Talk some sense into my buddy...

WhiteyZ71 · March 8, 2005

My buddy has a '98 Sierra 1500, 6" lift and 35's....also stock 3.42 gears

He says he is not going to re-gear because he can live with the power loss and will eventually get a supercharger and have plenty of power....will some of you guys please post in this thread about the already weak 4l60 and why he should re-gear, he doesnt want to listen to me, but I figure if some of you guys with that have been through this before post, i'll show it to him and hopefully save him a tranny

he says the power loss isnt much and that new gears would just get him worse gas mileage, thats his argument, someone please post and help me talk him into getting some new gears

I know this has been beaten to death, but any input is appreciated

PeterbiltChrome · March 29, 2005

maybe he WANTS to go through the learning process.......

Pewter Pro-Tec · March 29, 2005

I don't know what to say he can either re-gear now or with the money he saves he can rebuild his 4L60E when it goes out!

Pick your poison.

Larry · March 29, 2005

Well, you do live in Midwestern redneck Hoosier territory so what do you expect…..j/k. Seriously, your friend needs help. I bet he gets good fuel mileage on I-75 once he finally reached cruising speed.

I run 36 inch SuperSwampers with 3:73’s on my 78’ and it is really a dog. The only thing that helps me hobble along is a fresh 454HO under the hood. Living at 4600 ft elevation doesn’t help much either. I am planning a gear and front/rear locker swap later this summer but I right now I am debating on 4.56’s or 4.88’s. I would like to go with a steeper 5:13 gear as I have a Dodge flavor NV4500 5 speed sitting in my garage but I can buy a lot of gas for the cost it would take to buy the adapters and main shaft to make the Dodge NV4500 fit my Chevy with a NP205 tcase.

Tell your buddy he needs gears and much bigger axles than the IFS junk and 8.5” semi floating rear axle unless he is only planning on a Lima Jamboree cruise.

I lived in Detroit for a few years and familier with the midwestern way of building trucks. All looks and no go.....or no place to go...wheeling that is. Unless, your into tearing up somebody's corn field.

chvythndr · March 29, 2005

I was running 3.73s in my truck before I regeared to 4.56 and it was manageable, but not good. Truck was a dog compared to the performance now. Not to mention the damage I'm sure I've done to my tranny. Having been there, done that, my recommendation is to bite the bullet and regear ASAP. This is what EVERYONE says, I wish I had listened earlier.

WhiteyZ71 · March 30, 2005

Thanks guys...i'll print this out and go show him

Yeah I see too many street queens around here in Cincinnati, but my buddy sure beat on his truck offroad, in creeks etc...but he hasnt been out with the new lift/tires yet

Kinda funny about the street queens with a huge lift and 35"+ tires with an open rear diff and of course open up front, they wont go anywhere say a little toyota with some mud tires, a front/rear locker, and a good driver will go

Thats the direction i want to go with mine, a mild lift (ford keys, either a small block or aal for the rear, and maybe a body lift) to run 33x12.50 m/t's and i'll for sure have some sort of locker front and rear, and a winch, that should be all i'll ever need to go anywhere a bigger truck with bigger tires will go, except through deeper water/swamps etc...but there arent really any swamps in Ohio anyways

Truckman031 · March 31, 2005

A 3 inch. suspension lift should clear 33x12.50s. A buddy of mine has a 1990 Z71 with a 3 inch lift and 33 MTRs.

WhiteyZ71 · April 1, 2005

A 3 inch. suspension lift should clear 33x12.50s. A buddy of mine has a 1990 Z71 with a 3 inch lift and 33 MTRs.

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any rubbing at all? I dont want to rub even at full lock and full downward travel, I know a 3" body will clear the tires for on road use, but not sure if I will need a bit more for offroad flexing and whatnot

Truckman031 · April 2, 2005

I don't think he has any rubbing. I am out for Spring Break and when I get back I'll ask him. If you are lifting it within a week(I won't see him until a week from Monday), you could always go with a 1 or 2 inch body lift on top off the suspension lift to be safe.

snoman · April 3, 2005

My buddy has a '98 Sierra 1500, 6" lift and 35's....also stock 3.42 gears

He says he is not going to re-gear because he can live with the power loss and will eventually get a supercharger and have plenty of power....will some of you guys please post in this thread about the already weak 4l60 and why he should re-gear, he doesnt want to listen to me, but I figure if some of you guys with that have been through this before post, i'll show it to him and hopefully save him a tranny

he says the power loss isnt much and that new gears would just get him worse gas mileage, thats his argument, someone please post and help me talk him into getting some new gears

I know this has been beaten to death, but any input is appreciated

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He can super charge the driveline and tranny right out of it too. I figure tranny might last a week or so with 3.42's with 35's and a supercharger. Then there is the Tcase and driveshafts next with super and bigg rubber with 3.42 gears. His combo is about equal to a 4x4 with 2.73 gears and stock tires. That truck has got to be a slug and tranny gettin weak too. I would say at least 4.56 here with 4.88 if he plays hard.

