Which axle ratio for 2013 Ram 3500 dually?

Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:

Acei wrote:
Please correct me if I'm wrong - 3.42 will return better fuel economy at the expense of some torque, correct? So if 3.42 is sufficient, is there a reason to get 4.10?

If your not going to tow near the max rating of your TV then the higher 3:42 would be the way to go. However the lower the 4:10 ratio will get the load moving easier with less stress on the TV. Less stress means less repairs down the road and low cost of ownership even with the small hit in fuel economy.

So if this will be a daily driver go with the 3:42. If it's a dedicated tow vehicle go with the lowest final gear you can get.

Don

This depends how you look at it as well. For instance if you hook onto a big trailer and put your foot the floor the engine has no idea what is going on behind it and it will deliver all it can to the torque converter regardless of what axle ratio the truck has. The transmission is the same regardless of what axle ratio you have so it is not going to know any difference nor is the driveshaft. The torque will be further multiplied in the rear axle so under full load the 4.10 will put more strain on the axle and tires than the 3.42 will. When you are cruising down the highway at part throttle there is only only minimal torque on the drive components no matter which axle ratio you have.