Ram 2500 3.73s or 4.10s

[Ratman6161]

Ahh the great decision! I have a 13 2500 Laramie Cummins which came with the awful 3.42 gears. Been trying to make up my mind and debating gear choice for a couple years now lol! 3.92 would be perfect it they don't make em. I have 35s and a 9k RV that I tow occasionally. My gut tells me to do the 4.10s, I just worry about HWY rpm. Ive also considered a power wagon but but they only have a 9k max tow rating.

I have the 4.10's but confess Ive never driven one with the 3.73. But I don't regret the 4.10's. The primary purpose of my truck is towing the travel trailer - about 7,600 loaded. Of 7000 miles on the truck so far, about 5,000 have been towing so I lean to optimizing for that. My theory about engine RPM is as follows: The transmission will downshift to a gear where the engine is at an RPM where it can deliver the required torque for the circumstances. If I had the 3.73, when towing the trailer, it would just downshift more because the required engine RPM is the same; it would just need to be in a lower gear to get there. With the 4.10, its more likely to be able to stay in the higher gears. Where the 3.73 would be better is when not towing. Then it would be able to cruise at a lower RPM when in 8th gear on the highway leading to better MPG. So its optimized for towing or optimized for MPG when not towing...thats the choice. For me, the 4.10 was obvious.

Example: The gear ratios for 6th, 7th, and 8th on the 8 speed are 1:1, .84:1, and .67:1. Calculating the final drive ratio for those gears with

3.73: 3.73:1, 3.13:1 and 2.5:1
4.10: 4,10:1, 3.44:1 and 2.74:1

So suppose that when towing, im in a scenario where my truck needs 7th gear. With the 3.73 you might not have enough torque in 7th and have to drop down to 6 - in which case the truck with the 3.73 would be running at a higher RPM than the truck with the 4.10 since it would be at a 3:73:1 final drive ratio vs 3.44:1 for the 4.10. At least that's my theory

Note: these numbers are ignoring the effects of tire size as for me the tires would have been the same either way.

See here: https://www.tremec.com/calculadora.php

You can manually put in your numbers since we don't have Tremec transmissions. There are various other calculator's on the web

 

[RamGuy110]

Here she is.....
From Corwin CDJR in Fargo.
Special thanks to them for meeting me half way! lol

Laramie Level B
12" Uconnect 5
Clearance Lamps
Anti-Spin
4.10 Rear Axle
Black buckets
Tow Hooks
Tow Technology Group

Its really only missing a sun roof IMO.

 

[JerryETX]

Buy the better truck, Gears are a simple weekend job.

Gears are not simple by any mechanic’s standards.

 

[JerryETX]

If you pull that often to me it’s a no brainer get the 4:10.

 

[DILLIGAF]

Gears are not simple by any mechanic’s standards.

My dumb**** figured it out 2 years ago. All I had to do is buy a couple hundred dollars worth of tools. Making the tools I couldn't afford, like the case spreader and Backlash bars. and I watched about 30 different YT video's on it.

. So yes its simple unless you cant read a dial gauge. in that case buy a foRD

 

[KKBB]

Here she is.....
From Corwin CDJR in Fargo.
Special thanks to them for meeting me half way! lol

Laramie Level B
12" Uconnect 5
Clearance Lamps
Anti-Spin
4.10 Rear Axle
Black buckets
Tow Hooks
Tow Technology Group

Its really only missing a sun roof IMO.

I really like the Blue!!! Very nice looking.

 

[JerryETX]

Here she is.....
From Corwin CDJR in Fargo.
Special thanks to them for meeting me half way! lol

Laramie Level B
12" Uconnect 5
Clearance Lamps
Anti-Spin
4.10 Rear Axle
Black buckets
Tow Hooks
Tow Technology Group

Its really only missing a sun roof IMO.

Congrats I think you will be happy!

 

[JerryETX]

My dumb**** figured it out 2 years ago. All I had to do is buy a couple hundred dollars worth of tools. Making the tools I couldn't afford, like the case spreader and Backlash bars. and I watched about 30 different YT video's on it.

. So yes its simple unless you cant read a dial gauge. in that case buy a foRD

 

[Bluejoe]

Hey My ordered truck has 6.4, 8 speed trans, 410 posi.

 

[ramffml]

and I watched about 30 different YT video's on it.... ...So yes its simple

Hmm.

 

[Dean2]

Here she is.....
From Corwin CDJR in Fargo.
Special thanks to them for meeting me half way! lol

Laramie Level B
12" Uconnect 5
Clearance Lamps
Anti-Spin
4.10 Rear Axle
Black buckets
Tow Hooks
Tow Technology Group

Its really only missing a sun roof IMO.

Very nice rig. Similar to mine except I have the Long box, in red with 3:73s. For highway or high grade gravel use the Firestone tires work well. If you head for mud or snow, change them before you go, they are absolutely useless off road.

 

[Snowchief]

When I can get more gear I always check that box, especially with the 8 speed transmission’s top gear. I have had both 3.73 and 4.10 Hemi 4x4 2500 trucks. I ran 33 in MT w/ 3.73 and 35 in MT w/4.10 and towed heavy with both no problems.Ram shows a big difference in tow rating 3.73 to 4.10.The 8speed 4.10 setup engine brakes better and doesn’t seem to hang and scream in a gear as much as the 3.73 6speed setup did. Nice truck congratulations!

 

[ramffml]

Ram shows a big difference in tow rating 3.73 to 4.10.

I stopped caring about GCWR ratings once I saw that Ram rates the 3.6/3.92 just 800-ish pounds behind the 5.7/3.21

There's not a chance that those 2 trucks are in any way close or comparable.

Payload is what matters most, and then choose your trailer weight within reason. So I won't pull > 8000 pounds with a half ton despite the tow rating.

 

[RamGuy110]

Very nice rig. Similar to mine except I have the Long box, in red with 3:73s. For highway or high grade gravel use the Firestone tires work well. If you head for mud or snow, change them before you go, they are absolutely useless off road.

Agreed. Usually I level my Rams and go with Ridge Grapplers. I might go Open Country AT3 this time.

 

[RamGuy110]

I had to get this new truck aligned the next day after getting it. Too bad the dealer didn't notice this when they left to deliver it to me 100 miles.

 

[buckeyexx]

Agreed. Usually I level my Rams and go with Ridge Grapplers. I might go Open Country AT3 this time.

The open country at3 are great tires in all weather conditions and I would definitely get them again. One of the best looking tires out there in my opinion. Had them on my 2015 2500 when I traded it in. I heard they are hard to get right now.

 

[RamGuy110]

The open country at3 are great tires in all weather conditions and I would definitely get them again. One of the best looking tires out there in my opinion. Had them on my 2015 2500 when I traded it in. I heard they are hard to get right now.

I hope they'll be easy to get. I'm deciding on rims right now. I kind of want to go 22's

 

[Dean2]

I hope they'll be easy to get. I'm deciding on rims right now. I kind of want to go 22's

l really don't get this fascination with big rims. Set of 18" rims will let me put on as tall and wide a tire as 20s or 22s, there are FAR more tire choices, and the tires are half the price. If it is all about looks and primarily on road use, I guess I can see it, but tire availability and choice is severly limited.