Are 4.56 gears too low for 33" nitto TG's? and would it hurt to run 33's with my OE 3.55LS gears? I'll soon be lifting my 4x2 and would like your help with gearing it correctly. i do mostly city driving with the occasional towing of my 6700# travel trailer or load of quads/ jet skis. Thanks Guys.

 

I have 4.56 gears and 305/55/20, about 33.4, and they work great. In fact, I'd like a smaller tire for even more performance, as my rpms at 75 are only about 2200. The factory 18s are noticeably lighter and easier to move. The 3.55 gears with 33s will feel more sluggish, but it is all relative and I think it woudl be Ok, although it wouuld leave me wanting lower gears to avoid gear searching of the At on hills, and not enough grunt. So if you want to do it right, i trhink 4.45 gears woul be a good fit.

 

what should i do first, bigger tires or regear?

 

I'm running 295/70R17 Nitto TGs (33x12) with 3.55 gears. I dont have any real issues with this setup especially when you consider that I drive mostly on highways here in the flat part of east Texas. I imagine that if I were to live in a place with many hills/mountains I would want some taller gears. I say go for the tires first and see how it feels to you and then see if you want the gears.

Here is a link to a chart that shows the optimum gear ratios to tire size. You may want to use this as a reference.

http://www.sierrabronco.com/TireGearRatio.htm

 

Bigger tires, then re-gear. Your 3.55's with 33's will be similar to my 35's with 3.73's. You will deff. want more gear eventually but you will be ok with the 3.55's & 33's.

 

Tires then gears.

 

thanks guys! tires it is then

 

ok, looking on summitracing.com, there are 2 choices for the 9.75" axle. 1 is a 30spline pinion, the other is a 31 spline pinion. which one do i need?

 

Great link!