Lifted and Towing/Question

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

hulkout

TYF Newbie
Joined
Apr 6, 2020
Posts
2
Reaction score
0
i have a 2015 tahoe lifted 9.5 inches on 37s, it has 3.42 towing package. I want to upgrade the gears to tow my jeep and car trailer weighing roughly 8k lbs. At stock the tahoe was rated for 11k lbs. I am wanting to figure out the gears I need for the engine, tires, and towing, to be like stock and not completely gutless. I was looking at getting 4.88, but is that overkill? Not a vehicle for driving unless I am towing btw.
 

STORMIN08

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2011
Posts
974
Reaction score
460
one thing to consider is this, just the added components weight along with wheel / tire combo weighing more...that in itself technically lowers the capacity. ANY weight increase to the static vehicle lowers towing capacity.

what does the math come out to be for RPM at *** speed down the road ? use that bases to keep the engine in the ideal rpm for lower end grunt power. much like a cam swap...most love the choppy rough idle sound, but with that come higher rpm to see the actual gains. must large lift cams, produce slightly lower power ratings at low rpm. just food for thought
 

Bill 1960

Testing the Limits
Joined
Dec 17, 2020
Posts
1,480
Reaction score
2,862
In simple math terms 37/31=1.19
1.19x3.42= 4.08 equivalent to stock.

My personal preference towing I would like 4.10 stock, which would be 4.88.

An unasked opinion; I wouldn’t tow that much behind a Hoe with that much lift. At least not on a regular basis.
 

swathdiver

Full Access Member
Joined
May 18, 2017
Posts
19,611
Reaction score
26,327
Location
Treasure Coast, Florida
i have a 2015 tahoe lifted 9.5 inches on 37s, it has 3.42 towing package. I want to upgrade the gears to tow my jeep and car trailer weighing roughly 8k lbs. At stock the tahoe was rated for 11k lbs. I am wanting to figure out the gears I need for the engine, tires, and towing, to be like stock and not completely gutless. I was looking at getting 4.88, but is that overkill? Not a vehicle for driving unless I am towing btw.
A 2015 Tahoe with 3.42 gears has a tow rating of 8,600 pounds for RWD and 8,400 pounds for 4WD. The GCWR for both is 14,000 pounds.

Yes, the 4.88s are overkill but most specialty shops will propose 4.56s or 4.88s to make up for the lift and tires. As Bill showed you, 4.10 gears will restore your original performance and this is what I would do if yours were mine. Your effective ratio now is something akin to less than a 3.08 gear, maybe even a 2.93! Your RPMs at 70 being less than 1500, right?

As a slight aside, your Tahoe has a Salisbury 12-bolt axle.

We have a lifted Sierra on 35s and the lift and tires added about 350 pounds to the truck. This took away from her payload capacity and to stay within the numbers, her tow rating plummeted from 10,400 pounds to about 9,300 pounds with just the driver aboard. With that load she's right at her GVW and front axle limit of 3,950 pounds. Yours is 3,600 or so right? Your GVWR is also about 7,300 too right?

Can your Tahoe pull the Jeep, undoubtedly! Can it stop and climb big hills, not as well as it could if stock.

Man, 9 and half inch lift? How do you climb into that thing? I'm old and fat and need a step stool to get in ours, which is not often, it's my daughter's truck. Got some pics of yours? What kind of lift and tires?

204809000_17.jpg
 
Last edited:

Forum statistics

Threads
132,373
Posts
1,866,932
Members
96,999
Latest member
smo730
Top