I think I decided on a set of tires.

[broncosbybart]

gonna have the new shoes on for the Gulches???

[chuzie]

Nope. Still not available yet. Now I am wondering if 37" is the best way to go.

I always thought I had 4.11 gears but after using the GPS today to match the speed to the RPM it is evident I have 3.73s. It really comes down to finding a good mix of off road and highway gearing. Right now with these 33" tires I have to give it a good bit of gas to get over obstacles due to the gearing. My highway cruising RPM is pretty good with 2500RPM at 65MPH. If I throw 37" on there my cruising RPM goes to 2200RPm which is even better but there is no way in hell I will be able to turn those tires in front of an obstacle.

So now I have to consider upgrading my gears to 4.11, 4.56, or 4.88.

My limitation is I am not willing to cruise less than 65MPH since this is not a trailer queen and I do not want the engine above 2500RPM for more than an hour or so for trips.

With 37" tires at 65MPH I get the following cruise RPM...
4.88: 2880 RPM
4.56: 2690 RPM
4.11: 2425 RPM
3.73: 2200 RPM

With 35" tires at 65MPH I get the following cruise RPM...
4.88: 3045 RPM
4.56: 2845 RPM
4.11: 2564 RPM
3.73: 2327 RPM

Considering my restrictions of speed and RPM, the two choices are 35" or 37" with 4.11 gears.

Now, I need help to determine which of the two tire sizes will be a better choice using the 4.11 gearing for an off road environment both in terms of gearing and tire height advantage.

If anyone thinks I am completely out of my gord, please say so and show me the light. Right now I am not seeing another option.

[chuzie]

Ok, back to the drawing board.

Chuck has been swearing up and down I had 3.50 gears and I figured they were 4.11. I just went to the garage and they turn out to be 3.50. So not only do I have to admit I was wrong but all my plans are in the toilet.

I think I need to chill on the tires for another month and really come up with a good long term plan. Spending twice the money to get to the same place is not what I want but the road I am currently going down leads me to that very outcome.

The 3.50 gears most certainly explains why I am getting bogged down!!!

I want to start thinking about 37" tires, AOD, and possibly gears in the 5.11+ range. That will put me at 2180 RPM at 70MPH.

I am currently taking donations!!!

[broncosbybart]

I sense a 1 ton conversion looming in the future. That is, if you are not broke like me and don't have much of a paying job... Might as well do it!!!

[Crawdad]

I am in the same boat. I have new 37s with 3.50s. Nick was telling me I will have the slowest bronco on the hwy! Ultimately I would love to have a NP 435 with 4.11s but that is another deployment in the future. All I want to do is cruise around town and the the deer stand.

[Timstrk]

37" tires and 4.88 gears and maybe 5.13s. With 35" tires a 4.56 gear or even 4.88. Gear changes are expensive and time consuming. Over gear and it will be easier to live with than undergeared and wishing.

37/4.10 combo, ask me how I know....

[chuzie]

I knew you would chime in on that one Tim. Thanks for the food for thought. BTW- 1 Tons are not, nor will they ever be, in my future. That 9" is staying put.

[snipes243]

I like 4.88 and 35upergrin:

[nhopman]

I knew you would chime in on that one Tim. Thanks for the food for thought. BTW- 1 Tons are not, nor will they ever be, in my future. That 9" is staying put.

If you're set on staying with a 44 and the 9" I would think 37's would be the max size tire you'd want to run anyways. I've got 4.56's in mine and run 36" IROK's (they measure out to 36.8") I have the Tera Low gearset in the transfer case which brings it to a 3.15:1 ratio. Seems decent on the road in High range, good pickup and runs about 24-2500rpm on the hwy. according to the tach, and with the lower gears in the t-case it works well off-road.

for a more off-road oriented rig I probably should have gone with 4.88 (5.13's if I still had the stock gears in the TC)

You definitely only want to do the gears once, and may as well plan on the cro-mo axles and good u-joints and get it all done with in one shot.

Unfortunately as you are finding out there really is no "do-it-all" way to go when trying to satisfy on-road speed and comfort and off-road capability, there will be sacrifice somewhere. Although, if Atlas would make thier 4-speed transfer cases with a really low-low, and an overdrive, I think you could come closer to have the perfect all purpose rig.

Nick

[Crawdad]

37" tires and 4.88 gears and maybe 5.13s. With 35" tires a 4.56 gear or even 4.88. Gear changes are expensive and time consuming. Over gear and it will be easier to live with than undergeared and wishing.

37/4.10 combo, ask me how I know....

I hope the 37/ 4.10 combo would be fine for what I plan to do which is just cruising the backroads and to work. My days of kicking rocks are over. I wasted a lot of money on a jeep in college crawling around on rocks. When I finally get my bronc running I will see just how slow it runs.