4.88 breakage?
04-21-2011, 08:22 PM
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4.88 breakage?
Any one have problems with 4.88 gears? I'm pretty good at breaking stuff, and am worried about going that numerically high of a gear.
04-21-2011, 09:21 PM
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For what i know the higher the gear ratio the stronger the gear should be, should be less and thicker teeth! and maybe im wrong and someone can educate us both!
04-21-2011, 09:34 PM
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You are correct on that, plus the higher gear ratio is easier on the trans also. TQ multiplication and faster acceleration from the initial bite will keep output shafts and u-joints much happier for longer...
04-21-2011, 11:13 PM
#6
4.10's in my 7.6" Z28 10 bolt didn't enjoy life with 26" tires.
You'll be running larger tires, more hp, heavier vehicle, but larger ring gears(and pinion). Your rear diff is 8.6", but the front is 8.2X IIRC. Personally, I wouldn't recommend gears deeper than 4.56's for the 1/2 ton trucks running big tires with big hp, especially when the driver admits to beating the **** out of the truck regularly.
Just my thoughts on the subject.
You'll be running larger tires, more hp, heavier vehicle, but larger ring gears(and pinion). Your rear diff is 8.6", but the front is 8.2X IIRC. Personally, I wouldn't recommend gears deeper than 4.56's for the 1/2 ton trucks running big tires with big hp, especially when the driver admits to beating the **** out of the truck regularly.
Just my thoughts on the subject.
04-25-2011, 07:52 AM
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Higher (steeper) ratio gears are easier on the drivetrain due to less instantaneous strain since parts get rotating faster against the load (or the tires simply spin easier), but the gears get more susceptible to breakage as noted above with the pinion getting smaller.
The 8.6" rear is decently strong for what it is, but the 8.25" front can be a POS (ate a few of these myself... carrier moves around too much under power, breaking bearings and/or teeth). The rear is just an easy swap away from being the strongest you'll ever need. The front will take a lot more work... either a solid axle swap or go through the pain of swapping in the 9.25" front out of the HD trucks. The 8.8" IFS diff in the F-150s is quite strong, but I've never heard of anyone swapping these into the GMs.
The 8.6" rear is decently strong for what it is, but the 8.25" front can be a POS (ate a few of these myself... carrier moves around too much under power, breaking bearings and/or teeth). The rear is just an easy swap away from being the strongest you'll ever need. The front will take a lot more work... either a solid axle swap or go through the pain of swapping in the 9.25" front out of the HD trucks. The 8.8" IFS diff in the F-150s is quite strong, but I've never heard of anyone swapping these into the GMs.
