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aburger
Dodge Dakota
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10/01/2006
22:13:12
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 Subject: If larger tires, change diff. gears?
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Hey again, I recently put larger rims and tires on my 2001 single cab Dak. I noticed with the extra weight that acceleration and braking have worsened. I recently had my brakes upgraded, but need to do something about my acceleration and drivability. My dad told me that I need to change out one of the gears in my differential because of the larger diameter of the new wheels. Is this true? Does anyone have any ideas? And if so, roughly how much would it cost?
By the way, the truck is a single cab 2001 Dodge Dakota with a 4-banger and a manual transmission. The original wheels were 15 x 7" with 215/75/15 tires. The new wheels are 18 x 8.5" with 255/55/18 tires. Quite a difference.
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.boB
Dodge Dakota
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10/02/2006
00:05:10
|  RE: If larger tires, change diff. gears?
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Yes, your dad is right. By adding a taller tire, you've changed the final drive ratio for the worse. To correct it, you'll need to replace the rear gears. Figure out what the percentage change was from your old tires, and then plan on roughly the same percent change to the gears for correction. Depending on how the truck ran before the change, you might want to go more or less with the gear % change.
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aburger
Dodge Dakota
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10/03/2006
03:08:38
| RE: If larger tires, change diff. gears?
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Where would I find out what gear ratio I currently have, and what to upgrade it to?
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truck guy
Dodge Dakota
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10/08/2006
14:50:43
| RE: If larger tires, change diff. gears?
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The rearend should have a tag on it that will tell what gearing you have. Look for it on the diff cover around the bolts,or on the axle itself.
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71firebird
Dodge Dakota
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10/08/2006
18:00:14
| RE: If larger tires, change diff. gears?
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I don't intend to sound mean but, are the 18's really worth all this money and time? Maybe go with something closer to factory like 16's.
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GB2000
GenIII
10/08/2006
23:36:16
| RE: If larger tires, change diff. gears?
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If he intends on lowering the truck (if he hasn't already)...running 16's will look corny as hell because they won't fill the wheel wells up. Now of course, there's a limit where they start looking waaaay too big...
I'm not big on lowering vehicles (lowering a little is okay...lowering a lot is dumb...but funny as hell when you watch em hit large speed bumps), but I think for a lowered vehicle 17's - 18's are about perfect. Hell, the stock Dakota RT wheels are 17's.
...and if it's not being lowered. 18's might look okay, but I kinda figure they'd look corny.
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aburger
Dodge Dakota
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10/09/2006
00:14:49
| RE: If larger tires, change diff. gears?
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Yeah, I understand what you guys are saying. I actually took the 18's off and am running the stock 15's until I decide if I am going to change out the gears in the differential. If I keep the 18's, I definitely have to lower it or, like GB2000 stated, it will look corny. I thought about keeping it at the regular height and throwing on 16's, but I couldn't find a style I liked. The 18's were big enough without going too big. My problem was getting bigger tires. I got the size that Dodge recommended, thinking they would be a direct swap. Stupid me. Why would Dodge recommend a tire that is a bigger diameter than stock? Do they want us to make all these changes to their trucks? I don't get it. Maybe I'll just sell the wheels and stay with the stock set. Might save me a lot of headaches.
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toolfan
GenIII
10/09/2006
22:35:22
| RE: If larger tires, change diff. gears?
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if you want to lower the truck i have 2in lowering springs for the front and 2inch lowering blocks for the rear.
you can check in the glove box for the rear end axle gears. should be a factory sticker in there with information on it.
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aburger
Dodge Dakota
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10/09/2006
22:58:41
| RE: If larger tires, change diff. gears?
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What kind of springs and blocks are they, where are you located, and how much you want for them?
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GB2000
GenIII
10/10/2006
00:28:27
| RE: If larger tires, change diff. gears?
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My problem was getting bigger tires. I got the size that Dodge recommended, thinking they would be a direct swap. Stupid me. Why would Dodge recommend a tire that is a bigger diameter than stock? Do they want us to make all these changes to their trucks? I don't get it.
What do you mean here? Lost me...
Are you saying it's not the same diameter now using the recommended size which is causing all these headaches? Speedo being off, differential gears changing for the worse, etc?
I'm not positive on this...but I think 255/55/18 is the closest size they can get you to the stock diameter or something. Not positive on that though...
They're pretty close to the same size...your stockers had a diameter of 27.7" and the new one's have a diameter of 29". Only throws your speedo off 4.9%.
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