Silverado bigger gears?

[Salvy90]

Hey everyone! I have a 2017 Silverado 6.2 LTZ 4x4, and my question is if i am better off leaving the 3.23 gear or upgrading it? Right now it has DOD delete, stage 1 cams , dual valve springs, full bolt ons w/ e85 tune. It does have 35s and I do quite a bit of Off-roading since it is my overland rig and my weekend vehicle. I do also do a bit off towing from time to time. With all that, I do feel I have enough power to leave as is, but I’ve also read I should go with a 3.73 or 4.10, but I know I will lose MPG. So is it worth it or should I just leave it ?


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[NevadaLover]

Hey everyone! I have a 2017 Silverado 6.2 LTZ 4x4, and my question is if i am better off leaving the 3.23 gear or upgrading it? Right now it has DOD delete, stage 1 cams , dual valve springs, full bolt ons w/ e85 tune. It does have 35s and I do quite a bit of Off-roading since it is my overland rig and my weekend vehicle. I do also do a bit off towing from time to time. With all that, I do feel I have enough power to leave as is, but I’ve also read I should go with a 3.73 or 4.10, but I know I will lose MPG. So is it worth it or should I just leave it ?


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The difference in mileage will be very small, the difference in towing and offroad characteristics will be well worth the cost, go with the lower ratio.

 

[Herbie]

What's the stock tire size? There are a number of calculators out there that can show you what you'd need to adjust the final-drive ratio to in order to correct for the increased circumference of the 35's.

 

[Umbrarian]

Hey everyone! I have a 2017 Silverado 6.2 LTZ 4x4, and my question is if i am better off leaving the 3.23 gear or upgrading it? Right now it has DOD delete, stage 1 cams , dual valve springs, full bolt ons w/ e85 tune. It does have 35s and I do quite a bit of Off-roading since it is my overland rig and my weekend vehicle. I do also do a bit off towing from time to time. With all that, I do feel I have enough power to leave as is, but I’ve also read I should go with a 3.73 or 4.10, but I know I will lose MPG. So is it worth it or should I just leave it ?


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Re-Gear to match the factory power band.

 

[SDDiver5]

I upgraded my gears from 3.33 to 4.56 and it's hands down the best upgrade I have done to my truck. I ran stock gears with 35s for a maybe 2 months before I had enough of it. If you take it to a driveline or gear shop they should be able to provide you with a breakdown of different gear sizes and what the RPM will be at "X" MPH, then you can decide from there. I have the 6 speed trans so I went with 4.56 over 4.10. It's smooth as butter now, shifts easily and the truck is a completely different animal. Highly suggest it. I also added in an e locker while it was opened up. Cost me like $3500. Steep but so worth it.

I get 13.9 MPG, down from 15MPG when I was all stock. I usually drive 80MPH and have a heavy foot.

 

[rruff]

So is it worth it or should I just leave it ?

My 2c...

Everyone told me I needed a regear, both for decent performance and MPG. E rated AT tires are 9% bigger than stock and it's leveled with a constant heavy load and higher wind resistance. I'm not seeing the point though. I'm averaging a hair under 15 mpg on the highway, and it drives fine in all conditions. I push the "tow haul" button when cruising, and it eliminates any tendency for it to hunt for gears.

Of course, it would accelerate slightly better if I went from 4.3 to 5.28 gearing, but only slightly. I'd get a lower 1st and a bit closer ratios, and lose the high gear with 6th becoming about the same as 5th is currently.

If factory 5.28 had been an option then definitely... but considering the expense and lower reliability of aftermarket, I'm still sticking with what I've got.

 

[IdaSHO]

Yep, todays gear has greatly reduced the "need" to regear based upon heavy load and/or big tires.
Engines that have a wide torque band and transmissions with more gears than ever.
The largest benefit will be seat of the pants. The truck will feel marginally better.

And considering the cost of a regear, typically $4-6k
The break even point is WAAAYY out there.
So any nonsense about a regear "saving" you money by gaining/saving MPG is just that. Nonsense.

Assuming you gain/save any... lets say 2MPG... and going with a 16/14 MPG split...

Your cost per mile is $3 per gallon / 14MPG = $0.21
Now you improve it by 2 mpg, your new cost per mile is $3 / 16 MPG = $0.19
The difference is $0.11 per mile.

Considering that $4000 for regear.... thats what, near 40,000 miles?
And thats all assuming the shop does a proper job, with zero issues.
Also assumes you gain/save ANY MPG, and the deeper gears dont encourage you to drive more aggressively

At the end of the day Id much rather worth with the factory gearing and run factory built OEM axles/gears.
And thats exactly what we do.

But again, the truck will FEEL better with deeper gears. So even Ive considered it.
Cause hey, its only money 😁

 

[rruff]

So any nonsense about a regear "saving" you money by gaining/saving MPG is just that. Nonsense.

In the old days it was taken for granted that higher gearing was better for MPG, not lower!

With my truck specifically, some were theorizing that the ECU would get confused with higher gearing and a load, plus the transmission would spend more time between gears rather than locking into one. I haven't noticed it, but there are easy ways to deal with that if it is a problem, like using tow-haul mode, or using "S" mode where you can select the high gear... IOW if it's going back and forth between 5th and 6th, you can make 5th your high gear.

