I'm trying to get my RPM's down a bit lower when I am on the highway. I thought about regearing up to 3.73 from the 4.10 gear ratio that I currently have, but then thought that tires would be a bit less permanent in case I didn't like it. I was playing around with various gear calculators and it looks like 31 inch tires would be roughly equivalent to gearing up to 3.73 and keeping the stock tire size(235/75r15). So, I am looking for tires that will be good on the highway and be at least decent in the snow, I'm not too concerned about doing a lot of off-road, but I do spend a bit of time in Green Ridge state forest in western MD, so something that will handle gravel mountain roads would be good to.

I would appreciate it if ya'll could give me some recommendations, or if you think that I am going about this the wrong way, that would be good too. Thanks.

Current specs for my truck:
2004 Ford Ranger Edge 2WD
3.0 litre V6
5 speed manual
235/75-15 tires

 

bfg at

 

If you don't want tires as aggressive as the BFG AT, they also have a less aggressive tread tire called Rugged Terrain. You can go to tirerack.com to see the reviews on different tires and how they perform.

Going to a larger size is less expensive and quicker way to change effective gearing. The 3.0L engine likes to rev to make power and going to the taller tires will drop those rpms and will result in reduced acceleration. However, I think 4.10 gears with 31" tires is a good balance. I had and 89 STX Ranger with manual transmission that had 3.73 gears. When I went to 31" tires, that 2.9L engine kind of struggled with it. I went to 4.10 gears and that made a big difference and made the 31" tires work well. BTW, they were BFG TA tires because I like to go off-road a lot.

 

Thanks for the recommendations and the reassurance that I am not going about this all wrong. I am probably leaning towards a less aggressive tread like the "Rugged Terrain" since I make one, sometimes two trips to Colorado each year, and that will help with the gas mileage.