Re: final gear ratio

[Ken Farmer <Ken.Farmer@domain.elided>]

Jim pondered:

>Im considering a swap of the ring-n-pinion in both front and rear. I 
>have the t19 wide, d20, 31"( will be going to 33") and thinking of a 
>3.07 gear instead of the current 3.54. This should drop rpm from 2450 to 
>2000. Maybe some better fuel economy???

I dunno, Jim.  I've got 3.73 r&ps, 32" tires, T-19 close, Dana 300,
and my mileage seems good (I've been driving under varied conditions,
but it looks like 16-17 highway), acceleration is adequate off the
line - I wouldn't want to go any taller, acceleration around 40-60 mph
kinda stinks, unless I drop a gear.  Seems capable of driving 90+ mph,
but I can't safely steer it at that speed anyway.  Offroad, that puts
me at around 39:1 crawl ratio, which seems adequate.

Ken Farmer
1980 Scout, 304, 3.73s, 32" tires, T-19 Close, Dana 300
1975 Travelall, 392, 3.54s, 235 tires, poor off-the-line performance, great
        highway performance
1974 Travelall, 392, 3.73, 30" tires, great off-the-line performance,
        peters out at about 65mph, however (bad lifters?)