Best Ring and Pinion and Why?

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DR1

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I have a 2000 F150 4x2,ext cab,4.6 V8, Auto Trans, 3.55 locker (factory gear) 8.8 axle.

Tire size - 245/70r16 106t

The only performance related thing I've done to my truck.

1) True dual exhaust with Borla mufflers. I still have all 4 cats on my truck.


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The general consensus with a lot of people on here say the DiabloSport Predator 2 Performance Tuner 7102 is a "waste" of money!

Ok....so which ring and pinion would you say is the best choice,and WHY?

3.73 ring and pinion ?

3.90 ring and pinion ?

4.10 ring and pinion ?

Most of my driving is in town driving,and I get on the interstate about 1 time every month and travel 3 hrs round trip.

I do tow a 1,800 lb utility trailer 3-4 times per week in town.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Originally Posted By: lawnguy
I have a 2000 F150 4x2,ext cab,4.6 V8, Auto Trans, 3.55 locker (factory gear) 8.8 axle.

Tire size - 245/70r16 106t

The only performance related thing I've done to my truck.

1) True dual exhaust with Borla mufflers. I still have all 4 cats on my truck.


__________________________________________________ ____________
The general consensus with a lot of people on here say the DiabloSport Predator 2 Performance Tuner 7102 is a "waste" of money!

Ok....so which ring and pinion would you say is the best choice,and WHY?

3.73 ring and pinion ?

3.90 ring and pinion ?

4.10 ring and pinion ?

Most of my driving is in town driving,and I get on the interstate about 1 time every month and travel 3 hrs round trip.

I do tow a 1,800 lb utility trailer 3-4 times per week in town.


I agree - stick with what you got.

Not to suck the jelly out of your donut, but that Borla exhaust likely isn't giving you any more performance, if it's just a cat-back.
 
Making your slow truck loud is dumb.
That truck will be slow no matter what you do. If you want a fast old truck and aren't a "Ford guy", it's hard to beat a Chevy/GMC with a 6.0.
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Making your slow truck loud is dumb.
That truck will be slow no matter what you do. If you want a fast old truck and aren't a "Ford guy", it's hard to beat a Chevy/GMC with a 6.0.


Slow things are allowed to sound good, too. The 4.6 V8 sounds [censored] good.
I'd put 4.10 gears in it since you don't do much highway. I'd also like doing the work myself.
 
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Originally Posted By: eyeofthetiger
The 4.6 V8 sounds [censored] good.
I'd put 4.10 gears in it since you don't do much highway. I'd also like doing the work myself.


I'll echo this.....

Though I will say, It's pretty hard to get the pinion depth Just Right (shimmed) without a special tool.
It can be done - it's just a little time consuming doing it by "trial-and error".

The shims go between the pinion gear and rear pinion bearing, which is pressed on.
Pulling the bearing off with a bearing puller usually destroys it.
 
Didn't this get hashed out already?

I'd think the performance change from 3.55 to 3.73 would be negligible, and not worth the cost. not unless if it was swapping the whole axle for pennies.

4.10 might be annoying for highway, but sure would put some snap into it for around town, off the line.
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Making your slow truck loud is dumb.
That truck will be slow no matter what you do. If you want a fast old truck and aren't a "Ford guy", it's hard to beat a Chevy/GMC with a 6.0.


Or a Lightning, or a Harley, both of which I've already suggested to him.
 
Why 4.10 ?


Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
If you are [censored] bent on spending the money, get the 4.10's.
 
Originally Posted By: lawnguy
Why 4.10 ?


Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
If you are [censored] bent on spending the money, get the 4.10's.


Because it will make the biggest difference, and since this isn't going to be cheap, you might as well get the most out of your dollar.
 
So it will make a bigger difference than a 20hp performance programmer for $350?


Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: lawnguy
Why 4.10 ?


Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
If you are [censored] bent on spending the money, get the 4.10's.


Because it will make the biggest difference, and since this isn't going to be cheap, you might as well get the most out of your dollar.
 
Originally Posted By: lawnguy
So it will make a bigger difference than a 20hp performance programmer for $350?


Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: lawnguy
Why 4.10 ?


Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
If you are [censored] bent on spending the money, get the 4.10's.


