So i have a 97 ram 1500 2wd 318 with Pacesetter long tubes. I am averaging around 13.5 mpg 75 highway and 45 city on 255/75r17. Shes kind of sluggish in my eyes but i am wondering if i go to 3.90 or 3.92 will i see a small increase in mpg overall? i went from 9.5-10 mpg to 13.5 with the headers alone. She picked up a lot of acceleration and much better mileage than i was expecting being able to breath better. So with the equivalent of 32's combined with 3.92 increase city mpg? and potentially highway? I know it will bring the rpms up but fuel mileage is a combo of how far you have to stay into the skinny pedal mixed with the rpms. if i have to raise the rpms to get a little less into the skinny pedal its worth it but i dont want to decrease mileage more than its already at!

 

You are going to spend nearly a grand to re-gear. That will buy a lot of gas......

Have you done anything with the plenum yet? last time you had a tune up? How many miles on the truck?

Doing the plenum, if yours is bad, and changing the timing chain and gears, if you are over 100K miles, would likely perk your truck up rather nicely.

 

where is your numbers for a grand coming from? just out of curiosity. Plenum was done and timing chain is next. truck has 153k miles. just looking for a better overall mileage. but from what i can find its around $300 for the gears.

 

Along with the gears you also need an installation kit which includes new bearings. There are shim kits available, but imho it would be stupid not to replace the bearings while you have axle apart. Not to mention front axle shaft seals, and if you take it to a shop to do gears. It all adds up.

But I just re-read your first post, and noticed that you have two wheel drive. So yeah, it's not too expensive to re-gear.

Like HeyYou said, changing gears in hope for a slightly better mpg is pointless, it won't ever pay you back. But if you change gears for a better performance, that (possibly) slightly better mpg is added bonus.

 

Gears can run 500 bucks all by themselves, if you want a good set, that won't be loud. Then the installation kit, another couple hundred bucks for a good quality one... and then there is labor. The real killer. You are looking at AT LEAST 750 parts and labor to have someone else do it. If you do it yourself, you can save the labor, maybe.... but, gear setup is pretty much an art form, and if you haven't done it before, it's very easy to do it wrong, and munch up your new gears, along with other parts in there as well. Then you get to pay for everything twice.

Could just go with smaller tires next time you need them. Go with 65's, instead of 75's. The inch smaller diameter will be the rough equivalent of higher (numerically) gears.

 

A set of Yukon gears with an install kit will run 500 plus me and a friend would be doing it. Just wondering what kind of boost i would get in city mpg and preformance. I planned to go to 265/70/R17 which is about a 30.5 inch tire new.

 

Doing it yourself has the potential to save money on the install, just, read a LOT, and be EXTREMELY picky doing the job. Way to easy to screw it up.

You will notice a boost in 'felt' power, simply because of the gears, and smaller tires. If you play with that extra power, (highly likely, if you are anything like me....) you may notice a LOSS of fuel economy, initially, but, once you get used to it, and start driving more 'normally', you *might* see a 1 or maybe 2 point gain. Maybe. It will take a long time to pay for itself..... Of course, it will also tow/haul easier.

 

yeah i mean mean its nice ti have a long first gear (im a young dumb kid who drives his auto truck like its a manual) but what it boils down to is i ont want to have to drop to 3rd to pass on the highway or be screaming at 50 in first lol. and my friend has done it multiple times as well as being a certified mechanic.if i decide to do it meticulous i shall be!

 

That works. Having someone that has done it before makes for a much better outcome.

have you checked your plenum yet? How many miles on the truck? If you are over/approaching 100K, wouldn't hurt to do the timing set.

 

I just re-geared my truck just awhile back.
Went from 3.55 to 4.11.
Used Yukon gear and pinion, and the master rebuild kit.
Gear set and kit cost me just shy of $650 from Summit.
Install cost me $500.
EDIT:... my mileage sucks no matter what because I drive "in town" traffic only....no highway....