WhiteyZ71 · April 5, 2005

My buddy has a '98 Sierra 1500, 6" lift and 35's....also stock 3.42 gears

He says he is not going to re-gear because he can live with the power loss and will eventually get a supercharger and have plenty of power....will some of you guys please post in this thread about the already weak 4l60 and why he should re-gear, he doesnt want to listen to me, but I figure if some of you guys with that have been through this before post, i'll show it to him and hopefully save him a tranny

he says the power loss isnt much and that new gears would just get him worse gas mileage, thats his argument, someone please post and help me talk him into getting some new gears

I know this has been beaten to death, but any input is appreciated

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He can super charge the driveline and tranny right out of it too. I figure tranny might last a week or so with 3.42's with 35's and a supercharger. Then there is the Tcase and driveshafts next with super and bigg rubber with 3.42 gears. His combo is about equal to a 4x4 with 2.73 gears and stock tires. That truck has got to be a slug and tranny gettin weak too. I would say at least 4.56 here with 4.88 if he plays hard.

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heh, well he finally agreed to get gears, but he is set on 4.10s????

I guess a new/rebuilt 4L60-E will talk more sense into him than you guys will, he says he will get s**tty gas mileage and wont be able to tow as much with the higher gears, I guess he's thinking of the wider powerband of the 3.42's and stock tires, beats me i'll just let him break some expensive parts

snoman · April 5, 2005

My buddy has a '98 Sierra 1500, 6" lift and 35's....also stock 3.42 gears

He says he is not going to re-gear because he can live with the power loss and will eventually get a supercharger and have plenty of power....will some of you guys please post in this thread about the already weak 4l60 and why he should re-gear, he doesnt want to listen to me, but I figure if some of you guys with that have been through this before post, i'll show it to him and hopefully save him a tranny

he says the power loss isnt much and that new gears would just get him worse gas mileage, thats his argument, someone please post and help me talk him into getting some new gears

I know this has been beaten to death, but any input is appreciated

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He can super charge the driveline and tranny right out of it too. I figure tranny might last a week or so with 3.42's with 35's and a supercharger. Then there is the Tcase and driveshafts next with super and bigg rubber with 3.42 gears. His combo is about equal to a 4x4 with 2.73 gears and stock tires. That truck has got to be a slug and tranny gettin weak too. I would say at least 4.56 here with 4.88 if he plays hard.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

heh, well he finally agreed to get gears, but he is set on 4.10s????

I guess a new/rebuilt 4L60-E will talk more sense into him than you guys will, he says he will get s**tty gas mileage and wont be able to tow as much with the higher gears, I guess he's thinking of the wider powerband of the 3.42's and stock tires, beats me i'll just let him break some expensive parts

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So close yet so far. Taller gears do not give you a wider power band and tell him this that all thing being equal a 4.56 will put done about 12% more tractive effect than a 4.10 (wheel torque to ground) in any given gear and a 4.88 about 19% more than 4.10. Ideally a 4.56 in the minimum with 35's and at least with 4.56's or better he could even go bigger too. I plan to swap my K3500 truck over to 4.56's with 31's as OD makes deep power gears more practical. 4.10's with 35's would have a pretty much worthless OD too and with 4.88's OD would work pretty good too unless your buddy likes having a 4 speed auto with only 3 gears really usable.

gmc42 · April 15, 2005

maybe you should explain to him that regearing can be done for less than $1000 bucks if he can do it himself. But maybe he just likes to waste money on $5000 blowers and gas. Tell him to go ahead with that blower and when he's done come on over and put his truck up against my naturally aspirated, regeared truck and we'll go for a run.

snoman · April 16, 2005

maybe you should explain to him that regearing can be done for less than $1000 bucks if he can do it himself. But maybe he just likes to waste money on $5000 blowers and gas. Tell him to go ahead with that blower and when he's done come on over and put his truck up against my naturally aspirated, regeared truck and we'll go for a run.

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Make sure he saves a few grand for new tranny when he burns it out with tall gears and a blower to try to make up for them the wrong way too.