Hey guys I got a question for yaw I have a 06 ford ranger sport 3.0 5 speed and I was wondering how much it would cost to change my rear end gear cause in fifth at highway speeds it's running a little two high of an rpm at 80mph it's running 3000 Rpms and what gear would I need to make the Rpms go down a bit plus idk what gear I have in there now.

 

2WD or 4WD? Your door tag will tell you what your gears are

 

That sounds like you have 4.10's but check to be sure. My rpms @ 80 are closer to 2500 but I have 3.73's. Like mentioned there is a sticker on the door jam, it has a code. Post it up and there is a chance someone knows it. There should also be an axel tag on the differential. That one is straight forward, it'll say LS for limited slip and something else if you have an open differential (or one wheel peel) followed by some numbers like 410 or 373.

 

What are you looking to accomplish by lowering the cruising RPM? The 3.0 makes its peak power in the higher RPM range so its not hurting it at all to run at that RPM.

 

It's 2wd and I will check the door panel but all I'm trying to accomplish is a little higher top end at a lower rpm

 

It has 410 gears so 373 would be a little better?

 

Yeah they would help. Fairly easy project to do yourself if you have some patience.

 

Thanks guys

 

First the 3.0 doesn’t even come in until 2500 +.
Second, you could increase the tire diameter to see if the rpm will be where you want it.
Third, where is your motor making its best power, you need to gear around that.

Fourth, wait I’m thinking !

 

Gears are cheaper then tires though... If you can install them yourself. The 3.0 makes max torque at 3750 I believe but (for me) at 3k and above the mpg take a major drop.

 

I don't understand what this means. Are you just looking for lower highway rpms or are you looking for off the line performance?

The 3.73's would help with the highway rpms but the 4.10's would be better for off the line.

 

He wants lower rpms at higher speeds.

 

That's what I thought

 

Yes tires are pricy but maybe he could borrow a set to see what the effect is instead of changing the gears, pay out the money and then find out it isn't what he wants.

2500 - 3000 is a good cruising rpm for the 3.0, I find the with 4.10 s and 33" tires I am doing around 65 at 3000 but that not when the hills come in to play.

The problem is there are a lot of variables, tire size, weight and as stated what is expected from the truck.

3.73 / 4.10 = 0.90, this equates to a 10% reduction in rpm on paper so 3000 should be 2700 but then the variables come into play and how the truck is driven.
Reduced gear ratio results in less power in the seat of the pants, so the results is usually more gas pedal and in turn less miles per gallan.

Test out some tires from friends, try two sizes larger, then four, just to see the effects.
A gear change is not as easy to do compared to changing tires.

 

If it helps any, I've compared my setup to someone with 4.10's and there is like grev mentioned a 10% reduction. I spin at 2500rpms @ 60mph. I knew someone who had 4.10's and was at 3000rpms at the same speed. It saves u some gas milage but I don't think it's enough to change gears or tire size just for that extra 1/2mpg. Yes it adds up I'm not disagreeing that, I just think the fuel savings can be found elsewhere first.