what gear ratio is best for DD

[broncojames]

I am installing a 2.5" S/lift on my bronco it will mostly be used as a daily
driver with some rocky mountain roads and back country roads.

what would be my best tire size and gear ratio ? right now I'm still running stock 3 speed on tree but plan on going to a 5 speed sooner or later

 

[fetorino]

Heck go cheap

I am installing a 2.5" S/lift on my bronco it will mostly be used as a daily
driver with some rocky mountain roads and back country roads.

what would be my best tire size and gear ratio ? right now I'm still running stock 3 speed on tree but plan on going to a 5 speed sooner or later

33s would look sweet especially with a 1"bl JMO. Leave the stock 3.50s in there and go for a 4spd NP435 swap. It has a low first gear so you will have good around town and a low RPM hwy cruiser.

The gearing will depend on the trans and tire size or visa versa. Its a package deal.

Ascetics is always a big factor. 33s look really clean on a cut Bronco with a mild lift. Plenty of good looking rigs with that combo on this site.

 

[broncojames]

33s would look sweet especially with a 1"bl JMO. Leave the stock 3.50s in there and go for a 4spd NP435 swap. It has a low first gear so you will have good around town and a low RPM hwy cruiser.

The gearing will depend on the trans and tire size or visa versa. Its a package deal.

Ascetics is always a big factor. 33s look really clean on a cut Bronco with a mild lift. Plenty of good looking rigs with that combo on this site.

i was thinking the NV 3550 5Speed because i am sure there will be at lest two road trips of 1500 + miles one way. and my bronco is cut in the rear but not front heres a pic ov what im starting with http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186437&highlight=calling+halfcabs fist post

 

[JGbronc]

I'm thinking 4:11's with the 33's. May be a tad low with the 3 speed, but with the 5 speed it should have good power and decent mileage.

 

[sprdv1]

4.11s w/your 5 speed.. specially for Hwy driving.

 

[broncojames]

what if I was to go to 389s split the difference for now 3 speed and 33s and still be good for NV3550 later ?
my first 1500 + mile trip will probable be before i do the 5 speed swap

 

[Justafordguy]

I'd say 33" tires and 3.50 gears if you aren't planning an overdrive, 4.11 if you're planning an overdrive.

 

[fetorino]

Usless od IMO

what if I was to go to 389s split the difference for now 3 speed and 33s and still be good for NV3550 later ?
my first 1500 + mile trip will probable be before i do the 5 speed swap

Here is a handy tool to play with if you haven't already.

http://web.archive.org/web/20050204061805/home.comcast.net/~jcmiley/bronco+gears.html

If you are that set on the NV3550 then your long term gearing plan should be for something like 4.56s. Even with 4.56 and 33s and the 3550 you'd only pul 2500 rpm at 69mph. A 302 needs that or more to be in the meat of the torque band and push that brick of a Bronco through the air efficiently.

It's the reason so many casual wheelers probably love the NP435. With its low 1st you don't need to change your gearing to get a good crawling ratio and upsizing tires with stock gears gives you an overdrive effect in 4th on the hwy.

Plus they are cheap

http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/pts/2547860727.html

Not mine BTW.

Re-gearing is a lot of money especially if you start adding new diffs to get lockers and such.

If you aren't cutting the front maybe 31s would be better anyway. No matter what I'd skip the gearing for now. Drive it a little while to get a better sense of what you really want and that you are happy with what else comes with larger tires as mention in the post above. So what if the bigger tires are harder on your clutch you need motivation for your tranny swap anyway, right?

It's all about how much $$ you want to spend.

 

[broncojames]

OK then 350G.R NP435 and 33/12.5 is a good match even for highway travel best case ??

 

[fetorino]

Loaded question

OK then 350G.R NP435 and 33/12.5 is a good match even for highway travel best case ??

With that combo at 75mph (what everyone on the open road drives at) you'd be spinning 2700rpm. That is a pretty good sweet spot for a 302 it would be making enough torque to make it up most grades without protesting to much.

Ideal is in the mind of the beholder. 4.10 may be ideal for someone who never drives above 65 and is off road allot. If your motor is strong or has some go fast goodies to build more torque and you drive more hwy than anything then you could call 3.50 ideal.

It would drive pretty nice on flat hwys with the 3.50s. If you are going up a lot of big grades then the motor would be wanting more gear.

 

[fungus]

OK then 350G.R NP435 and 33/12.5 is a good match even for highway travel best case ??

This is exactly what I'm running right now. As fetorino said, I can do 70/ 75 no prob on the flats but crossing the mountain on the island she wants more gearing & I've got a real strong 302. I've got all the parts to swap in 4.10s, just waitin' on the time.

 

[dbevans2249]

I ran 4.11's with 33" tires and it was fine with a 1 to 1 high gear in the trans. When I put in my NV3550 it was not. I recommend at least 4.56's with the NV3550. Even 4.88's would be a good choice. Especially if you think that 35" Tires may be in your future. If I had it to do over I would have gone with the 4.88's. Those 35" Baja TA's just look so darn good to me but with the new 4.56's I will be staying with the 33's for a while. JMO

 

[broncojames]

how do the 435 and T18 trans compare ? I have a 86 bronco with a 351W and T18

 

[bmbm]

gear ratio with od trans

Is anyone using the M50d with good results? This should be much less money than the nv3550, maybe enough left over to change the 3.50's to something lower.

 

[blubuckaroo]

http://web.archive.org/web/200502040...nco
My tires measure 32.2" diameter. The calculator says I should be running 65 MPH at 2800 RPM. Heck, I'm not even up to 60 MPH at 2800 RPM! I checked it with both the GPS and speedometer. The fact is, your tires loose effective diameter when the weight of the vehicle is squishing it down. In my case my 32" tires need to be calculated as 30". Just a point to consider when selecting gear ratios. If you use the calculator by itself, you may go to a lower ratio than you need.
Here is another useful tool to find your tire's diameter (static diameter). http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

[fungus]

how do the 435 and T18 trans compare ? I have a 86 bronco with a 351W and T18

Pretty damn close. I think the 435 has a slightly lower granny gear than the T-18 but that's about it. T-18 still has a real nice crawlin' granny. Not sure if that later model T-18 would have synchros for 1st and reverse or not. The 435 does not.

 

[broncojames]

OK do to budget Ill be sticking to stock gears and will be reassembling soon so what is the best gear oil to use ??

 

[broncojames]

Well what a pain in the AZZ found out my gear ratio is 4.77 and after spending two days trying to get them to mesh right and getting POd I gave up and took it to a shop yesterday to get a call saying he cant get them to mesh and he believes they are a mismatched set and pinion has a little to much wear and deep scratches so I'm looking at buying a new gear set thinking of the 4.56 and just keep out of 4x4 till i get to the front and do my tranny swap NV350 next spring. thoughts and opinions ???

 

[Broncotj0]

I've been in your situation. I had 3.06/33's, then 4.11/34's then 5.13/38.5's and have learned alot in the process of this all. I would find a used set of factory gears that are in good shape (and cheap) and put them in. Once you get your tranny put in then go to a different gear that makes sense for that tranny/tire combo. Are you sure they are 4.77?

 

[broncojames]

I've been in your situation. I had 3.06/33's, then 4.11/34's then 5.13/38.5's and have learned alot in the process of this all. I would find a used set of factory gears that are in good shape (and cheap) and put them in. Once you get your tranny put in then go to a different gear that makes sense for that tranny/tire combo. Are you sure they are 4.77?

slip of the finger how i don't know but gears are 4.11