While I haven't posted anything here sense joining the "Oregon Chapter", perhaps I should before Fabmandelux thinks I'm some kind of anti-social,voyeur - nut lurking out here!
Need imput - Going to do a gear change in our 02 F-150 FX4 in the next week or two. Stock gears are 3:55 with the 17" wheels and tires.
We tow a heavy boat during the summer months locally with at least three trips east, twice to Cove and at least one trip to Detroit Lake.
Had decided to run Yukon's 4:56 gear sets over the 4:11, mainly do to cost. Found the front 4:11 gears about $80 more that the 4:56 set.
Although I'm convinced the 4:56 gears will be superior for towing, question is, how will the daily driving suffer from this change?
Opinions...

Jeff

 

I bumped my '99 Explorer from the stock 3.73's to Yukon 4.56's.

Daily driving is fine, just mileage took a hit (in part to the gears, and the increased tire size).

Went from about 15-18mpg to 10-12mpg.

 

You will be buying a LOT more gas.......................lol

 

I would go with the 4.10s...........

As high as the RPMs will be with 4.56s, the longevity of the engine will suffer.

 

3.73s are considered a good all around gear, they won't effect milage to badly when hauling your lunch pail daily, can cruse at freeway speeds and are acceptable for towing. There's a couple of calculators here that can help your decision making process.
Wallace Racing - Automotive Calculators

 

Granted, it's only a V6, but my RPMs at highway speeds have only increased about 500 or so. Not a drastic increase...

 

I'd go to 4.10's if you are sticking with the stock tire size. If you do mostly in town driving when you aren't towing the 4.56's would be ok, but if you do any highway I'd stick to 4.10's