Axle Ratio and tow rating
I was looking at a 2014 Ram 2500 with 6.4 Hemi the other day as a possible tow vehicle for my 5th wheel (9100lbs dry) so I looked up the tow ratings. With the standard axle ratio (3.73) the truck is ...
Forum Discussion
TomG2 wrote:wilber1 wrote:
Using a lower gear puts less stress on the rest of the driveline and allows components like thectransmission to handle more weight.
At full throttle and maximum rpm, the drivetrain is subjected to all the power the engine can produce regardless of the rear axle ratio. There might be a slight reduction when cruising empty in overdrive.
Related to my post above, subjecting the drivetrain to "power" is through a combination of force (torque) and speed (rpm). It depends upon which of those your drivetrain can better handle. The stress wilber1 was referring to is likely torque as it's usually the thing that breaks stuff and lower gears in the rearend does decrease that.
