Thinking of gear ratios....
I am contemplating a gear ratio change. The Tahoe came equipped from the factory with 3.42 gears and 30.5" tires. I upgraded to 32.8" tires years ago, and as a result, the engine has never been in the proper power band when towing.
I did some calculations for various gear ratios, and came up with the following info:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...cf81fdde_z.jpg
Swapping to 3.73 gears would put me back to near factory settings. However, 4.10's would obviously gain more power. I'm just concerned 4.10's would not be the best for everyday driving.
On my old '81 C20 project truck with a 6.2L turbo diesel and 700R4, I ran 4.10 gears with 30.5 tires. The 700R4 had a steeper Overdrive ratio, though, so my cruising RPMs were still pretty decent. The truck delivered a consistent 18 mpg when empty, and had decent power when towing.
What would you do if you were in my shoes? Go with 3.73 to keep it close to factory gearing, or go for 4.10's to get the most power when towing. This is my daily driver, but we do tow our camper several times a year, and sometimes on some pretty long trips. I am obviously asking for the impossible, but would like to have both: the best MPG when empty and the most power when towing.
Casey