What Gear Ratio Is Best for Towing

For towing 6500 your stock 355 gears are fine IMO. This gear ratio and tire diameter chart is meant to give you an approximation of ideal RPMs at highway speed 65 mph for three situations.

Ratios Periodic Table

For towing I would prefer to have the 41 gears but I will not be towing all the time.

. Not open for further replies. MilkManDan Well-known member Apr 20 2010 2 Roxy probably at least a 410 with those tires. Im going to be towing 10000 lbs and the 410 has a max trailer weight of 10450 which is 2000 over the 373.

Ive towed over 10000 with a stock PSD 355 gears. Assuming that the trailer lands in the 6000-7200 lb range which would be the better gear ratio. Similarly a pickup with a 373 axle ratio will be faster than one with 355s.

I had 3551 on my 2010 towed a 5500 pound boat and trailer through hills and dells without any problems but for doing a LOT of towing obviously the 3731 would be better. From the manual it is obvious that the 410 gears are optimized for GMs towing test when combined with the engine torque curve and the 6-spd tranny. Stock tires on a 97 HD had 655 revsmile.

The 321 gear ratio would be good for all but high end 10 tongue 9000lb GVWR of the above towingpayload capacity range. This chart provides values that represent a 11 ratio on a manual transmission. The PDF that the link refers to says that my RAM has a GVWR of 12300 and GCWR of 25000.

The standard axle ratio found in a GMC truck or SUV has been carefully selected according to the vehicles specific body style and engine in order to provide the best all-around mix of performance towing strength and efficiency. If youre talking a new diesel with a 6 speed transmission then a 355 or 373 gear truck may be fine but a gasser with an 8 speed may. My truck with two people and full tank of fuel weighed 8400.

So with your 35 tires youd need 410s to get that effective ratio. Having a heck of a time pulling anything with the stock 373 gear ratio. One of the Toyo Open Country AT 37 tires has 569 tire revsmile.

1 - 20 of 24 Posts 1 2 Next Tfish Registered Joined Nov 1 2005 116 Posts Discussion Starter 1 Jul 27 2009 have a 1500 -96 52 355925 and will tow at the trucks limits 90 at the highway 55mph dont want to wind to high and dont mind running OD in flat roads. 655 minus 569 86 divided by 655 13 percent. Two common base axle ratios for trucks are 308 and 342.

For instance the 3421 ratio included on many Canyon V-6 and Sierra 1500 models offers a good all-around blend. I bet if you got custom tunes you would feel a major difference and its a fraction of the cost of a gear set with 410s and 35s you should be pretty good a 430-456 wouldnt hurt anything but cruising speedrpm btw ditch the kn and go for a 6637 to replace it with. Axle ratio choices are 355 and 430.

That might not be enough gear depending on what you are towing. You get 2000 pounds more max. Rear Axle Gear Ratios - Best for Towing It largely depends on the truck and the load you plan to pull with it.

The higher the numerical number rear end gear the better for fifth wheel towing as that gives the engine more mechanical advantage over the weight of the trailer. Trailer weight and 2000 pounds more GCWR maximum weight that the vehicle can bear when fully loaded as a tow vehicle with the 410 as opposed to the 373. With 373s the tranny might be in the wrong gear when on the test causing the tranny to overheat and fail with a heavier load than 9600lbs.

Although it does only have the 373 ratio rear gears. This would yield a theoretical 333which is close enough to the nearest available final drive ratio of 3361. A 373 offeres higher RPM which equals torque but an empty truck bed on a flat highway doesnt need such a low gear.

If you plan on towing a fifth-wheel trailer or anything heavier than 5000 pounds you should consider a 41 axle ratio. Best gear ratio for towing. Examples of this would be 4101 and 4301 axle ratios.

You might even go to a 456 if you are towing heavy and something like and airboat with a lot of wind drag. Now there is a lot more that goes into towing capacity then just gears but typically the heavier the load the deeper gears you want. Axle Ratio RPM X Tire SizeSpeedMPH X 336 Example 488 2881 X 3765 X 336 Most Power Best for Towing Reduced Fuel Economy Daily Driver Best Overall Performance Highway Driving Good Fuel Economy Gear Ratio 273.

These gear sets are better suited for towing and hauling heavy loads. Travel trailer weight is 6500 lbs which I know will be no problem for either axle ratio. To find the ideal selection multiply the final drive ratio by the redline speed in fourth gear 152 mph and divide that by the top track speed 140 mph.

Ask The Experts a Question. Those ratios provide very good acceleration with gas V-8s and diesels. You can see how the towing rating increases as the rear axle ratio gets deeper numerically high.

A 41 ratio allows a towing vehicle to start moving without as much throttle. Fuel economy every day driving and increased towing power. If you constantly have a headwind the gear ratio may be too high.

Looking at purchasing an F-250 with the 73 L gas engine. So a 456 rear axle ratio with the tall tires will get you back to almost stock performance of a 410 axle ratio with stock-size tires. A F-250 can have 331 gears a F-350 will usually have 373 Duallys 410s F-450s up to 430.

The majority of my miles will be unloaded but I do weekend camping 6-8 times per year with a travel trailer. The King Ranch is. Especially with the 10 speed trans.

A 373 ratio is suitable for regular light towing. Anyway this is how I could see it happening. The thing to remember here is different gear sets can drastically change a vehicles performance characteristics.

In general the best towing axle ratio for most of the post-2010 pickups is in 355 or 373. I want to be able to upgrade to say a 10000 lb. Stock wheelstiresas others have noted oversize tires often require lower ratio meaning higher numerically to not feel doggy.

I attached a help article on picking out a truck for towing with for you to check out as well. It doest matter whether the truck is empty or loaded.

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