Comparing axle ratios

[GMH]

Well I put this off for too darn long and am now looking at 2017's. Today I drove an F250XLT Supercab, with the 6.2 gas engine and 3:73 axle ratio. I also drove a GMC SLE 2500HD double cab with the 6.0 gas engine and 4:10 axle ratio. The GMC rode a little nicer and seems plusher inside. The Ford sure felt like it had a lot more get up and go though. This could partly be due to the exhaust note of the Ford giving me a little thrill. Both have way more bells and whistles than I want, but unless I factory order one, I will have to take what I can get. I will be towing a 26'Keystone Cougar 5th wheel. Any one own one of these trucks? What are your impressions?

[MFL]

That is a great looking truck!! I like white, especially when parking in the sun at CG. I hope you are getting some break-in miles, towing time is fast approaching. I have several other vehicles, even a fancy little sport coupe, that I can drive, but I think I enjoy driving the 250 most.

You'll like the transmission, with all it's features, and the performance of the 6.2!

Happy driving/towing,
Jerry

[GMH]

MFL wrote:
Congrats on the new 250!! We like to see pics of new trucks, can you post a pic or two?

Jerry

Yeah, took me a while to figure out how. This is a mockup with my old hitch and the weight of the trailer on the truck. I guesstimated where the pin would be.

[Dave_H_M]

Does Ford offer 4.10's now.

Way back in 2012, 4.30 was the optional diffy.

[MFL]

Congrats on the new 250!! We like to see pics of new trucks, can you post a pic or two?

Jerry

[GMH]

GMH wrote:
Well I put this off for too darn long and am now looking at 2017's. Today I drove an F250XLT Supercab, with the 6.2 gas engine and 3:73 axle ratio. I also drove a GMC SLE 2500HD double cab with the 6.0 gas engine and 4:10 axle ratio. The GMC rode a little nicer and seems plusher inside. The Ford sure felt like it had a lot more get up and go though. This could partly be due to the exhaust note of the Ford giving me a little thrill. Both have way more bells and whistles than I want, but unless I factory order one, I will have to take what I can get. I will be towing a 26'Keystone Cougar 5th wheel. Any one own one of these trucks? What are your impressions?

Well I picked up the F250 yesterday and I gotta say... these bells and whistles are starting to grow on me already. If I factory ordered one, I would have deleted a lot of the extras and gotten the 4:10 gears, but my trailer is under 10,000lbs so the 3:73s should be fine. That said, I got a decent deal on it and I can learn to live with heated power seats, Bluetooth, power folding mirrors etc. I didn't realize it had remote start, but that is something I would have installed anyway . I just hope all these gadgets are reliable in the long run.

[MVH1]

Very interesting information! I have been contemplating the new Ford 6.2 and just assumed that the 4.30 gear would be best. Has anyone really compared the 3.73 and 4.30 gear 1st -6th for the new 2017 transmission.

[4x4ord]

CampingN.C. wrote:
My buddy pulls a 32ft tripple slide with a 6.2 and 3.73's. However he has 35 inch tires which kills his final ratio and it still pulls good. He gets around 7 mgp towing.

It would be really interesting to see what the new Powerstroke would get for mpg pulling that trailer.

I think it's hard to know which final drive to choose. For 2017 Ford has put a lower first gear in the transmission that gets fitted with the 6.2 liter. They also increased the torque of the 6.2 so with 3.73 gears and 34" tires you could drop to second gear and have 310 to 385 HP available between 45 and 65 mph. So second gear would work excellent for steep grades. On the flats at 60 mph with 3.73 gears and 34 inch tires you could lock 5th and 6th out, if desired, and cruise at 2580 rpm or just 6th if it works and run at 1900 rpm.

[CampingN_C_]

My buddy pulls a 32ft tripple slide with a 6.2 and 3.73's. However he has 35 inch tires which kills his final ratio and it still pulls good. He gets around 7 mgp towing.

[tinner12002]

In my opinion if you think you'd ever wish to move up to a larger heavier RV I would probably get one with 4.10s, also, even though the truck they have has more bells and whistles than what you need/want, most dealers order truck/cars with option packages that are most popular and quick selling so if you thought you'd ever want to sell or trade down the road it might possibly easier to sell the one with the options, besides, once you get one with those options, you may decide that your glad you got them.

[dodge_guy]

3.73 to 4.30 swap netted me a .7 mpg increase when towing, 1mpg in town increase and .5 loss unloaded on the highway.

[Grit_dog]

You're looking at gassers to pull a 5ver. Get the deepest gears you can.
I've had 2 6.2 Fo250s with 3.73s. The peppy feeling goes away real quick when you hook something substantial to the back of them!

[ib516]

GMH wrote:
I currently tow with an '06 2500HD with the 6.0 and 4:10 gears. It has a 4l80 4 speed auto I believe. I tow in 3rd most of the time and it will kick down to 2nd on fairly steep hills. That is why I am wondering if the 3:73 gears are too tall? They would certainly help mileage on the flatland, and I don't plan on doing a lot of traveling in the mountains...but plans change when you have beautiful vistas in front of you.

Don't fall for the belief that there's a big difference mpg wise between 3.73 and 4.10/4.30. It's less than 0.5 mpg.

[rjstractor]

GMH wrote:
I currently tow with an '06 2500HD with the 6.0 and 4:10 gears. It has a 4l80 4 speed auto I believe. I tow in 3rd most of the time and it will kick down to 2nd on fairly steep hills. That is why I am wondering if the 3:73 gears are too tall? They would certainly help mileage on the flatland, and I don't plan on doing a lot of traveling in the mountains...but plans change when you have beautiful vistas in front of you.

Like other posts have aptly stated, there is more at play than just the rear axle ratio, especially when comparing a 10 year old truck to today's offerings. A new HD gas truck of any flavor with 3.73 gears will outperform your 2005 with 4.10s. Having said that, if I were in the market for a gas truck for pulling a trailer of any size and weight I'd get the lowest rear axle ratio available.

[KD4UPL]

I think GM must put a lot of torque management on their engines which reduces the "seat of the pants" feel. I test drove a '15 RAM 6.4 and a '15 Chevy 6.0 back to back. Their HP and torque numbers are very similar. The RAM felt way stronger. You would think the GM just didn't have much power after driving the RAM.
I ended up with the Chevy. It does a great job. When towing 10,000 pounds on the interstate it maintains speed on grades quite well. It was a little slow pulling 13,000 pounds up a mountain but it did it with no problems.
What I'm trying to say is the 6.0 has great power, you just don't feel it if you try to drive like a drag racer.
I'd get the 4.10 ratio. That's what's in my truck and it works fine for the light hauling and occasional heavy towing I do with it. MPG is about 11 to 12 with a couple thousand pounds in the bed.