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are 4.11 ok?

I am guessing you are going with a D60 in front ? Not sure 5.38 are available for a 10 bolt or d44
 
Next question, I plan on running arb front and rear, I could probably swing the thick cut gears now and get a 4.10 arb or should I wait and get the arb with the 4.56 carrier? What one is stronger?
 
Next question, I plan on running arb front and rear, I could probably swing the thick cut gears now and get a 4.10 arb or should I wait and get the arb with the 4.56 carrier? What one is stronger?

I say no strength difference between thick and regular ring gear, but I personally would not wanna take it apart twice unless needed, a Dana 60 carrier is a pain to remove, and I own a case spreader. I say wait and order gears and ARB's at the same time.
 
@8seater are you in Cripple Creek , CO?
If so, yes go with the deeper gears with that combo. The mountains need a good bit of power and the large mass of tires will too.
I liked 4:10 with 33s, my 4:56 with 37s is slightly too tall once in a while. (At least to me)
 
4.88’s with 37’s and no OD. 3500rpm at 70 is fun haha. But it’s nice having that extra gearing.
 
I think I would look at a dyno graph of your engine to see where you want to be rpm wise. Then figure out your ratio from there. I found one dyno with a very quick search. Certainly more time digging and you might find a better graph. The ls stuff likes to spin, I would try to figure out how to make a it so you can down shift and it will start putting you into the area you are making power.
If you look at this graph, it shows the LM7 dipping the torque curve around 2600 rpm. So if it was me I would try to make the down shift so It would bring me closer to that 3000 rpm that your curve is starting to go up. Mind you if any engine mods are done that will change. And you can buy cams to change where the engine is making peak hp, tq.
Obviously, tons or ways to tweak that, or taylor it to your liking, but thats just kinda the approach I would take to it. Then play around with the gearhead app.

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Speaking from the realm of 5.3/700r4/241 and 4.10 gears in the mountains on 35" tires left a LOT to be desired. As the graph Beags posted shows, the 5.3 is pretty gutless down low. Once you get the engine spinning and keep it above 2500 it will pull it. However, 4.10 gears and 40's is going to bring the suck if you hit a hill or start pushing a headwind.

My suggestion- go as deep as you can afford now. 4.88's would be good, but 5.13's would be better. With the 40's the engine will be more in it's happy spot for torque and not have you going as deep into the lower gears when climbing.

Monarch Pass is probably one the OP has driven over before as a good benchmark on what it's like to climb. With my old combo of the 5.3/700/4.10's I had the trans going between 2nd and 3rd gear for the majority of the climb. 2nd would pull it up to 45-50mph where I'd go for 3rd and let it go until the speed dropped enough to go back to 2nd gear again. It was madness to listen to the engine rev past 5500-6000 rpm for what felt too long, but as long as I kept it there, the guys with the big blocks behind me didn't catch me.

LS engines like to rev. They are built for it with roller lifters and roller rockers. Had I changed gears from 4.10's to 4.88's it probably would have been way more liveable.

Off road with the magnum and 205, there's more than enough reduction to crawl well with 40's and 4.10's. It just comes down to if you want to drive long distances to the trail or trailer it.
 
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