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North7

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I think the factory 33” trucks come with 4.20 gearing correct? Taking the Sasquatchs 4.70 gearing combined with 35s is going to mean your spinning a lot of RPM. It’s going to be quick off the line and have fantastic torque off-road. But your MPG will suffer some.
For stop and go driving, wheel and tire mass plays a larger factor in economy, whereas tire diameter is more crucial for constant cruising speeds.
@RubyRuin and @NCOBX, it is great to have people like you on the forum, with great drivetrain knowledge, for those of us new to off-roading to learn from, thank you.

I've been looking at the trade-offs of tire size, gearing and mpg myself, I'm planning to go with the Badlands, 2.7 / 10sp. My use will be 95% daily driver, no serious rock climbing, only mild off-road, mainly North Texas clay and mud. I'm thinking the stock 33" tires with 4.46 gearing will be plenty for my limited off-road needs. On the other hand, If I go with the Sasquatch 35" tires and 4.7 gearing I would swap out the M/T tires for A/T tires to get a quieter, more compliant ride and better mpg.

So my question is how do you see the trade-off between the stock Badlands 33" tires/4.46 gearing vs the Sasquatch 35" tires/4.7 gearing on power, mpg and drivetrain wear?

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RubyRuin

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@RubyRuin and @NCOBX, it is great to have people like you on the forum, with great drivetrain knowledge, for those of us new to off-roading to learn from, thank you.

I've been looking at the trade-offs of tire size, gearing and mpg myself, I'm planning to go with the Badlands, 2.7 / 10sp. My use will be 95% daily driver, no serious rock climbing, only mild off-road, mainly North Texas clay and mud. I'm thinking the stock 33" tires with 4.46 gearing will be plenty for my limited off-road needs. On the other hand, If I go with the Sasquatch 35" tires and 4.7 gearing I would swap out the M/T tires for A/T tires to get a quieter, more compliant ride and better mpg.

So my question is how do you see the trade-off between the stock Badlands 33" tires/4.46 gearing vs the Sasquatch 35" tires/4.7 gearing on power, mpg and drivetrain wear?
It appears Ford's decision to pair the taller 4.46 ratio for the smaller 33" tires in respect to the short 4.7 ratio with the taller 35" tires is to allow both configurations to provide the same performance from a driver perspective as they offset each other's changes.

In regards to base wheel/gear ratio setup between the Badland and Sasquatch, you'll likely lose maybe 1-2 MPG for in-town stop and go driving due to the fairly significant weight increase of the wheels and tires, and maybe 1 MPG at highway speeds if you decide to get the Sasquatch package. Keep in mind that other factors such as the tire's load rating can come into play here as well; if you want the looks of the 35" tires but have no interest in doing any serious rock crawling, going with a C/6 ply tire instead of an E/10 ply can reduce the tire's weight significantly at expense of the tire's side wall resistance to being punctured, so you might be able to negate some of most of the fuel economy loss this way while getting the appearance or look that you want.

The good news is the 10 speed automatic will allow your vehicle to stay in its most economical RPM at all times, given it's got a much more granular ratio option and a taller final drive ratio than the manual, so your particular drivetrain choice would be the least impacted from a fuel economy perspective. The guys who optioned for manual (I guess me included) will probably get dinged the worst for fuel economy in this scenario since we're likely not going to be in the most economical gear at all times and its gear ratios are generally shorter.

My driving situation is actually pretty similar to yours, where it will be spending 95% of its life on asphault with occasional weekend camping trips. I will stick with the factory 285/70R17 tires for the sole reason of cost -- the factory 285/70R17 size tires will be about $60-80 average cheaper than most 35x12.5R17 sizes per corner.
 
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North7

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It appears Ford's decision to pair the taller 4.46 ratio for the smaller 33" tires in respect to the short 4.7 ratio with the taller 35" tires is to allow both configurations to provide the same performance from a driver perspective as they offset each other's changes.

In regards to base wheel/gear ratio setup between the Badland and Sasquatch, you'll likely lose maybe 1-2 MPG for in-town stop and go driving due to the fairly significant weight increase of the wheels and tires, and maybe 1 MPG at highway speeds if you decide to get the Sasquatch package. Keep in mind that other factors such as the tire's load rating can come into play here as well; if you want the looks of the 35" tires but have no interest in doing any serious rock crawling, going with a C/6 ply tire instead of an E/10 ply can reduce the tire's weight significantly at expense of the tire's side wall resistance to being punctured, so you might be able to negate some of most of the fuel economy loss this way while getting the appearance or look that you want.

The good news is the 10 speed automatic will allow your vehicle to stay in its most economical RPM at all times, given it's got a much more granular ratio option and a taller final drive ratio than the manual, so your particular drivetrain choice would be the least impacted from a fuel economy perspective. The guys who optioned for manual (I guess me included) will probably get dinged the worst for fuel economy in this scenario since we're likely not going to be in the most economical gear at all times and its gear ratios are generally shorter.

My driving situation is actually pretty similar to yours, where it will be spending 95% of its life on asphault with occasional weekend camping trips. I will stick with the factory 285/70R17 tires for the sole reason of cost -- the factory 285/70R17 size tires will be about $60-80 average cheaper than most 35x12.5R17 sizes per corner.
Great analysis, thank you Ruby, I always assumed, incorrectly, that the higher/shorter gearing always meant worst mpg. But now I understand that the gearing plus tire diameter positively affects that decision.

