Proper gearing

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by Canary379, Jun 17, 2018.

  1. Canary379

    Canary379 Light Load Member

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    not sure if this should be posted here or in the Garage,but wanted to see what others thought as far as gearing goes.

    Currently I have a 2002 379 Pete with a 550 Cat 6nz engine. Bought used a couple of years ago and absolutely love the truck and the power. We do dump work in the Chicago area mostly out west and not in the city itself. Lots of highway and open roads.

    Anyways, the transmission is an 8 LL and it has 3.90 rear ends running on regular 22.5 rubber not low pros. When I run the highways it will do 60mph at 1500rpm. Ideally I would like to be doing 65-70 and stay under 1500 because with the big motor as we know it really starts sucking down the fuel..

    I am tossing around the idea of maybe changing the rear ends or the transmission to like a 13spd which I really like. Anyone have any thoughts on this or suggestions that they know would bring down those rpms to say around 1300-1400 @ 60-65mph if it's possible. The fuel savings would be much appreciated.

    Thanks Nick
     
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  3. MACK E-6

    MACK E-6 Moderator Staff Member

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    Ours were specced for years to run 1500 at 65 with 10 speeds.
     
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  4. wore out

    wore out Numbered Classic

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    Changing to a 13 speed is not gonna change your final ratio. The 8LL is .73 in high gear. The 13 is .73 in high gear as well. They do make a direct 8LL model but with 3.90's and 11R 22.5's you would be tached out at 60mph.

    Really changing the rears is your only option

    370's will drop you about 150 rpm give or take and 3.55's will give you another 150 or so. But with 3.55S your gonna start to notice a loss of that race car feel
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2018
  5. Justrucking2

    Justrucking2 Road Train Member

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    Swap the gear boxes, say a 3:50's to say 3:70 range, or there about. Should get you that speed you desire and keep it in range. They have gearing calculators out there, might want to Google that. The issue is your rear ends, not the transmission.
     
  6. shogun

    shogun Road Train Member

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    A good ecm tune from a specialist, some free flowing Donaldson’s like the m1000463 and a power harness would probably get you a nice gain. There are some posts on here about tuning for that motor and who to use, those mufflers are cheap at the TruckPro $100ish, and you can make that harness yourself for a few cents if you can solder decent.

    That muffler was worth a few tenths on its own on a 2007 ISX 475.
     
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  7. Long FLD

    Long FLD Road Train Member

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    I’d probably just put some tall 24.5’s on the drives.
     
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  8. Ruthless

    Ruthless Road Train Member

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    ^^ x2
     
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  9. TripleSix

    TripleSix God of Roads

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    Nice numbers on that truck, BTW. The only thing that's eating you is the highway cruising, right? Well, except for the taller rubber, there's no easy fix. The best fix would be a 2 or 2 speed auxilliary on the back of your transmission, but that's $$$$$. It works like the transfer case on a 4x4 pickup.
     
  10. Long FLD

    Long FLD Road Train Member

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    3.90’s and tall 24.5’s.

    C1B41676-C058-4594-A7B9-11F860F9E8FF.jpeg
     
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  11. Largecar359

    Largecar359 Road Train Member

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    I like the little display that says 7.0mpg.
    I think that’s what the dude is looking for, 65mph with 1500 at the tach.
     
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