Axle (or any) Ratio is fairly easy to figure out. The idea is to compare
turns of the drive shaft to turns of the tire. I think the first number is
turns of the drive shaft and the second is turns of the tire. So if you have
a 3.92:1 ratio, it takes 3.92 turns of the drive shaft to turn the tire once.
A 3.55:1 ratio takes less turns of the drive shaft but requires more torque
from the engine to move the vehicle since your gearing is closer to 1:1. A
4.10:1 ratio takes minimal torque to turn the tires but your "top end" speed
is less since you're spending all your time and power turning that shaft so
much.
One thing to keep in mind is that if your engine RPM's are 5000, your tires
certainly can't turn that fast, so your transmission and your diff gang up to
bring the RPM's down to a lower rate and more "torque" to turn the tire.
Depending on the type of racing you want to do determines the kind of rear end
you want on your truck. Ratios are a double edged sword. A shallow ratio
like 4.10:1 may help a weaker engine take off faster, but it will also keep
the top speed of the vehicle down. If you have a strong enough engine to
power a steeper ratio, you may want to go with that. 3.92:1 seems to be the
middle of the road solution. Hope this helps or makes you less confused than
I am...
Shaun H.
----original message-----
I am thinking about buying a Dakota, and am wondering about axle ratios.
Is the higher the ratios the faster your truck can accelerate??
JT
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