5.0 Axle ratios 3.31 vs 3.73

[Bob Rosadini]

Guys, I  bought a '22 5.0 Supercab with 9000 miles as  a placeholder until I'm comfortable with new Ranger ( had a great offer on my super clean '04 FX 4 Ranger so figured I would accept it before  its 20th  birthday!)

 

But shame on me I did not think about rear axle and its a 3.31 WITHOUT a locking dif.  Thing is spinning on wet grass!  I 'm about 500 ft from town road so I don't want to be in 4WD when we get 2" of snow/sleet.  So I'm getting used to truck size and for sure like the Coyote?- may forget about Ranger   So Ive started looking for a '23.5.0, electronic electronic dif and I'm finding all kinds of 23's with 3.31s and lockers and very few 3.73's...No  3.55's

 

Any experienced views?  The 5.0 has such much power it is easy to be "throwing stones" on start up with the 3.31's, and its great on I-495-1500 and you are close to 80MPH.  but I'm thinking the lower gear 3.73 will still be great on local roads as the 10 speed will be upshifting sooner.

Opinions.

[blksn8k2]

Both of my recent 5.0L F-150s ('18 and current '23) came with the 3.73:1 axle ratio so I can't compare that to any other ratio. The '18 had 32" tires while the '23 has 33s. I actually liked the throttle response better with the 32s and, so far, it actually got slightly better fuel mileage than the new truck even though the '23 has cylinder deactivation. With the larger tires and lifted suspension of the Tremor there is more rolling resistance and more aero drag so I'm sure that doesn't help. The new truck is still has less than 2k miles so hopefully the fuel mileage will improve over time.

 

The electronic locking diff is nice but because it does "lock" both wheels turn at the same speed and it can be really annoying on gravel surfaces when making slow, tight radius turns like pulling into my garage. I specifically wanted the transfer case to have the 4A setting which is why I went with the 402A High Equipment Group on the Tremor. This truck also has the Torsen limited slip front diff. Not only does all of that make this truck way more capable off-road, but it should also eliminate tearing up the gravel driveway, especially once winter sets in.  

[akirby]

Stock 2wd 3.5eb Supercab (2018) with 3.31s.  With the 10 speed tranny I don’t think it matters much unless you’re towing super heavy loads or put on big tires.

[Bob Rosadini]

On 8/28/2023 at 10:55 AM, blksn8k2 said:

Both of my recent 5.0L F-150s ('18 and current '23) came with the 3.73:1 axle ratio so I can't compare that to any other ratio. The '18 had 32" tires while the '23 has 33s. I actually liked the throttle response better with the 32s and, so far, it actually got slightly better fuel mileage than the new truck even though the '23 has cylinder deactivation. With the larger tires and lifted suspension of the Tremor there is more rolling resistance and more aero drag so I'm sure that doesn't help. The new truck is still has less than 2k miles so hopefully the fuel mileage will improve over time.

 

The electronic locking diff is nice but because it does "lock" both wheels turn at the same speed and it can be really annoying on gravel surfaces when making slow, tight radius turns like pulling into my garage. I specifically wanted the transfer case to have the 4A setting which is why I went with the 402A High Equipment Group on the Tremor. This truck also has the Torsen limited slip front diff. Not only does all of that make this truck way more capable off-road, but it should also eliminate tearing up the gravel driveway, especially once winter sets in.  

Thx for post..finally getting around to reading it as we had our 2 day truck show this past weekend and recovering from that..  So E lock dif is automatic-no driver control?  And to clarify, I'm assuming it only locks when it senses a spinning wheel?  I hope! Also the trans in my 22 is a 10R80 correct?  Do you know what the respective gear ratios are in that trans?

[akirby]

13 minutes ago, Bob Rosadini said:

Thx for post..finally getting around to reading it as we had our 2 day truck show this past weekend and recovering from that..  So E lock dif is automatic-no driver control?  And to clarify, I'm assuming it only locks when it senses a spinning wheel?  I hope! Also the trans in my 22 is a 10R80 correct?  Do you know what the respective gear ratios are in that trans?

