If I go up to 4.56 does that send it up another 1100lbs for about 8500 or is there a point of diminishing returns with gears?

Going to be swapping gears in January. Going bigger, don't know how big to go. Truck is used as a truck, always hauling or towing something. With the TCM swap I've gotten myself another highway gear, so it should help offset the fuel consumption I'll see with the taller gears.

Whacha think?

Edit - Source for my figures: http://www.dodge.com/towing/D/vehicl...uto%252C+45RFE

 

Well of course your going to be able to get better take off with a lower gear ratio but with Gross Weight Rating On The Truck And Tow Rating's On Hitch's As Far As The Rear Ratio Change Your Not Changing The Rating's Of truck Or Hitch So As Far As That Goes Not Really Doing Any Good For That Purpose And Of Course The Lower Gear Ratio The Higher RPM's At Any Speed So You will Lose Fuel Mileage as well

 

Yeah I know I'll lose fuel mileage, but like I said, I gained an extra highway gear with the TCS zwap, lost about 300 rpms crusing.

And you make a good point about the hitch capacity.

All that being said, the taller gears would be better for hauling, yes? It'll hang onto gears better in the hills I believe.

 

If your wanting better pulling for hill yeah A 4.56 would get it done better than the 3.92 mine has It does A Pretty Good Job Towing I would Pull The Crap Out Of Something With A 4.56 LOL

 

You can only go so high on pulling the trailer weight, after so many pounds it's not a truck pulling issue, its a truck stopping the trailer issue. Don't overload your Ram! If you get into an accident your insurance might not cover you if they find out you were pulling more than you were supposed to.

 

More weight=less stopping. Its awesome.
Lol.

 

Physically, going to 4.56 gears would increase towing capacity above that of 3.92 gears. Pulling, especially on hills would be easier and the transmission load would be better simply because it won't be searching for the right gear as often.


However, keep in mind that from a LEGAL standpoint, the law AND your insurance are going to go strictly by the highest POSTED towing capacity by the manufacturer. Since factory options on the '02 Ram 4.7 consisted of 3.55 and 3.92 gears, these are the posted limits.
As a result, if you were found to be towing a load in excess of 7400 lbs. regardless of any extra or aftermarket equipment, they could make you get the weight down or unhook and make other arrangements to tow the load.
Even more of an issue, if you were to have an accident and found to be towing over the listed capacity of the truck, your insurance company has every legal right to deny any claims - meaning you would foot the bill for damages. God forbid there were to be an injury or loss of life.


Just something to think about besides "how much COULD I tow if"...

 

I fully understand, Thank you.


edit - it should be noted I have no intention of towing that much, even 7400. It's just with the 4.7 and 3.55s it bogs down on hills and finds a nice high gear to scream in. I towed a small u haul enclosed up a bit of a hill last year, and it was at 4,000 rpms for a good ten minutes before I crested the hill. Peak torque is 3500 rpms


Edit - my next truck is a cummins.

 

You don't need a Cummins to pull a trailer.
My Hemi w/3:92's does a great job towing at its max. I tow 6klbs regularly and it handles like a champ. I do have my trans tune altered through Superchips which helps a great deal, but even without it, plenty of power for the occasional 7k pull.