Ford super duty 3.31 rear end. Will it be a big mistake. ?

4x4ord wrote:

Lantley wrote:

fowlthing wrote:
My thought is that while in tow haul mode..it won't downshift excessively ... and provide better fuel mileage... most of my miles are not loaded...

But you make a good point if you buy it to tow...then get something to tow with... if a person wanted to save money.. don't buy a camper to begin with..lol.


So far most of the people have been happy with the 3.31

Ok the idea is better MPG's. Maybe if I never towed 3.31 would be preferred. However given a choice for someone who TOWS 3.55 will always provide more towing performance.
MPG difference between 3.31 and 3.55 can't be much?:@
I guess you could make the same argument that towing performance improvement between 3.55 vs. 3.31 can't be much!....;)
Either way I'll go with towing performance. A diesel pick up will never deliver great MPG's. However I want all the performance I can get when pulling a long steep grade.

How will 3.55 gears perform better than 3.31 gears on a 7% grade towing a 17k fiver?

Believe me I'm no expert. But the higher ratio always provide more torque to the wheels. Granted it will also use more fuel.
In the old days before multi speed transmissions one would use 4.10, 4.3 4.56 gears to improve towing performance. Now with multi 10 speed transmissions. The ratio is less critical become the tranny has more gear to adjust to nevertheless it is still my understanding that higher ratio will provide more power at the wheels all other factors being equal.