E locker is 100% manual.  Traction control is automatic and applies the brake to a spinning wheel and cuts engine power.

[Bob Rosadini]

10 minutes ago, akirby said:

E locker is 100% manual.  Traction control is automatic and applies the brake to a spinning wheel and cuts engine power.

AK,

 

Thx...was hoping that was the case.  The "automatic" traction control  in my 3.31 sucks IMO ..you get that "crab like" action.  I didn't realize the truck had that feature until recently- I thought 100% open dif.    Which brings me to another "back in the day" story.  Like in  '71 Eaton approached us with a new traction control system.  Had some sort of "exciter" hubs  -driver activated.  When "on" if system sensed higher rpm on one wheel , it would apply some air to that wheel.  We agreed to participate and system was added to a single axle 358 Brockway, 230 cummins, RT 910 RR.  We built a mud pit at our Albany NY terminal and it did work...in test conditions.  tractor would proceed- "crab  like" as it  was.   To the best of my knowledge, Eaton never did anything with it.

[Bob Rosadini]

4 minutes ago, Bob Rosadini said:

AK,

 

Thx...was hoping that was the case.  The "automatic" traction control  in my 3.31 sucks IMO ..you get that "crab like" action.  I didn't realize the truck had that feature until recently- I thought 100% open dif.    Which brings me to another "back in the day" story.  Like in  '71 Eaton approached us with a new traction control system.  Had some sort of "exciter" hubs  -driver activated.  When "on" if system sensed higher rpm on one wheel , it would apply some air to that wheel.  We agreed to participate and system was added to a single axle 358 Brockway, 230 cummins, RT 910 RR.  We built a mud pit at our Albany NY terminal and it did work...in test conditions.  tractor would proceed- "crab  like" as it  was.   To the best of my knowledge, Eaton never did anything with it.

By the way AK, any idea where I can get 10 speed ratios?  Without knowing actual trans ratios, I did a comparison assuming my 275/60R 20's do 608 revs per mile I came up with...3.31's in what ever gear is .9 OD and RPM's at 1800 I would be at 60 MPH

                           3.73's same gear, same RPM 52MPH

[akirby]

4 channel abs is what enabled electronic traction control (and stability control) since it allows each wheel to be brakes individually.  It works really well to prevent you from getting stuck with open diffs but it’s not as smooth as a locking diff or AWD especially when it cuts engine power.

[akirby]

[Bob Rosadini]

10 hours ago, akirby said:

AK, Thx very much

[blksn8k2]

On 8/30/2023 at 11:47 AM, akirby said:

4 channel abs is what enabled electronic traction control (and stability control) since it allows each wheel to be brakes individually.  It works really well to prevent you from getting stuck with open diffs but it’s not as smooth as a locking diff or AWD especially when it cuts engine power.

 

While I appreciated how the system that was on my 2007 Sport Trac worked for highway use, I hated it for everything else. Any slight indication of wheel spin or instability, especially in deep snow, would automatically kill engine power. The exact opposite of what was needed. Best solution was to turn that nonsense off under those conditions.

[akirby]

18 minutes ago, blksn8k2 said:

 

While I appreciated how the system that was on my 2007 Sport Trac worked for highway use, I hated it for everything else. Any slight indication of wheel spin or instability, especially in deep snow, would automatically kill engine power. The exact opposite of what was needed. Best solution was to turn that nonsense off under those conditions.

Pretty sure the manual even stated to turn it off in snow or when you need a little wheelspin.  One advantage on an AWD vehicle is it worked on both front and rear axles.

[Bob Rosadini]

Well to close out this thread, I bit the bullet and traded the 22 on a new 23...same truck except 3.73's and E Lock.  Oh and a 36 gal tank  and "Avalanche" or gray as Mass MV calls it or "dirty snow" as I call it because it does not show dirt.  And while hiway mpg might be a tad lower, the around town is no different as I drive with a light foot and it upshifts a bit quicker than the 3.31's did.  At least that is my perception.

 

Thanks everyone for your comments.