Axle Recommendations for a 2025 Lariat?

[Aonarch]

Go 3.55 tow haul.

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[The_Auto_Tech]

10 speed does the lifting at speed, not the gearing. Gearing is for getting heavy loads started. 10 gears really changes the bigger picture at speed. Ultimately you probably wouldn't see/feel a difference from 3.31 and 3.55 on a daily basis, but you will notice $500.

If ford had their way they'd offer 3.31 and 3.73. This is more of a holdover from not enough gears.

Absolutely. Granted I rarely ever tow, but I currently have a 3.3 truck with a 3.31, and it's barely even working to do anything at 65. I'd only gear up to a 3.73 if I was towing a lot, had a nasty lead foot, or was running big offroad tires. The 10 speed transmission makes a HUGE difference when talking about rear end gears. Back in the day when you only had like a 3 speed trans then yes, gearing made a huge difference.

 

[HammaMan]

Go 3.55 tow haul.

If he was looking at a 2wd, sure, 4wd doesn't need it. 4a for traction or 4L for POWA

TOD has a live front end and just starts grabbing the clutch so for all intents and purposes the 22+ TOD trucks are always in 4WD, the clutch is just idle. Running in 4a has pretty much no impact on mileage. Only 21s and those of us w/ EIWEs can shut down the front drive assembly.

 

[Ranger621]

If your not towing any weight just go with the standard 3.31 ratio. No need to spend money for something you'll not need.

 

[Groovicles]

I wonder why the 3.55 Electronic Locking Axle Ratio with Tow Haul ($395) costs less than the 3.55 Electronic Locking Axle Ratio ($470)?

And what feature(s) does the 'Tow Haul' add to the 3.55?

I was thinking the same thing about the two 3.73 variants. Why is the max tow one cheaper than the non-max tow version?

 

[wz00r2]

Go for the lower gear option. You can absolutely tell a difference between the two and the lower is much better in all situations.

 

[Str8Shooter]

The SW desert has too many areas for my liking with slippery sand, mud, and other difficult terrain where both tires can't get traction or touch the ground. I'd get a locking rear diff.

 

[NMMIKE]

I was kind of thinking the 3.55 might be best for my application, given that we travel up and down from low to high elevation and back all summer.

I have the 3.5 EB with the 3.55 electronic locking, and tow a 5500 lb TT a lot . Everything seems to work fine when towing if U use tow mode and lock out 9,10 on the tranny. The max tow would be tempting if not for the open recall. I also was not ready for the PB, maybe in a few years.

 

[HammaMan]

This is why ford still has quite a few gear selections, people's head dyno swears they're different

My LT tires changed my at-the-ground gearing from 3.73 to 3.59 and it's not noticeable. It will still spin all 4 tires on launch.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

This is why ford still has quite a few gear selections, people's head dyno swears they're different

My LT tires changed my at-the-ground gearing from 3.73 to 3.59 and it's not noticeable. It will still spin all 4 tires on launch.

ITS GOTTA BE WAY SLOWER DUDE

 

[HammaMan]

ITS GOTTA BE WAY SLOWER DUDE

They built a whipple and a twin turbo'd "give-a-way" trucks. Both trucks run 10 second quarters, have factory 3.31s AND they launch in 2nd gear.

Should have used 3.55s for sure

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

They built a whipple and a twin turbo'd "give-a-way" trucks. Both trucks run 10 second quarters, have factory 3.31s AND they launch in 2nd gear.

Should have used 3.55s for sure

That's what I don't understand is when people are like "IT NEEDS 3.73's AT MINIMUM." Their blue truck that's turned up a bit more than those giveaway trucks runs a low 9 with the same 3.31 gears. Somehow though if they had a 3.73 they would run a 5 though!

 

[HammaMan]

I mean to be fair, a stock 5.0 could really use some 3.73s when put against the 3.5. At the same time you can just give it more pedal. There's a huge gap between the way our 24 3.31 5.0 drives vs my PB with partial throttle, huge difference -- but 220ftlbs of electric motor on top of the 3.5 will do that.

Funny thing about those trucks, the absolute first thing they did was swap the 10R80s in them.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

I mean to be fair, a stock 5.0 could really use some 3.73s when put against the 3.5. At the same time you can just give it more pedal. There's a huge gap between the way our 24 3.31 5.0 drives vs my PB with partial throttle, huge difference -- but 220ftlbs of electric motor on top of the 3.5 will do that.

Funny thing about those trucks, the absolute first thing they did was swap the 10R80s in them.

Well, you know how they treat their stuff, they definitely don't take it easy on them, and they also don't want someone to win it and just break it right away. They found out early on that if you're beating on an 850HP Whipple 5.0 the trans is gonna break at some point, but if you look at what a Midnight Performance 10R80 costs, it's a very beneficial upgrade. Last time I checked they were like 5500 for a rebuilt/fully upgraded one.

 

[HammaMan]

Well, you know how they treat their stuff, they definitely don't take it easy on them, and they also don't want someone to win it and just break it right away. They found out early on that if you're beating on an 850HP Whipple 5.0 the trans is gonna break at some point, but if you look at what a Midnight Performance 10R80 costs, it's a very beneficial upgrade. Last time I checked they were like 5500 for a rebuilt/fully upgraded one.

If you come across someone doing something to the PB's, do share. It's got the same basic rotating internals that can be upgraded -- the hybrid engine connect clutch is somewhat of a black hole online though. Ford counts the clutch, electric motor, and torque converter as a single item despite the clutch itself being comprised of trans clutches and steel plates. It's quite the endeavor to go into such a project blind.

Given that they treat the hybrid drive unit as a non serviceable item, there's nothing in the service manual regarding it.

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