Not sure how much difference the gears will really make running 33" tires. Does anyone know for sure if they noticed any difference with running just 33" if they ran that size before and after the gear change?

Right now I am debating whether to do the gear change , as I don't have a lot of time with work and stuff , and I still have so many other projects to do on the truck.Right now it still goes pretty good with the 4:56 gearing and the 33" tires , other than my speedo is out a little , but thats not really a huge deal.The truck will still do over a 107 MPH , so can't complain about that.

Anyway , if anyone knows the real difference and its worth the swap I might consider doing it still.If not then I may put my gear set up for sale and see if there is any interest for the pair.

I went from 35's (baldish so more like 33's) w/ 4.56's to 5.38's and the difference is phenomenal. I haven't had it up to freeway speeds, but just around town it's awesome. Truely worth it. W/ 33's it might be a little overgeared, and you might be turning higher than stock rpms at freeway speeds--but with the truck lifted and pushing more air, any little bit extra helps. so it depends on what your needs are. It will definitely be a marked improvement in low range. If you plan to go up any bigger in the tire size dept, I'd say go for it.

and w/ your hot 3.4 you'll be able to light 'em up that much easier w/ the lower gears <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

I went from 33s and 4.55 to 35s and 5.38s. My MPG actually increased with the bigger tires.

in the same boat here, been sitting on this gearset so long it's ridiculous.

obviously it will be sweet on the trail and about town, but open road driving makes me hesitate. from time to time I take long distance trips in the Troop and 33s and 4.56 feels pretty good at 70mph+ for hours on end.


that's very interesting, what kind of #'s did you observe?

With the 33S/4.55 combo, the best I could muster was about 16.

With the 35/5.38 combo, I was back up to 17 or so.

This is calced with a GPS.

The 5.38s just had the motor running at a better RPM. With the 4.55 I was always lugging and having to downshift for hills, headwinds etc. I do try to keep the speed in the 65 range.

This is in the Amigo with the 2.6, YMMV if you are running a 3.2.

PS There was a week or 2 that I ran with the 33s/5.38 combo. The Amigo sure seemed quick around town!!

Notes: The Amigo came stock with 31s and 4.55s. Mathematically, I think it is about 8% lower now with he 5.38s and 35s. (I haven't worked the numbers in a long time, going from memory). I have probably had it up over 90 a couple of times with the "new" combo, it is still possible, just running higher RPMs.

I'm just curious as to what gain if any I will get with the different ratio in there , but with the same size tires.as it sits now it is pretty good in town and on the highway with the 4:56 gears.I haven't really done too much 4x yet , so can't really say yet what I can expect.

I bought the gear set because they are very hard to find , and wasn't exactly sure what gains I would get , other then the speedo probably going back to 'stock'.

It will be a big job to change it , and I'm not sure I can justify the time and money just yet on it , as I do want to get the SC installed and some of the other little things done on it.

The 2.6 is underpowered to start with. My priorities are more on the 4-wheeling side, highway wasn't a big deal. It works well for off road. On the highway, the big tires and lower gears are a good combo.

At least for me.

I don't have any issues with underpowered with my 3.4 in there , and especially once I get the SC put on there.I do probably do more highway driving out here , thats why I wasn't sure what to expect in difference.

I don't really want to go any bigger than the 33", I am happy with that size , and don't plan on a SAS in the very near future , maybe 1 day down the road , maybe then will go up a step to 35".Was also thinking of 1 day changing out the tranny as that is a weak link in these trucks.All possible future projects down the road.

Was also thinking of 1 day changing out the tranny as that is a weak link in these trucks.

Based on what?

Michael

Based on the failure amount of the 4L30E trans.I have gone through 2 allready , one due to a plug popping out , and also the seal on the side had an O-ring failure and started to gush out fluid there.The manual trans seem to go a lot longer than the autos.I do look after my trans , and I use synthetic fluid in it , plus i flush it every so often also so that all the old stuff is completely gone.

I have seen more then a few posts of people looking for a reputable place for a new 4L30 or someone that can do a good rebuild on it.I do have one spare tranny , but it needs to be rebuilt on the front where those rings are , the plastic spacer one is missing in it.