Other things you can do that cost money (though a lot less than a regear) is get a throttle controller; mine was $90 used and took 5 minutes to install. Or you can get an electronic "tune" that adjusts the throttle and shift logic, but these are more expensive.

Using tow-haul mode and the throttle controller definitely changes how your truck "feels" and it isn't subtle, at least not on mine. And I'm getting better MPG than most people with the stock empty truck, so I can't complain about that...

 

[tacollie]

I love how every gear thread is the same.

Those that have done it say it's the best money they've ever spent on their vehicle.

Those that haven't done it say it's a waste of money. 🤣

I'm probably going to re-gear this spring. With larger tires and running heavy it should make the truck more enjoyable to drive.

 

[rruff]

Those that have done it say it's the best money they've ever spent on their vehicle.

People often say that after they've wasted $$$...

No doubt it will feel peppier off the line... but what other real benefit could there be? Also, I don't know about your truck, but my 385hp monstrosity is never lacking for "pep". However the stock Toyota AI enhanced throttle control was terrible... which is why I fixed it. Night and day difference... that was the best money I ever spent!... but it was only $90.

If the other manufacturers are castrating their truck's performance via throttle mapping the way Toyota did on mine, then that needs to be addressed first. Pressing the throttle down 50% got me maybe 20%; very non-linear.

 

[IdaSHO]

I love how every gear thread is the same.

Those that have done it say it's the best money they've ever spent on their vehicle.

Those that haven't done it say it's a waste of money. 🤣

I'm probably going to re-gear this spring. With larger tires and running heavy it should make the truck more enjoyable to drive.

I've regeared a few.

And NONE of them penciled out except for one.
That one exception used "junkyard" axles that practically fell into my lap for free.

And in that instance, I UP-GEARED to taller gears. It was our old 7.3 powerstroke that came with 4:10s and a 4-speed auto.
Damn thing was screaming at 60mph. After 3:55s it cruised at 65-70, netting the same MPG as it did @ 55mph with stock gears.

So long as you can maintain the speed you want, and have access to the fat part of the power band when needed, its all good.

Todays trucks with fat power bands and 6 or 10-speeds simply give you more access to that power band than older trucks.
Its really that simple. And is also why 3/4 and 1-ton trucks are coming with taller and taller gears, even with stupid high payload and tow ratings, and much larger factory tires.
Low gears simply are not needed like they were once upon a time.

 

[tacollie]

People often say that after they've wasted $$$...

No doubt it will feel peppier off the line... but what other real benefit could there be? Also, I don't know about your truck, but my 385hp monstrosity is never lacking for "pep". However the stock Toyota AI enhanced throttle control was terrible... which is why I fixed it. Night and day difference... that was the best money I ever spent!... but it was only $90.

If the other manufacturers are castrating their truck's performance via throttle mapping the way Toyota did on mine, then that needs to be addressed first. Pressing the throttle down 50% got me maybe 20%; very non-linear.

I wonder if Toyota changed the tune for the 2014 refresh. I drove an '07 and an '08 Tundra before we bought our '08. All three had super sensitive pedals. I ran 285/70r17s. I would start the truck, push the tow/haul, and lock out 6th most the time. The F250 definitely has the dead pedal feel.

 

[rruff]

I wonder if Toyota changed the tune for the 2014 refresh.

Yes that is what I heard; the pre 2014 models did not have this issue. But I also wonder if the transmission behavior was improved in 2014, which is why didn't have issues with it hunting for gears or experience a drop in MPG with higher gearing.

Everything is computer controlled now, which I guess is good news since the behavior can be modified. Does your F250 have tow-haul, or different modes you can select? The throttle controller I have is a Hike It X5. They are currently $109.

 

[tacollie]

Yes that is what I heard; the pre 2014 models did not have this issue. But I also wonder if the transmission behavior was improved in 2014, which is why didn't have issues with it hunting for gears or experience a drop in MPG with higher gearing.

Everything is computer controlled now, which I guess is good news since the behavior can be modified. Does your F250 have tow-haul, or different modes you can select? The throttle controller I have is a Hike It X5. They are currently $109.

My F250 has two haul mode. It's much more aggressive than the Tundra so I don't use it as often. I'm gonna see my brother this weekend. He has a Pedal Monster I'm going to try out.

 

[andy_b]

People often say that after they've wasted $$$...

No doubt it will feel peppier off the line... but what other real benefit could there be? Also, I don't know about your truck, but my 385hp monstrosity is never lacking for "pep". However the stock Toyota AI enhanced throttle control was terrible... which is why I fixed it. Night and day difference... that was the best money I ever spent!... but it was only $90.

If the other manufacturers are castrating their truck's performance via throttle mapping the way Toyota did on mine, then that needs to be addressed first. Pressing the throttle down 50% got me maybe 20%; very non-linear.

The thing that is rarely mentioned are crawl ratios and engine braking. Returning to stock gearing or going deeper (or adding a doubler!) improves slow speed off-road control for both up and downhill technical travel. Having lower gearing is also easier on the drivetrain (assuming the new gears aren’t thinner or otherwise weaker than stock).

Trucks actually used off-road benefit from the lowest gearing you can stand on the highway, IMHO. Re-gearing has always improved the off-road performance in the truck’s I’ve done.