To upgrade or not to upgrade, the question?

[CaliRaptor7201]

My only upgrade that I am going to do is a full sound system. At least for now.

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[Felix808]

3.8%.

4% change in gearing is going to make zero difference on the highway. You may be in, say, 8th gear instead of 7th in some situation.

Bottom line if your vehicle takes (random guess) 65hp avg to maintain a certain speed, you're paying that MPG to go that speed.

Unless you have issues in first gear or 4lo, this is just you wanting to buy more toys.

His money & he seems determined to waste it

OP, you would do far better with less money spent on a good tune. The Whipple Stage 1 is awesome. My truck loaded up with 37's never wants for power & pulls strong on demand

 

[zuke]

You're justification (saving wear and tear) for wanting the 4.88s is 100% correct.

The ROI on the other hand is a huge loss.

You're also ignoring a whole bunch of other wear and tear items that the gearing won't fix, such as the shortened life span on all your suspension components when running heavy with 37" tires. Even with the minor longevity gains you'll get by going up .18 in gearing, you're going to be wearing everything out in your Bronco faster, and that's OK if you are meeting the goals you want, it's just part of how things work.

Buy what you want and put it in, Just do it with open eyes, and understand the full ramifications.

 

[87-Z28]

No one is saying there aren’t benefits. But from 4.7 to 4.88 the benefits mentioned are trivial and can be quantified accurately, 3.8%. No real value gained.

Negatives also present themselves for increased gear ratio in terms of pinion tooth profile and stress. Some tooth counts for common Yukon gear sets for M210/220 differentials

3.73 = 41/11
4.10= 41/10
4.27= 47/11
4.70= 47/10
4.88= 39/8
5.13= 41/8
5.38= 43/8

Going from 4.7 to 4.88 has trivial gains but drops pinion tooth count from 10 to 8. Why??? The consequence of increasing gear ratio for same diameter ring gear is decreasing pinion gear tooth count. The 4.7 is a great gear set and virtually identical to the 4.88 wrt the performance criteria mentioned by the OP.

 

[87-Z28]

Who says the AI revolution can’t benefit all. If a shop owner was pushing a gear swap from 4.7 to 4.88 most would be slightly skeptical and think they were being up-sold. Enter an AI search and response, now all of a sudden everyone completely buys in. Time for AI chat bots everywhere.

 

[DaddyO]

You're justification (saving wear and tear) for wanting the 4.88s is 100% correct.

The ROI on the other hand is a huge loss.

You're also ignoring a whole bunch of other wear and tear items that the gearing won't fix, such as the shortened life span on all your suspension components when running heavy with 37" tires. Even with the minor longevity gains you'll get by going up .18 in gearing, you're going to be wearing everything out in your Bronco faster, and that's OK if you are meeting the goals you want, it's just part of how things work.

By what you want and put it in, Just do it with open eyes, and understand the full ramifications.

So what would you recommend me doing to help prevent the wear and tear? And would you go with a different gear ratio? What I want is bc I increased tire size and am adding lots of weight with accessory add-ons what should I do to improve my ride (not a racer) and reduce wear and tear. I currently drive 65% town and 5% thiway and 30% offroad (rocks and shelves). But that really doesn’t translate to that many miles, maybe 7k/year total.

 

[DaddyO]

His money & he seems determined to waste it

OP, you would do far better with less money spent on a good tune. The Whipple Stage 1 is awesome. My truck loaded up with 37's never wants for power & pulls strong on demand

I have no intention of wasting my dinero. I came by it with hard work. Now retired and want to e joy it. I will look into the whipple. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Felix808]

I have no intention of wasting my dinero. I came by it with hard work. Now retired and want to e joy it. I will look into the whipple. Thanks for the suggestion.

There are a lot of sharp people with real world experience of installing & setting up gears. around here telling you you will be disappointed at best going from 4.7to 4.88's & the only thing you achieve is a lighter wallet for your efforts. For such a minimal change you would have to convince yourself daily that you made a difference.

@87-Z28 has been able to show what I was trying to explain about the 4.88 gear set being weaker. More force on less surface area. I don't claim to be a propeller head like some of the forks who really are around here are such, but I've set up a number of gears over the years and have a little experience on the subject. Just trying to help you from lighting money on fire which at least would provide some heat for the moment unlike changing from 4.7's to 4.88's .

 

[CitrusBronco]

So what would you recommend me doing to help prevent the wear and tear? And would you go with a different gear ratio? What I want is bc I increased tire size and am adding lots of weight with accessory add-ons what should I do to improve my ride (not a racer) and reduce wear and tear. I currently drive 65% town and 5% thiway and 30% offroad (rocks and shelves). But that really doesn’t translate to that many miles, maybe 7k/year total.

