Why 4.1 axle?

BenK wrote:
Folks should go out and ride a bicycle with multi speeds/gears

"You" are the power source, with a rating/specification that has a red line and max torque


You wish to cruise at 10 MPH

On the flats...a higher gear ratio (lower numeric) is best

On an incline...a lower gear ratio (higher numeric) is best

Then there will be many gear choices in between those low and high gears...a personal choice and dependent on your physical abilities...

Sure wish more folks cycled...

Bicycle can work to make my point. Put the chain on the smallest sprocket on the rear wheel. Now find a hill that takes every pound of force you can muster to start the bike moving. Now move the chain to the largest sprocket, you can't make the bike go on that hill. On less of hill, but a bike in less good shape, say the rear axle a little loose. With the chain on the small sprocket, the bike takes off fine. But if chain on the large sprocket, if you try to force the bike to move, the axle is likely to slip.

valhalla360 wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
8 pages in, those that still do t understand torque multiplication should drop this thread and go back to playing soduko and tending to their muffler bearings!

But their grans pappy put in a different rear end to make his 1949 pickup tow more, so it must still be true today.

Not exactly. I have personally changed rearend ratios to make the truck tow more. And once because it cost less than rebuilding a rearend I put a higher ratio in a truck, and found I had to reduce load to go where I had gone before, and broke parts. Rebuilt and reinstalled, had no more issues.

Unless you are exceeding the tow ratings, all the blather about drivetrain stress is irrelevant as the engineers already designed it to handle that stress.

I guess the FACT the engineers call for a lower speed gear to increase the tow rating shows they understand that it is not "grandpa's science".

valhalla360 wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
Fwiw, granpappys 1949 philosophy is still 100% applicable today, so you don’t understand either. Thank you please play again soon!

No it's not the same by a long shot.

Yes, the basic physics of gearing is still true but the new 8/10speed transmissions drastically change the overall picture.

Like I have said before increasing the number of gear ratios in the transmission helps keep the engine in the preferred RPM range. At say 60 MPH, you have more choices of gears. But to increase the speed, from say 0-5 or 55-60 the whole driveline other than engine takes more stress with the higher speed gears. Now if under the rating, the increase in stress will not be a issue, but it is still there.