I'm okay if the lost mpg is only 1-2mpg, glad it's only that much, and I don't really mind the increased cost of the 35" tires. However, what I'm seeing in the 315/70R17 size are all higher load ratings. The lightest load range 315/70R17 tire I can find is the T/A KO2 in load range C - 6 ply. I would prefer the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W but it is only available in a load range E - 10 ply. If I stay with the 33" - 285/70R17, I can get the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W's in the lighter load range SL, the benefit being it will give me a quieter, more compliant ride.

So my next question is, is it really a correct assumption that the lighter load range SL tires will provide a more compliant, comfortable ride vs the load range C - 6 ply or load range E - 10 ply tires?
 
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RubyRuin

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So my next question is, is it really a correct assumption that the lighter load range SL tires will provide a more compliant, comfortable ride vs the load range C - 6 ply or load range E - 10 ply tires?
Correct, a higher ply will make the tires more firm, thus sacrificing ride quality in exchange for load capacity.
 

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You guys are confusing the hell out of my going to these smaller tires, what exactly is the purpose? Your not gaining fuel economy, nor capability, cost is negligible... what is it? Maybe a power advantage? even then the biggest engine is the 2.7L so that’s only so much.
Sure, if you assume that RPM = MPG you could come to that conclusion, but that's not the case at all to anyone with even the tiniest cursory knowledge of how internal combustion engines work.

Smaller, lighter tires will drive better in all conditions that aren't extreme offroading, aka 95% of the time for Bronco owners. More responsive on the road, better acceleration, better suspension action, less squishy feel when turning. Going from a 35 to a 33 will increase top gear RPMs at 70mph from 2041 to 2165 (manual 4.70 rear), or 1937 to 2054 (manual 4.46 rear). You'll barely see the needle move. And if look at those numbers closely, you'll see that a 4.70 with 35s has the same highway RPMs as a 4.46 with 33s.

It's impossible to say without empirical data what the effect on mpg will be, but lack of data has never stopped some people from making ridiculous claims.
 

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It appears Ford's decision to pair the taller 4.46 ratio for the smaller 33" tires in respect to the short 4.7 ratio with the taller 35" tires is to allow both configurations to provide the same performance from a driver perspective as they offset each other's changes.
@RubyRuin, what would the affect be I bought the Wildcat which already has the Sasquatch Package, 35" tires and 4.7 gearing but then swap the tires out for the smaller 33" size?
 

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@RubyRuin, what would the affect be I bought the Wildcat which already has the Sasquatch Package, 35" tires and 4.7 gearing but then swap the tires out for the smaller 33" size?
You are pretty much left with a Badlands minus the hydraulic sway bar disconnect. :p

As long as you have the dealer re-calibrate the speedometer for any drastic tire size changes to correct the trip-odometer reading, going to smaller 33" tires should get you back at least 1-2 MPG around town. I went through a similar process with my 2013 Tundra. Just for your reference:

- Stock Tundra with 275/65R18 tires (32"): 13 city / 17 hwy
- Changing the tires to 325/65R18 (~35") with a 2" lift: 10 city / 14 hwy
- Downsizing the tires to 305/65R18 (~33") and kept 2" lift: 12 city / 16 hwy

Other than the lift introduced with the initial tire change, all other variables such as the brand/model of tire, tire pressure always set at 35 psi, and wheels are consistent.
 

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- Stock Tundra with 275/65R18 tires (32"): 13 city / 17 hwy
- Changing the tires to 325/65R18 (~35") with a 2" lift: 10 city / 14 hwy
- Downsizing the tires to 305/65R18 (~33") and kept 2" lift: 12 city / 16 hwy
Interesting your Highway mpg dropped that much. A taller tire would lower the RPM's on the highway, using less gas. Obviously you're turning a heavier, maybe wider tire, so that would take away from the gains. I would think worst case the MPG would have stayed the same?? Interesting.
 

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Interesting your Highway mpg dropped that much. A taller tire would lower the RPM's on the highway, using less gas. Obviously you're turning a heavier, maybe wider tire, so that would take away from the gains. I would think worst case the MPG would have stayed the same?? Interesting.
Don't forget to factor in the significant increase in tread width. The truck's factory size was 275/65, so the effective tread width is about 10.8". The 325/65 is 12.8", so the tire width increased significantly by 2". Wider tires adds more aerodynamic and rolling resistance.

If I was able to find something that had a diameter of about 35" but kept the width about the same as the factory (I guess something abnormal like a 285/75), then yes, it may not have been as badly impacted. The problem was at that point, a 285/75 and those sort of dimensions will force me to use M/T type tires, and I'd rather keep A/T for my usage.
 

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Jhastin4567

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I am not familiar with this - what do you mean by 'takeoff's'?
Takeoffs are when somebody changes out the new or almost new factory rim/tires for aftermarket basically leaving a brand new set of factory wheels/tires for somebody else to buy
 

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If you're interested... The Tire Rack already has the different tires listed with Sasquatch package also listed.

Its about $200 a tire to replace the tires on an Outer Banks.

Ford Bronco Tire Rack lists 2021 Bronco tire options and sizes 1595501233833
Great! Much cheaper than all of the BMW tires I have had to replace
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