Change your fluids early/often, wash and maintain your undercarriage.
All that extra weight regardless of gear ratio is going to add more wear and tear to the suspension and drivetrain.
Maintenance will take you farther than a swap from 4.7 to 4.8 gears in this use case in my experience.
Everyone is telling you the same thing, I suggest you listen to real peoples experience over AI.

 

[zuke]

So what would you recommend me doing to help prevent the wear and tear? And would you go with a different gear ratio? What I want is bc I increased tire size and am adding lots of weight with accessory add-ons what should I do to improve my ride (not a racer) and reduce wear and tear. I currently drive 65% town and 5% thiway and 30% offroad (rocks and shelves). But that really doesn’t translate to that many miles, maybe 7k/year total.

I'd run the 4.70 gears, and I'd plan on having higher maintenance and replacement part costs throughout the life of the vehicle, I don't really have to speculate it, because I already had a 4 door badlands that I ran 37" tires on... Biggest difference was mine was a MT vs Auto. I Ugraded the Upper Control Arms, and the Steering Rack to account for the larger tires and extra weight I was carrying, Other than that, I Just accepted that things could wear out quicker. You having a 24, you already have the steering rack I 'upgraded' in my 21.

 

[87-Z28]

Confused to no end. Driving a 4-door ‘24 Badlands Sasquatch 2.7L with upgraded tires to 37’s, RC 2 1/2” lift with RC tie rod upgrade and track bar. Just received my Ford Procal to program the wheel sizes etc. I have a lot of gear and add ons including

First off. Nice rig and build.

This may not be a popular opinion but it is sincere and not meant to be negative.

Your challenge is all the weight you are carrying and the vehicle CG. Not an easy challenge to overcome. I would seriously ask yourself if you need 37s as an overlander with RTT. Much respect for seeing you get out there and use the rig.

If I were to build such a rig I would fight like hell to keep CG down. I would run skinny 35s and some decent adjustable aftermarket coilovers. I would not be more than 1” lift above SAS and I would swap in weight appropriate springs so my shocks could be near mid stroke at ride height. I would get good pash plates to compensate some for the lack of 37s. And I would ask myself what am I missing from not having the 37s. Lots of places you can get to with the 35s. But if they really do limit your excursion then 37s it is. But lots of benefits to keeping CG down and 35s.

 

[DaddyO]

First off. Nice rig and build.

This may not be a popular opinion but it is sincere and not meant to be negative.

Your challenge is all the weight you are carrying and the vehicle CG. Not an easy challenge to overcome. I would seriously ask yourself if you need 37s as an overlander with RTT. Much respect for seeing you get out there and use the rig.

If I were to build such a rig I would fight like hell to keep CG down. I would run skinny 35s and some decent adjustable aftermarket coilovers. I would not be more than 1” lift above SAS and I would swap in weight appropriate springs so my shocks could be near mid stroke at ride height. I would get good pash plates to compensate some for the lack of 37s. And I would ask myself what am I missing from not having the 37s. Lots of places you can get to with the 35s. But if they really do limit your excursion then 37s it is. But lots of benefits to keeping CG down and 35s.

CGs? And btw the things you say you wouldn’t do are already done so that’s moot point, let’s move on from there. I’m not swapping vehicles since i love my Bronco and what I’ve done to it. Now I want to know how to protect and maintain it.

 

[87-Z28]

CGs? And btw the things you say you wouldn’t do are already done so that’s moot point, let’s move on from there. I’m not swapping vehicles since i love my Bronco and what I’ve done to it. Now I want to know how to protect and maintain it.

Sorry. No disrespect intended.

My thoughts were generically intended towards reducing wear and tear and loads on a heavy overlanding rig with RTT. And increasing longevity with reduced maintenance. I fully understand you do not intend to go that route but others may benefit.

 

[Oldhippie]

Seriously, it seems you made your choices without regard to “wear and tear”…the facts are bigger/heavier wheels and tires plus extra weight (probably over rated capacity) create extra “wear and tear”…there are heavier suspension components in the aftermarket to “compensate“ for some of that but your planned small gear ratio change sure ain’t one of them…i am glad you use your vehicle but doing so will indeed create compromises and shorten lifespan…things we expect in the hobby/sport…party on!

 

[crenca]

@DaddyO ,

AI is wrong - 4.88 is not enough of a difference to be significant for your goals...or any goal really.

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