How critical is axle ratio?
In the modern day of 10 speed automatics, how necessary are 'towing' gears? By 'towing' I mean anything over 4.xx. These new transmissions have such low first gears compared to just a decade ago, is ...
Forum Discussion
Hemling wrote:
It does concern me a bit, and I'm thankful for this discussion, because in the near future I hope to be a 2022/2023 (whenever I get around to it) super duty owner. Right now towing a 9K TT, and probably something like a 12-13K fifth wheel in the future. for me, I've made the decision that a 7.3 F-350 makes the most sense. I don't want a truck that turns too many RPMs unloaded on the highway, but I also don't want it to lug while towing. Anything will seem like a huge improvement over my 4r100/3.73 combo right now. I guess it's first world problems when you get down to it. Anybody running 4.30s with a newer 7.3/10 speed, what are your RPMs on the interstate? Does it feel like it's too high? Anyone running 3.55 or so gears? Do you even use 10th?!?
What's likely to happen with the 4.3 is you will run a gear or two lower and the RPM will be the same when towing. Where you will turn extra RPM is when you are running empty, hit 10th gear and the RPM keeps climbing.
With the 3.73, the worst 5th wheel tow rating is 16k (depends on cab, box and 4x4 configuration), so 12-13k is well under it's capability.
