Gear ratio 4.46

[Rocketeer Rick]

I "believe" that you've swapped the wording..... and a lot of people mix this up.

For the Differential, the Numerically Smaller the Number, is the Higher Ratio.... It's weird, but the 3.70 is call a Higher Gear Ratio than 4.46 .

You are correct that the 4.46 is: "the lower the fuel economy, but your vehicle will have more capability while off-roading, towing, hauling, etc."

And

The 3.70 is: better your fuel economy will be at the expensive of some "get-up-and-go".

Numerically smaller ratios are considered "higher" (or "taller") because they will produce a higher vehicle speed at a given engine RPM than numerically larger ratios. You go faster, but at the expense of less gear multiplication when it comes to torque output. Conversely, numerically larger ratios have the advantage of greater torque multiplication - and the feeling of faster initial acceleration or better load pulling - but tradeoff by producing a slower vehicle speed at a give engine speed. Thus they are "lower" or "shorter" gears.

It was mentioned above the total gear reduction is the multiplication of transmission ratio, transfer case ratio and axle (differential) ratio. But keep in mind that your tire size plays into that too. Taller tires have a larger circumference, so they roll ahead farther for every one turn than small tires do. 35" tires travel forward about 9' for every turn, where a 30" tire goes about 7.75' instead. At higher speeds, that difference adds up. So as you increase tire size, you have to counterbalance that with "shorter" (numerically larger) axle gearing to keep your engine speed approximately the same for a give road speed. This will keep you in essentially the same transmission gears at the same road speeds as before.

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[The Pope]

Numerically smaller ratios are considered "higher" (or "taller") because they will produce a higher vehicle speed at a given engine RPM than numerically larger ratios. You go faster, but at the expense of less gear multiplication when it comes to torque output. Conversely, numerically larger ratios have the advantage of greater torque multiplication - and the feeling of faster initial acceleration or better load pulling - but tradeoff by producing a slower vehicle speed at a give engine speed. Thus they are "lower" or "shorter" gears. <--- you said... which is correct..

It was mentioned above the total gear reduction is the multiplication of transmission ratio, transfer case ratio and axle (differential) ratio. But keep in mind that your tire size plays into that too. Taller tires have a larger circumference, so they roll ahead farther for every one turn than small tires do. 35" tires travel forward about 9' for every turn, where a 30" tire goes about 7.75' instead. At higher speeds, that difference adds up. So as you increase tire size, you have to counterbalance that with "shorter" (numerically smaller larger) (<-- then you said smaller, which is opposite to what you said in the paragraph above. That "might" confuse some people. That's all that I was trying to point out.) axle gearing to keep your engine speed approximately the same for a give road speed. This will keep you in essentially the same transmission gears at the same road speeds as before.

Shorter Gear is Larger Number
Taller Gear is Smaller Number
for the Differential Gears..... as this can be opposite in other gear applications.

 

[Rocketeer Rick]

Shorter Gear is Larger Number
Taller Gear is Smaller Number
for the Differential Gears..... as this can be opposite in other gear applications.

I'm pretty sure that is exactly what I said, before making a single typo...

 

[kodiakisland]

I don't use tall and short to describe gears. I guess growing up all I ever heard was high and low. Pretty easy for people to get things backward when the number value doesn't match the word value.

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