Typical Class C GAS mileage
All, I am sure this question has been asked many times. But, I could not find anything using 'SEARCH' that was pertinent. We considered a Class A. But, maneuverability and gas mileage consider...
Forum Discussion
Rovin' Bones wrote:
A taller gear like 4.10s will give you more top end speed for the same amount of RPM than the 4.56.
My first car was a San Jose plant built 1970 Ford Mustang. 302cu in. displ. C4 trans. rebuilt for street racing and 3.10 differential gear. After I punched it over .030 and added a dyno matched camshaft to the intake and a beefier 4bbl carb, I could hit 150mph at 4600 RPM and still have almost 2000 RPM until redline. It was a dog out of the hole but would really move you down the road in a hurry when you gave her her head. Also, with that low of a gear number in the rear, I could wind it up to 50 MPH in L1, punch L2 and glue you to your seat and not hit D until 95-100 MPH.
Way off topic: That story above from the past reminds me of one of mine from the late 1960's involving (among other things) rear differential ratios. An owner once let me drive the real deal - his Cobra roadster. I red-lined her up to 110 MPH in 2nd with 2 gears left and then chicken'd out - enough was enough.
Kindof back on topic: For our first RV the DW and I bought a new Dodge B250 gas delivery van - with a column shift manual 3-speed tranny and cruising ratio rear differential - that we converted into a camper van. The super tall overall gearing gave that camper rig around 18 MPG from it's 318 cu. in. V8 way back in the low-tech early 1970's (take that Sprinter). However, it was disappointing at times because there would be off-highway dirt roads back in the boonies that I dared not take it on merely because of the grades ... I didn't think I could slowly and carefully go up some of them without burning out the clutch because of the Dodge's overall tall gearing.
The 4:56 rear differential in our Ford V10 Class C probably doesn't detract much from gas mileage versus a 4.10 differential because we cruise 55-60 MPH at around 2200 RPM, and because I use tires of larger diameter than what came on it stock. I prefer the E450 chassis under our small Class C for other reasons ... plus the taller tires provide more ground clearance.
