4.10's in a ram 1500 with the 20" wheels

Anyone here run this setup curios how it tows with this setup?...........Thaxs

This is a great question that I hope someone with actual experience in the swap can respond to. I have a 1500 with 20" wheels, 3.0 diesel and 3.55 rear end ratio and have been considering this same swap to 4.10s. It tows good now and I know it will tow better but having some specific feedback from others who have done the swap would be great. I'd also like to hear about the cost the dealer charged for this. I plan to buy my own gear set. I don't mean to steal your post only to add that others have the same questions relating to this same set-up.

- EM

Not a problem.......
inquiring minds would like to know .

the wheel size doesnt matter as much as how tall the tire is------i have a 2000 1500 3.5 ratio with a 5.2 and 20 inch wheels with a stock height on the tire--i would say it is lackluster----son and i took turns driving a 2000 durango home and the boy noted the durango had more power than the 1500---of course it had a 5.9 in it but i bet my boy that the durango had gears---and it turned out it had 3.9 ratio---i am planning now putting some 4.10 gears in the 1500.....on the diesel rig above mentioned i would get on a speed calculation site and put in all the info needed and see where your rpms take you-----i dont know what kind of rpms your diesel can handle....

Yes, I know it is the rolling diameter that is the issue but with the 20" wheels, the diameter of the tires are typically (a great deal) larger than in the 17" wheel size. The change in RPM from a 3.55 to 4.10 ratio @ 60 mph is only 400. It's not what most people think.

- EM

I have a hemi with 20" wheels and 3.92 gears (stock) it tows just fine. 4.10s would be fine, probably tow better. I can run 80mph at 2300rpm, plenty of room for more gear.

Hemi, 545rfe, 20's and 3.92's as well. Very nice combination.

You want to tow better, put it in 3rd and back off the speed.

I have 4.10's in a 360 Mag and 285 rubber (nearly the same as 20's) and they do that truck no favors for towing. It will tow in OD but its' a struggle. If it had 3.55's I could put it in 3rd and leave it there and it would tow better.

What engine/transmission do you have?

I have 4.10's in a 360 Mag and 285 rubber (nearly the same as 20's) and they do that truck no favors for towing. It will tow in OD but its' a struggle. If it had 3.55's I could put it in 3rd and leave it there and it would tow better. twocents







My truck has the 3.55 gear and I tow with the od off, seem's like a set of the 4.10's would let me able too tow in od and have a comparable gear say 3.73.Is my thinking off?

How heavy are you towing, Racerx? Which engine do you have?

Towing in 3rd gear would only help you at highway speeds but does nothing for the lower gears / lower speeds. My truck with 3.55 ratio is great at everything from 10-15 mph on up and even does well on the mountain roads in Oregon pulling my 7k lb. trailer. The 8-speed helps this a bunch too. Where it could use a little more is from a dead stop up to 10 mph. This is why I was / am considering a rear end gear set change.

- EM

Hemi, 545rfe, 20's and 3.92's stock size 275/60-20 tires.

I had another Hemi truck, an 05 regular cab, put 17" wheels with 275/60-17s on it. That woke it up some, 3" less diameter in the tires. The lighter wheels made it stop better as well.

The car is 3150lbs, not sure on the weight of the trailer(it's a steel flat bed 19'er)The truck is a 5.9 ram 1500, 518, 3.55 in the rear. The truck is a 95 if that matters.....Thaxs for the replies fellas

Okay.

I'll have to elaborate on truck #2 I listed above (the one with 4.10's). It tows in overdrive just fine up to 5000 pounds. Anything over 5000 and bad aero (like a holiday trailer) it struggles.

Similar load to what you are doing and it moved this car just fine. 60, 65mph, 1800 to 1900rpm.

ok..........Thaxs pretty much looks like my truck(except mine not that clean. Lol) also I tow an e-body

I'm pretty sure you do not want to go 4.10 on your ecodiesel

Below is a link to a pioneering ecodiesel owner who unfortunately is no longer with us.

My understanding is the Bosch high pressure pump is living at the hairy edge in stock form as its driven off one of the exhaust cams. Bosch personnel recommended not exceeding 3,200 rpm ever, which appears to be relatively impractical driving my 2015 ecodiesel crew cab with 3.55 gearing.

Link to ecodiesel cam phase failure

RIP Shawn Capson.

Red

Thanks Red. I will keep that in mind. My condolences on the loss of Shawn.

- EM

for this

I have the same 01 ram off road as posted, factory 4:10 and now has 285 70 17 tires, tows 5-6 K open trailer in overdrive unless hilly.
The 4,000 lb camper is much tougher to tow over 60 in overdrive, any small rise causes downshift, so I normally pull the camper in drive or just keep it under 60-65.

my 95 sucked towing. I also had the 3.5 gear, 5.9. thought about gear change, but opted for truck change. I always ran the short 245 tire. No way I was going to kill off more power with a taller tire.

I have to eat my words on my 15 Rammit. It has the high gears, 6 speed and around town it is a bit gutless. I didn't think it had the guts to tow a trailer but I was wrong.
We have a hill heading out of my old town that is 8% and runs for around 10 miles. I loaded this mother down with my 4000lb Stealth in the back of the 26 ft trailer and around 2500lbs in the front of the trailer and the back of the truck. She buzzed up that hill just fine at 50MPH. She would have pulled up there faster but I kept the revs to around 3500 and she held it just fine.
And guess what else? On the 500 mile trip she got 9MPG overall, which is maybe 1 to 2 MPG less than my old 05 Cummins would have done.
I don't think you need a gear change with your ecodiesel but that's just my opinion. My truck is not optioned optimally to pull but it does it just fine.
My truck came with 17's and I switched to the 20's tire circumference is 5% larger than the 17's.

It has the high gears, 6 speed
? I assume were talking 3.90's rear gear?

factory 20" tires on the 4x4's are 33" tall, the 275/60/20 thats why most come with a 3.9 gear due to the 33" height. 3.55s are too high for 33's. the newer trucks with the 6 or 8 speed trannies can get away with the higher gears

Mine has 3.55. As I said it is totally the non optimal setup for towing and it kicked azz anyway. 1500, six speed, 3.55, 20 inch wheels and pulling about 11,000lbs over a 10 mile long 8 percent grade. I can't call it my girly truck anymore.

I figured you would come around and like your new truck sometime.

Little update on my '01 360 Mag above:

Towed a '98 QC 4x4 (5500lbs) on a heavier trailer (2500lbs) and started the trip at 10.5mpg and by the time I got home (350 miles) the average wound up at 13.0mpg

45 to 55mph in third on all the mean hills and stayed in top gear on the level at 60mph.

Nope, still don't miss my old '02 Cummins.

Any ideal what transmission in the 2000-03 rams?46r or what tranny?

46 RE until 03, they made some changes

Any ideal what changes ,did they go 5 speed?Thaxs.....

The 03 Ram with the Hemi we parted out had a 5 speed auto. Have no idea if it was an option, or an across the board change, or a Hemi deal.
Gene

Our 09 ram r/t. (They only come with 4.10 gears) 5 speed Auto. I towed Mt open 23 steel floor trailer 71 charger down to ar. Other then bumps never it was back there and I never turned the overdrive off 75-80 most the way. Was just like normal driving (under 2k on the tach) truck also had 20" wheels