. Anyone want to shed some light on this for me, me and gears never got along well

 

if your planning on moving your tire size to 32's....go with the 4.56, you will be happier about it in the long run....yes, your revs will be up there but will help ALOT in hills and if you ever tow anyting.

 

4.56s would be worth while when you go 32s on a 4cyl. My 4.10s are okay with my 31s and a 3.0, still slower than hell from the line though. Poor thing won't powerbrake in the rain.

 

Yea i was thinkin 4.56s myself, my 4.10s with 31s is like a turtle, it sucks....thanks guys

 

4:56's and 8.8 does wonders... I can finally say I love climbing hills now.

Piece of cake.

 

i will tow 4 wheeler and alot of gear during hunting season and will need power to turn the tires to clean them out, thats why i was leaning towards 4.56s

 

imagine 4.10, 35's, and manual trans......

 

Go with the 4.56s, even with the 31s it will be a big improvement. 2300 RPMs cruising on the highway is WAY too low for the 2.3 and is lugging the engine. You should actually end up with better gas mileage too.

 

That is what i thought...I never had a tach in my truck when it had 3.73s and 27in tall tires so i never knew what my cruising rpm was so that dumb founded me when i did my math, but readin on rps i read that max torgue was at 2400rpm, and i would love to cruise above that mark. I guess the losin 5-15 mph on the hills is from the engine trying to make it. I get right at 20 with it like she is now, my best was 22 on the hottest day we had. The jetta gets 25 with me boostin the **** outta her lol...

 

I don't know where the torque values listed on different sites come from but the peak on the 2.3 is definitly closer to if not above 3000 RPMs... hell the 3.0L is at like 3500 RPMs and thats a v6. 4-cylinders like to run higher than V engines normally.

 

yea i know my truck starts pulling abover 4 grand, and it loves it but falls off about 5500 or so, i dont know im looking at gears now and 4.56s is what i decided on so thanks guys