i would get the tires installed first, like i said i drove mine for 4 years on 35's with towing and alot of offroading and it was fine. if you feel the need get the gears.

 

sounds good to me, thanks str8t six!!

 

sorry i have another question, I was looking through my owners manual and saw that some f150s have 3.73 gears ands some have 3.55? Does that make a difference in what gear ratio i should get when i go to get new gears for the bigger tires? sorry if this is a dumb question, but im still learning. lol

Thanks

 

no it doesnt matter what you had previously


how many miles do you have on your truck? do you have a transmission cooler?

 

It has 14,000 miles. And i dont know if it has a trans cooler on it. I havnt put one on it if that is what you meant.

Thanks

 

if it has the tow package then it should have one from the factory. just look in your grill on the passenger side to see if there is one there by the a/c condensor.

 

I've got an '08 with the 5.4L. I had 3.73's stock, and I changed my wheels and tires to 18" wheels and 295/70/18 (about 35") tires. No suspension lift, but I have a 2" leveling kit in the front. After I got my wheels and tires on I re-geared to 4.56s.

Like the other guys have said, even with the heavier tires my truck gets up and moves pretty good. The extra torque also helps out when I drive on the beach. Your city mileage will be fantastic, but your highway mileage is going to suffer some. 90% of my driving is city, usually under 50 mph, and I go through about 1/3 to 1/2 a tank a week.

I have yukon's in mine and I like them, but they're starting to whine a little bit. It's not uncommon, and it's not unbearable by any means, but you might notice it. The one thing to remember when you re-gear is that you need the same gear ratio in your front and rear or you can't use 4-wheel drive.

And as far as what you'll wear out fast, yeah the brakes wear down a little faster. I know that because of all the brake dust I have to clean off of my wheels. And with a lift your ball joints might wear out a little faster than normal, but it's not a big deal. It's just part of having a lifted truck.

Just make sure you get someone good to install the gears!! And if you can afford it, get new bearings and everything else to replace your stockers while the differentials are open. It's all worth it.

 

str8t six, i got your post last night when it was dark out and didnt have time this morning to look. But i do have a towhitch and the truck did come with the big tow mirrors so if i were to guess i would say it probably does have a cooler, but i will still look!! thanks

AndrewConant, thank you for all that info!! I really cant wait till i get everything and have it all installed, i think its going to be pretty cool!!

Thanks Guys!!

 

Just make sure you get someone good to install the gears!! And if you can afford it, get new bearings and everything else to replace your stockers while the differentials are open. It's all worth it

Ditto to what andrew said, plus I upgraded to a limited slip Detroit tru-trac while my gear guy was in there. Now this thing feels and drives like a truck should!