Hi guys. Been lurking and reading, just joined the group. Lots of good info that I've read. Need opinions on this.

As the title states, I currently have a '11 DRW 4x4 Lariat with 3.73 gears. Love the performance and pulling power it has. I'm hoping to trade it in at the end of the year on a 2019 DRW 4x4 Lariat, love the new truck. Looking at the gear options, all that are available are the 3.55 and 4.10. I've done the search and read the 3.55/4.10 discussions. I've driven a '18 DRW 4x4 Lariat with the 4.10 and this thing jumps, crazy performance.

I did a comparison of mph/rpm with my truck and the '18. I'm only seeing 200 rpm higher with the 4.10 over my current 3.73. My current mpg is always a consistent 13 mpg in town and running empty at 80 mph. I drop to high 11's low 12's pulling my Grady White boat. I pull from Kentucky to South Carolina 7-8 times a year and Florida 2 times a year. Boat fully loaded and full fuel, 8-10K lbs. I pull to the lake here locally probably every other weekend from April thru October. The 3.73 walks right on with the boat and will gain speed pulling uphill as long as I keep the rpms at 2000 or more. I tow between 70 and 80.

For the way I drive, I'm afraid the 3.55 won't pull like I'm used to. For the time I had the '18 out with the 4.10 and 100 miles on it, the mpg were already 14 mpg.

Guess after all that, what I'm asking, and for my use, is the 4.10 the right gear or the 3.55? Trying not to make a $73K mistake that I'll be driving for 8-10 years.

Thanks

 

I pull a 16K fiver from TN into NC and SC over I-26 with 4.10's and it is overkill for my weight. I drop down into 5th gear over Sams Gap and run around 65 MPH. With the weight you are pulling, the 3.55's will do fine. I came from a 2012 F-350 with 3.73's and the difference is huge in the trucks. I lost 1 MPG from the 2012 towing. I have found that the MPG drops with the 4.10's unloaded when you go over 65 MPH.

Here is a thread https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...or-3-55-a.html I had before I bought mine. Good reading. Check post #23 as good info on RPM's for each ratio.

But, if doing again I would still get the 4.10's as my truck is used for towing majority of the time.

 

4.10's for sure.
I am enjoying 4.30's!

 

This! No difference in mileage but that 200+ rpm gain will keep you in peak torque.

 

Thanks guys.

My dealer is ordering in a 2018 Lariat DRW 4x4 with a 3.55 for inventory and I will take it out for a test run and drive it like I normally would. The best way to tell for me, is seat of the pants and what my right foot is doing to get the truck moving for the way I drive. I'll do my comparison with my findings from the '18 with 4.10's and my current 3.73's.

 

Lot more torque in the 2018 then the 2011 - my guess is the 3.55s would be roughly equivalent to the lower power of the 2011 6.7L with the 3.73s.

Hell we tow our 16k fiver brilliantly with 3.31s...no complaints on power, but I am coming from a 6.0.

 

Yes, the way you drive is going to adversely affect fuel mileage, but you aren't really towing an extraordinary distance so two or three mpg isn't going to put you in the poor house.
You don't want to match your old truck's performance, you want to improve on it. The 4.10 is going to do that for you.

 

I tow an 18K fifth wheel. Without a doubt, the biggest thing I hate about my truck is the 4.30 rear end. Not too far from a 4.10.

When I first bought the camper, we had a 2015 F350 SRW with the 3.55. I was a little concerned with the 3.55 for that much weight. We had just sold our 11K toy hauler bumper pull and that was fine but now going back to a big fifth wheel, I was a little skeptical.

Pulling the camper home from Md. to NC, I knew we were going to be just fine. The 3.55 was awesome. Guys talk about the torque range and stuff. Well all I know is that truck pulled like a train and when I was going 65-70 and needed to pass someone, there was still plenty of rpm's on tap to accelerate in a hurry.

Especially with the increase in power, I would actually opt for the 3.55 if I couldn't get a 3.73.

 

I really like the 4.30 gears in my F450. Mileage seems to be the same as 3.55 F350s - 14.5 in the winter, 15.5 in the summer (and a F450 is 500# heavier). It has a very responsive throttle, spins at 2000 RPMs at 65, and pulls most hills without even downshifting (@ 25.5k GCVW). It's a joy to drive empty or towing heavy.

If I regularly drove at 80+, I'd want a taller gear; however, the fastest roads around here only have a 70 MPH speed limit.

 

Why? .........

 

Overkill; especially at highway speeds.

Necessary for 30,000 lbs. but not 18,000.

 

How is it overkill? Are you saying you dont like the MPG?

 

I really like the 4.10 gearing in my truck..driving around town it accelerates easily and hits 6th before you know it. Towing our 16K pound toyhauler it performs great. Only negative is that anything over 65 mph fuel mileage starts to suffer. You can always go to taller tires if you do a lot of high speed driving but there goes some performance. I get over 16 mpg driving @70 mph and 17 mpg @ 65 mph so thats not bad. Amazing how this truck performs with the 4.10's and stock height tires.

 

 

My opinion is Ford did us wrong by dropping the 3.73 in the diesel. It is such a great choice especially when so many folks up their tire size a little. If you are looking for the best towing mpg/performance go with the 4.10. If you concern yourself with eeking out a possible mpg advantage driving the freeway while unloaded go with the 3.55. This is the same scenario for the 6.2 guys 3.73 or 4.30.