Because it will make the biggest difference, and since this isn't going to be cheap, you might as well get the most out of your dollar.


Do you honestly think a non-PI 4.6L is going to gain 20HP from a tuner? If Ford could have, they would have gone that route rather than spending significantly more money on developing the PI heads and cams.
 
Tuning can sometimes garner gains like that. Tuners aren't concerned with emissions standards, so they can play more with fueling and timing, without that constraint.
 
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Tuning can sometimes garner gains like that. Tuners aren't concerned with emissions standards, so they can play more with fueling and timing, without that constraint.


On some applications, yes. But this is a non-PI 4.6L, which was 220HP @ 4,750RPM. The non-PI 5.4L was 235HP @ 4,250RPM, that's a whopping 15HP gain from an additional 49ci. When the engines went PI, the 5.4L jumped to 260HP @ 4,500RPM, the 4.6L to 231HP @ 4,750.

This engine has a 9:1 compression ratio and is not deep breathing, that's a big part of why the PI, which stands for Performance Improved, intake, heads and camshafts were added later on.

The main reason to get a chip isn't to hop up your stock stuff, it's to deal with a modified engine that is actually making more power as well as potentially tuning shift points and the like. Heads/cam/intake on a 302HO could readily net a 100HP gain for example. A chip to accommodate those mods so that you didn't get a surging idle, could run larger injectors and a larger aftermarket MAF was extremely beneficial.

Even the Mustang version of the non-PI 4.6L was only 225HP @ 4,750RPM despite having a different intake and PCM programming. The PI version bumped this up significantly to 260HP @ 5,250RPM really showing how poorly the old setup breathed.
 
You might be able to scratch your itch and save money overall with a tuner.

In your situation, the horsepower numbers don't matter as much as low-speed torque. More torque off the line will make the truck feel a lot quicker. (Disclaimer: I have never driven a 4.6 Ford.)

For your vehicle, Hypertech claims torque gains of 31/32 ft-lb for regular/premium tunes, with the biggest increase between 1000 and 25000 rpm. Horsepower gains are only 8 and 11. The Diablo claims more horsepower but less torque.

Both tuners also can adjust the speedometer for different gears or tire sizes, meaning you wouldn't have to pay for that if you change gears in the future.

I have a Hypertech tuner for my 5.3 Chevy with 3.42 gears. Both 87 and 93 octane tunes make a noticeable difference, especially in low-end response. The trouble is, my truck has always pinged on stock tuning. The Hypertech makes it worse, even after an update. I decided to live with stock tuning, and just use the Hypertech to firm up the shift and correct tire size. The claimed torque increase for my 5.3 is only 11 or 24 ft-lb, by the way.

I put the 87 tune back in after reading your earlier thread, and I'll keep it, and keep my foot out of it, until the weather gets hot again.

If you decide on a gear change, I would recommend pricing the installation at a drivetrain shop or finding a complete rearend, as a lot of people have suggested.
 
Originally Posted By: lawnguy
So it will make a bigger difference than a 20hp performance programmer for $350?


Do not believe the advertising......

NO programmer will give 20 HP to the older 4.6 (non-PI engine) that you have.

4.10 gears will surely wake it up.

My 1996 Mustang GT 4.6 is as big of a dog as your truck.
Going from 2.73 gears to 3.73 gears dropped 3 MPG but made the car WAKE UP big time in acceleration!
 
My truck isn't a dog believe it or not. It lacks a little in the towing dept though. Could it be a whole lot more than I want,
OH YEAH! But it's not like a 4.2 v6 in an F150. Now thats a dog.


Originally Posted By: Linctex
Originally Posted By: lawnguy
So it will make a bigger difference than a 20hp performance programmer for $350?


Do not believe the advertising......

NO programmer will give 20 HP to the older 4.6 (non-PI engine) that you have.

4.10 gears will surely wake it up.

My 1996 Mustang GT 4.6 is as big of a dog as your truck.
Going from 2.73 gears to 3.73 gears dropped 3 MPG but made the car WAKE UP big time in acceleration!
 
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Lacks in towing? Can you define what that means? I mean, does it feel like it's working harder off the line, or on the highway, or on the hills?
 
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