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?