Towing which would be better
 

When I ordered my truck I never thought of getting 4:30 gears and ended up with the stock 3:73. I tow a 8500lb TT and a 9000lb utility trailer and put on some bigger tires. Went from the stock 245x75x17 to 275x70x18 and wow what a difference the tires make. Seems like it is shifting alot more with the bigger tires on and does not have the umph. I called my dealer today to ask what it would cost to install the 4:30 for a 4x4 and came back with a price of $3450 WOW. Did not think it would be that much. So I was kicking around a tuner from 5 star. You guys who have installed the tuner do you know a big difference? Is it worth it? I really kick myself from not getting the gears when I ordered the truck back then it would have cost $390!

Gears are going to be your best bet imo. Yeah you get more hp/tq and can get it to hold gears longer with a tuner, but I think there's more benefit in a regear. It's expensive, that's for sure. You could find a shop that'll probably do it much cheaper than a dealer (~$1200 an axle).

I just looked at the diameter differences between those tires and it's not much, about an inch and a half so a tuner may be enough. It's definitely the cheaper of the two to try first.

Of course you are using Tow / Haul mode right?

But...you might want to lock-out the higher gears and let the 6.2L rev more.

For example...while I am in town running empty...and don't like the truck searching for the next higher gear...only to run a speed that the truck feels sluggish. So...I usually lock-out 6th gear. Run in town at 40mph in 5th gear...and the truck feels more responsive.

In your case...you may need to run more in 3rd or 4th...depending on speed of course.

Or...you can go manual mode. Just a thought...

OBTW: The 4.30 gears are so Awesome! Yes...they really are...IMHO! :-X22

Good luck!


biz
:-wink

tuner help
 

Big Daddy O: Sorry if I don't have the name right. I have a 2012 F-250 6.2 gas with 4:30 gears. The truck set up that way is rated for 15,000lbs pulling a fifth wheel. Before I go any further I need to mention I pulled my fifth wheel with a 08 6.4 diesel which I traded in for the 12 model.

I went to gas because of a number of reasons, cost for a new one was the biggest reason, also I only pull my fifthe wheel 3-4,000 miles a year and put on 7,000 miles running empty. The diesel was nice for abundance of power, it got 9.5 to 11 pulling the fifth wheel which weighs around 13,000lbs.

The 12 6.2 gets 7.5 to 9 pulling the fifth wheel, depending on wind, hills and so forth. So I dropped about 2 miles/gallon going to the gas. 8% grades it can maintain 50 mph in 3rd gear. Empty I get 15 to 16+ running around. In town driving around 13.

I thought it would be nice to try and get a little better mileage, so I tried the SCT tuner, Mike recommended the performance tune/ tow for what I was looking at. In 2000 miles of testing on a trip I saw no increase in mileage, and if anything less miles/gallon than stock. Empty again I saw no increase in milage, so I took the beating for returning the product of 30% return fee. I was not happy not only with the miles/gallon but also with the shifting of the truck, at times it seemed to have trouble finding 3rd gear - which since I've returned to stock has never again been an issue.

MY recommendation to you is to return to the 17 inch tires (which is what i have on my truck) and forget the turner- you'll be dollars ahead in the long run.

Yes go back to stock tires or do the gears. An aftermarket shop will do it for much less than Ford charges.

Thanks for the input guys it means alot! If only I could turn back time and have ordered them when I ordered the truck. I think the tuner is out and going back to the stock tires. I did some math and from what I get with the bigger tires my rear end "LOL" is a 3:50. What kind of other shop would do the gears instead of Ford?

Any kind of truck performance shop or a good mechanic or rear end specialty shop.

yea if u do find someone that will change your ring and pionion gears make sure they know what they are doing ,if u dont it might sound like a old school bus going down the road and it will not last very long lol trust me

Yup what he said, if it is not a person experienced with installing gears and they do it wrong it will howl like crazy and drive you out of your mind.

I just bought an 11 F250 Lariat FX4 4x4 with 3.73's and I tow an 18ft flat deck to haul water (abt 8500 lbs) as well as a 34 1/2' TT that weighs abt 8500. I haven't hauled the TT yet but I will say it will run circles around my previous truck an 08 Ram 2500 hemi with 3.73's. This thing seems to just know what gear to be in and hauls that flat deck like it's not even there and I mean both handling and engine power wise. It took abit of getting used to the way the power comes on as it seems sluggish at first but it is not as the power is just that smooth and the tranny always seems to grab the right gear. I haul water on gravel roads and it is a real treat to drive this thing. BTW I have the 275 70 18's. I can hardly wait till next summer to do our 4000 mile vacation to Indiana with this truck.

Nice, congrats on the truck!

Got any pics?

There are a few pics in the garage as I cannot attach any pics to a post it would seem.

Nice color combo. If you upload the pics to photobucket, you can link it here.

Hope this helps...

OBTW: Nice looking SD...and TT! :D

biz
;)

Thanks Biz