Ok. So I have a v6 2014 quad cab 2wd. It has 3:21 gears.

I have been looking and many say that with the 8 speed tans mission there is no noticeable benefit to the 3:55 gears.
of course factory stats show a 3k increase in towing capacity.

so, is there more to it. Is mine with 3:21 way underrated, is the 355 or 392 overrated?

​​​​​​​or is it worth the 1st to pay and have them swapped.

 

I guess a lot of the "is it worth it" comes down to what you plan to tow, how often do you plan to tow it, and what terrain will you be towing through? Have you tried towing the item yet, and if so, how did the Ram do? If you planned to tow a lot, why did you opt for the V6 versus the Hemi?

I have a 2014 Ram with the Hemi and 3.21 gears and routinely tow a 5600 lb (dry) 30' travel trailer or a 24' enclosed trailer with two UTVs (probably around 5500 lbs loaded) without issue. The terrain I tow in is non-mountainous and if the different gears make much difference, I cannot imagine how impressive one with 3.92 gears must tow!

-Rod

 

When people say that the diff gears make little difference with the 8 speed, it's because it's mostly true with the 3.21 and 3.92. The effective gear ratio is the transmission gear multiplied by the differential gear. In the case of the 3.21 vs 3.92, 8th gear with the 3.92 is almost the same as 7th gear with the 3.21. The rest of the gears are basically the same situation, 7th gear with 3.92 is similar to 6th gear with the 3.21. The biggest gain for the 3.92 is when pulling off a dead stop, it can get more weight rolling than the 3.21. Once on the road, they both tow about the same.

 

Mickie is right though - the 3.21 is rated at just over 4000lbs, and the 3.55 is rated at around 7000. That's a huge difference. As for why he would get the V6 if he wanted to tow. I guess it depends on how often he plans on towing. Its one of the reasons I didn't get the V6, though now I wish I had. The 3.55 won't make much difference in highway speed, and might even help with in city mileage.

Mickie - it's not that the other gears are overrated, it's a matter of use. In your case, it's also a matter of capacity. With my 5sp/3.55 setup, if I go to the 3.92 it doesn't really add enough to be worth it. My opinion is that if I had bought the V6 8sp/3.21 I was looking at, I'd be looking at the 3.55 gears.

 

The V6 will limit you more than the 3.21's. My 09 Hemi has the 3.21 gears and I think they are the best of both worlds - good highway mileage and no issues towing my 6K boat

 

This may help you, if you are deciding to tow, changing axles ratios are not cheap. Bur cheaper than buying another truck. I agree with the info that you have been given, but if you are in a hilly area 3:92 makes a difference than 3:55 (these 2 axle ratios have very similar tow ratings) . The 3:92's just feel a whole lot better and less strain going up long grades.
91 - Dakota V8 - 3:92 - 7 years towing
98 - Ram 360 V8 - 3:55 - 14 years towing
2012 - Ram 5.7 hemi (6 speed) - 3:92 5 years towing
2017 - Ram 5.7 hemi (8 speed) - 3:92 1 year towing and counting


https://www.ramtrucks.com/assets/tow...ing_charts.pdf

cheers