ive always wondered this. not sure how much of a difference it makes but, lets say i threw 44'' tires on my dodge and regeared it to as close as factory as i could, would the 5.9 feel like a dog with all that extra weight needing to get moving? or would it not be that noticeable? just curious...

 

It's more your gears than your tires.

 

I hope this is totally hypothetical, as the truck as built can't handle 44's and there is no gear ratio that actually exists that you can put in your axles to get near stock with that big a tire.

The extra weight of that big of meats will bog the engine down more than the stock size and ratio. Weight is still weight, and drag is still drag. The gears make it easier to get going, but it ain't a magic bullet.

 

If you gear be dead on like stock it's not gonna have power like you want. You need to "over" gear a tad.

 

im not putting 44s on my truck. maybe something smaller. the stock axles couldnt handle that i no... but i was just curious to see how much the weight the would affect the acceleration.

 

Weight, and rolling resistance. Yep, you would have to over gear pretty hard to get acceptable performance from tires that large, and you would be turning quite a bit more rpm at freeway speeds.

 

44's.... LOL. i have a buddy with 44's on a ford f150 mud rig. it eats front axles and you need a step ladder to get in and out. it has about, i don't know - 12-16 inches of lift.

but for sheer looks - its impressive as hell.

 

so how much power would you feel like your loosing with going with a tire that big? 30-50 hp? less/more?

 

Its not a question of horsepower. The engine makes what it makes. Especially with tires that large its all about torque. If the engine makes more horsepower,that does not mean it will turn those tires any better. Educate yourself on what torque is and what it does,and how to make an engine and drivetrain produce more of it.

 

Finally! Another person who understands the difference between torque and horsepower and how torque (or lack thereof) affects acceleration.

Big 'ol heavy azz tires with lots of "unsprung weight" on heavy trucks need lots of torque to get them turning. Gears are a torque MULTIPLIER...and a horsepower eater, which is one factor why you lose top end speed when you gear lower unless you increase your horsepower.

OH and it's not that your truck won't move at all with 37's or whatever tire and 3:55's, it just won't do it as well. The attempt will create lots of internal heat in your tranny as what little multiplication it has struggles to overcome weight. A manual tranny with what we used to call a "granny low" would be better so you can drive in 2nd or 3rd gear around town.