What gears should i use in my dana 44's with 35's and a 5.2?

 

4.56's seem to be the general recommendation.

 

I think the episode said they gained about 2mpgs by doing this - someone correct me if I am wrong. If you do the math, you can see most (not all) of this cost in a year assuming $4/gallon gas prices - which is on its way apparently.

Assume you drive 25K a year (I do) at 12mpg = 2084 gallons @ $4 = $8333
Same assumptions but at 14mpg = 1785 gallons @ $4 = $7142 which is a savings of $1191 a year just by doing the manual hub conversion.

Yes its a pretty penny to shell out but if you plan on having your truck around for another few years, then it is something to look into.

 

i get 18-20s doing 50-60 cruising. and like 15-18 highway doing 70-75 depends on the throttle

 

Not to be mean or anything, but I think you left something out the equation...sort of.

Your first year should read $7142 + $1559 (cost of parts less installation)=$8701 which is $368 over what you'd normally spend. You wont actually recieve a major ($1191) benefit till your 3rd year provided you don't break something. That's 75,000 more miles on a 15 year old truck. On a gasser thats a bunch of miles.

BTW you 1500 guys will have to add in the price of D-60 axles and the asundry pieces you'll need to install them. If you keep your d-44 the EMS kit will require you to mod your wheel hub holes or purchase aftermarket wheels. Add that expense to the first years driving.

I considered this mod myself at times but always talked myself out of it because I don't drive my truck enough anymore. My feeling is its not the hubs increasing the mileage because on an open differential, the diff itself isn't spinning as long as the axle on the CAD side is not engaged. The parasitic drag from the drivers side axle turning the carrier bearing is miniscule at best.

Sadly I can't watch the show. It sounds like the shows producers did the typical bolt ons and then some tricks like removing parasitic engine drag (e fans) and drivetrain. My thoughts are the gear swap to put the motor back in it's powerband helped more than the hubs. Then they took as much weight out (spare tire?) as they could.

Finally they used a vacum guage to monitor thier driving habits. Imagine trying to accelerate with a raw egg between your foot and the gas pedal, and you'll get the idea. I would guess most of you would gain a couple of mpg by buying and driving by the guage alone, but you'd die of boredom...if someone didn't rearend you or worse!

 

Not being mean dsertdog56, I didnt explain my math results very well. You are 100% right that you will have spent $368 over what you normally would have spent on fuel if you do the conversion. It related back to my first paragraph when I said you can recoup most (not all) of your money you shell out as opposed to if you did nothing and just kept it stock.

As a daily driver I usually put 20K - 25K on my truck. With gas prices what they are I just purchased a 4cyl 5sp beater car for $1100 so this option is definetely off the table for gas reduction.

And you are right that 1500 guys arent always comparing apples to apples - especially 2wd guys.

 

I doubt you'd recoup any money back on a hub conversion...based on the mileage you drove, the only savings might be in replacing unit bearings...and an extra 75k on a gasser to recoup? Save your money for a stroker conversion.

I believe the real mileage gains came from 3 things...
A. The regearing.
B. Vacum guage/MAJOR driving habit change
C. Removal of all extraneous weight. < No spare=bad idea!

Don'tcha just love the 2wd drives and thier econo ratings....sheesh (jumps into flame retardent suit)

 

I just installed a scangauge II in my truck, and I'm surprised with how much of a difference my driving habits make. Your mpg is always going to suck when accelerating, but if you get up to speed quickly enough, you'll make up for it. I went from averaging 11mpg all winter long to an average of 16mpg just this week. This is combining some in-town driving and 10mi of constant 55mph every day to work. I do the speed limit, so I know that I'm not babying it, or dying from boredom. Using the gph calculator and the TPS position on the fly really helps me to control my habits. I'm curious to see what happens on my trip to Moab next month.

 

What downhill in neutral?