Non-Sasquatch Badlands: The case for 4.7 vs 4.46

[Raskew]

I am in a fortunate situation where my company is paying for this vehicle. I also wont pay for gas... however, I don't think I will be able to convince them to get 35" tires... this would be something I would install on my own down the road once the factory ones wear out. Also, in response to your bicycle example... I hear you but that's also physical labor and I'm not paying for my gas

How can I get a job at your work? lol

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[Dirty Bronco]

How can I get a job at your work? lol

It has it's perks. I'm a civil engineer for a company that specializes in underground sewer installations. Some days are great but hours can be long and dangerous depending on the area. There are times where we are in teh middle of the road basically relying on the civilians not to kill us while they drive by. Other times I am down in sewers which can be live at times... anything you can think of and then some can float by you at any moment.

 

[ATLBronco75]

It has it's perks. I'm a civil engineer for a company that specializes in underground sewer installations. Some days are great but hours can be long and dangerous depending on the area. There are times where we are in teh middle of the road basically relying on the pedestrians not to kill us while they drive by. Other times I am down in sewers which can be live at times... anything you can think of and then some can float by you at any moment.

Hmmm, trading poop for gas. Intriguing.

 

[VictoryLights]

Regearing down the road is tremendously expensive so I am excited about this being a no cost option on BL. I'm doing for sure. But I am planning on running at least 35s and hopefully 37s depending on what I can tuck in. And a 4.7 would be ideal and certainly not too short a gear for those sizes. Mostly city driving for me so also less use for a taller highway gear. And I don't care about MPG since my jeep gets 11 mpg with 34s and 3.73 gears.

The two door Wrangler in your picture gets 11 mpg?

 

[steverollin]

The two door Wrangler in your picture gets 11 mpg?

Yep it's shocking really. It got maybe 13 max when I had it on the stock 33's but my driving now is very short trips / all city so probably not apples to apples. But inexcusable in my opinion.

The 2.7 in the bronco may as well be a prius as far as I'm concerned

 

[MacHudson]

Thinking about the fuss over what’s the top speed ... what does it matter? Are you really planning to drive a solid axle vehicle at 200 mph? One that’s shaped like a brick and has tires that have huge sidewalls relative to their width? Bouncy springs? The one whose undercarriage sits higher above ground than most fast cars’ roofline? More top heavy than a basketball player?

Save your $50K. You don’t want a Bronco. The car you’re looking for is a Mustang (fancy style), Corvette, or some Chrysler thing with a Hemi engine.

 

[Spooled]

Any differences in MPG, acceleration, etc... will be negligible with the 10R80. 10 forwards speeds at a wide range of ratios is nice. Gone are they days where we had 4 speeds and axle gearing was in important choice.

 

[indio22]

Any differences in MPG, acceleration, etc... will be negligible with the 10R80. 10 forwards speeds at a wide range of ratios is nice. Gone are they days where we had 4 speeds and axle gearing was in important choice.

Regarding that, it seems the 7 speed manual has not been considered in some of this discussion. Are we sure the Sasquatch with manual trans will also have the 4.7 diff gearing?

Consider the B&P shows the non-Sasquatch base manual vehicle having 4.46 diff gears, which as I've mentioned in some other threads, seems an odd choice for 30" tires. (RPMs will be on the high side.)

Personally I think there are some mistakes in the specs for the diff gears, and would not be surprised if we see changes in the B&P. (Even though as someone who is considering a manual base and will install my own larger 33" tires, I would be happy if indeed it comes stock with 4.46 diff gears.)

 

[Karl_in_Chicago]

There are times where we are in teh middle of the road basically relying on the pedestrians not to kill us while they drive by.

Anyplace where even the pedestrians are driving definitely sounds challenging!

 

[Dirty Bronco]

Anyplace where even the pedestrians are driving definitely sounds challenging!

yeah I should have just said locals. Hard to drive and walk at the same time amiright?

 

[Rydfree]

If you plan to tow a lot then I'd opt for the 4.7 just for the small added benefit . I'll probably end up towing a bit more than they want me to a few times so it will be a plus for me

 

[DaveH]

There is a reason Sasquatch is 4.7 and Badlands is 4.46. Engineers figured out this was optimal for 35s and 33s respectively, otherwise why not do 5.0? Put your bicycle in the lowest gear and you can pedal and accelerate fast as shit, but you have to switch to a higher gear so soon that the extra torque wasn't really worth it. ...

I wondered about whether the 4.46 was really designed specifically for 33s. The BB has 4 different possible gear ratios:
4.46 - Seems to be the standard option. Note that BB comes with 32s.
3.73 - Selecting this also adds AT. Still 32s. (This is also the default option for a Base with 30s.)
4.27 Locking - Select this also adds AT. Still 32s.
4.7 Locking - Adds squatch so tires go to 35s.

For OB with three possible gear ratios:
3.73 - Standard option with the standard 32s.
4.27 - Locking. Still 32s.
4.7 Locking - Adds squatch so tires go to 35s.

It appears there is more that goes into this than just tire size. Both the BB and the OB can be purchased with more than one gear ratio with 32s. I'm guessing that anticipated use might go into the decision. The locking axles would be purchased more often for offroad where torque is more important which is why the 4.27 ratio is added. The 3.73 is for city and highway driving. The 4.46 is a compromise. This is all conjecture on my part.

Considering badlands, the 4.46 is the standard option, but is it really optimized for 33s since 4.46 is also the default option on the BB and BD with 32s? Perhaps Ford felt that the difference between 32s and 33s wasn't significant enough to warrant another ratio.

 

[@BadBlueBronco]

get the 4.70 and thank us later. The decrease in MPGs isnt as bad as the decrease from the tire size.

 

[bluesun68]

I really think this issue is over blown. The new 35's don't make a lot of noise or cause a bad ride like the old ones used to. You would get more noise and worse ride from a more aggressive 33 than the normal 35. The 35's look the best. 33's will look great until parked next to a 35. The cost of the tires and extra gas is really small, as is the performance difference.

 

[indio22]

I wondered about whether the 4.46 was really designed specifically for 33s. The BB has 4 different possible gear ratios:
4.46 - Seems to be the standard option. Note that BB comes with 32s.
3.73 - Selecting this also adds AT. Still 32s. (This is also the default option for a Base with 30s.)
4.27 Locking - Select this also adds AT. Still 32s.
4.7 Locking - Adds squatch so tires go to 35s.

For OB with three possible gear ratios:
3.73 - Standard option with the standard 32s.
4.27 - Locking. Still 32s.
4.7 Locking - Adds squatch so tires go to 35s.

It appears there is more that goes into this than just tire size. Both the BB and the OB can be purchased with more than one gear ratio with 32s. I'm guessing that anticipated use might go into the decision. The locking axles would be purchased more often for offroad where torque is more important which is why the 4.27 ratio is added. The 3.73 is for city and highway driving. The 4.46 is a compromise. This is all conjecture on my part.

Considering badlands, the 4.46 is the standard option, but is it really optimized for 33s since 4.46 is also the default option on the BB and BD with 32s? Perhaps Ford felt that the difference between 32s and 33s wasn't significant enough to warrant another ratio.

Base 2 door 2.3L with 7 speed manual comes with default 4.46 diff gears and 30" tires per the B&P. Change the trans to automatic, and diff gears default to 3.73. I'm having trouble accounting for such a large change in diff gears. Does anyone have the list of gears in each of the transmissions to run some calculations?

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