gear ratio gm 14bolt upgrade

[biggsteve97]

Ok, after doing some number crunching and some more research I have decided to keep the 3.73 gears for a few reasons, atleast for now. After taking in everyones comments and making a few calculations for tire size and gear ratio as well as looking at tire prices combined with my dana 44 front end's limitations, I have decided that overall I would be better off keeping the 3.73 gears and spending the coin on replacing the front driveshaft that is worn out. For what I do with the truck I have figured out that the majority of 33" tall tires will not handle the weight and abuse I put my truck through and the ones that do are to narrow to fit my wheels. Therefore I would have to either keep the 32's or go upto 35's. Going to a 35 brings up other issues like fitment, I think I would have to trim the fenders since my suspension flexes so much and the 32's almost contact now or I would have to invest in a taller lift which makes it harder to load and unload. Then I'm afraid I may stress the front axle in some situations to where I could break a shaft due to the weight I haul coupled with the power from my engine and my heavy right foot. I do not have the coin to upgrade the front axle to handle that yet. After using the calculation that was given to me by a local 4x4 shop (.12 x tire height) I am just barely outside of what would be best for my application. It was 3.84 and I have 3.73 so Im good. We will see what happens in the future. The wallet sort of won over on this one. If I ever stop using this truck for hauling then I will just turn it into a trail rig and probably go crazy. Thank you all for your input.