To upgrade or not to upgrade, the question?

[crenca]

@DaddyO ,

AI is wrong - 4.88 is not enough of a difference to be significant for your goals...or any goal really.

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[DaddyO]

Sorry. No disrespect intended.

My thoughts were generically intended towards reducing wear and tear and loads on a heavy overlanding rig with RTT. And increasing longevity with reduced maintenance. I fully understand you do not intend to go that route but others may benefit.

Why reduced maintenance? That’s one thing I would need to increase or maintain to increase longevity, right? What parts do you think I would have to monitor?

 

[Felix808]

What parts do you think I would have to monitor?

Anything suspension & steering related, diff oils, xfer case & trans fluid.

 

[DaddyO]

is there anything y’all would recommend I do to the suspension to help protect it?

 

[DaddyO]

You're justification (saving wear and tear) for wanting the 4.88s is 100% correct.

The ROI on the other hand is a huge loss.

You're also ignoring a whole bunch of other wear and tear items that the gearing won't fix, such as the shortened life span on all your suspension components when running heavy with 37" tires. Even with the minor longevity gains you'll get by going up .18 in gearing, you're going to be wearing everything out in your Bronco faster, and that's OK if you are meeting the goals you want, it's just part of how things work.

Buy what you want and put it in, Just do it with open eyes, and understand the full ramifications.

Is there anything you would recommend to help save the suspension with the 37’s and the additional weight of the RTT, winch, interior molle panels, and other items on my list?

 

[CitrusBronco]

Is there anything you would recommend to help save the suspension with the 37’s and the additional weight of the RTT, winch, interior molle panels, and other items on my list?

Your suspension is a wear item/consumable also, although it will last a long time they still get worn and needed replaced if you keep it long enough. Just keep it clean and don’t run it at its extreme end of performance. Choosing the right spring rate for your build from the start will have the biggest effect here.

 

[zuke]

Is there anything you would recommend to help save the suspension with the 37’s and the additional weight of the RTT, winch, interior molle panels, and other items on my list?

What @CitrusBronco says is correct, You're just going to have to replace wear components sooner in your suspension than someone with a lighter rig, You should still use the same parameters as anyone else would, and get your suspension components based on the heavier weight.

What is your current Spring/Coilover setup, and what is your priority? (ie, Comfort, Control, on road or offroad as the most important?)

 

[DaddyO]

Seriously, it seems you made your choices without regard to “wear and tear”…the facts are bigger/heavier wheels and tires plus extra weight (probably over rated capacity) create extra “wear and tear”…there are heavier suspension components in the aftermarket to “compensate“ for some of that but your planned small gear ratio change sure ain’t one of them…i am glad you use your vehicle but doing so will indeed create compromises and shorten lifespan…things we expect in the hobby/sport…party on!

You re right. I started out creating an Offroad rig. Along the way I was in a motorcycle wreck. I used it to travel around the country with my club. Scared the hell out of me enough that I gave it up after 50+ years of riding. Now I am fixing it up to overland and am trying to work around what I have. Im retired and on a fixed income so am buying/collecting parts/accessories when I get some extra cash. I know where you guys are coming from and I coulda woulda shoulda but I didn't. I appreciate any advice I can get in these forums that'll help me with the building and preserving my rig.

 

[CitrusBronco]

You re right. I started out creating an Offroad rig. Along the way I was in a motorcycle wreck. I used it to travel around the country with my club. Scared the hell out of me enough that I gave it up after 50+ years of riding. Now I am fixing it up to overland and am trying to work around what I have. Im retired and on a fixed income so am buying/collecting parts/accessories when I get some extra cash. I know where you guys are coming from and I coulda woulda shoulda but I didn't. I appreciate any advice I can get in these forums that'll help me with the building and preserving my rig.

You’re on the right path to collect knowledge, but don’t let that bog you down. Sounds like the rig and parts you have now are totally usable. I’d say start making trips and building experience, each trip you will gain perspective on what you might want to change or leave as is.
A sleeping bag and cooler is all you need to get started and your way ahead of that.
Enjoy the journey.

 

[michelle227]

Others have nailed it...trust the boards, not an AI interface. Just make sure that your funds are spent on FUNCTION, not form, and be realistic about what that function IS as it relates to your NEEDS.

 

[Severum17]

Best case, what improvement in mpg could you expect? When does the cost of the mod pay off in mpg savings?

Mileage will be worse. Higher RPM on the highway.

 

[DaddyO]

What @CitrusBronco says is correct, You're just going to have to replace wear components sooner in your suspension than someone with a lighter rig, You should still use the same parameters as anyone else would, and get your suspension components based on the heavier weight.

What is your current Spring/Coilover setup, and what is your priority? (ie, Comfort, Control, on road or offroad as the most important?)

No coilovers as of yet but spoke with my installer/mechanic today and we discussed icons in a couple of years. Currently bronco is comfortable though it rolls more than I expected rock climbing a bit, nothing exaggerated. As I mentioned 65-70% is paved city/highway and rest is off-road. The more stable the better for the wife who gets car sick.

 

[zuke]

No coilovers as of yet but spoke with my installer/mechanic today and we discussed icons in a couple of years. Currently bronco is comfortable though it rolls more than I expected rock climbing a bit, nothing exaggerated. As I mentioned 65-70% is paved city/highway and rest is off-road. The more stable the better for the wife who gets car sick.

Might consider a set of Eibach HD springs for your stock colovers then, but really, if you're happy with the current ride, and planning some icon coilovers on a few years, you're probably good until then.

 

[ThunderFlash]

Currently bronco is comfortable though it rolls more than I expected rock climbing a bit, nothing exaggerated.

That is why @87-Z28 brought up CG, center of gravity. The higher the vehicle gets thru larger diameter tires and body or suspension lift, the more "tippy" the vehicle will feel. Add a whole bunch of roof top weight which is above the roll center axis, and the tippy will get much worse. It also increases the frontal area of the truck, which is a significant factor in aerodynamic drag.

I worked as an engineer for 35 years and the recurring lesson in my career was: "there is no free lunch". It's very disappointing, because engineers LOVE FREE LUNCHES or any free food for that matter! When tweaking things to optimize it for a specific purpose, there will dang near ALWAYS be some form of trade off in some other aspect of the vehicles performance or characteristics. Since many of us are men, one of the most common trade offs is fuel burn (insert manly grunts here). Ford does a whole bunch of work to make the best/optimized vehicle possible that is inevitably absolutely loaded with compromises for one reason or another....cost probably being the "tightest compromise box" to work within. Knee bone is connected to the thigh bone...put more stress on one component, then beef that thing up. Well, the next part in the system will wear/fail because it is all optimized to work as a system. Not too weak (warranty/lawsuits)....not too strong (expensive or heavy).

 

[DaddyO]

4.7 to 4.8, no chance, that is a waste of resources. If your changing gears go into the 5’s. At the size and weight of your rig chasing mpg gains is going to be marginal that you may never recover financially.

Decided on 5.13 after all.

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