What Are The Benefits Or Otherwise Of A Gear Swap On My Stock Truck That I Want To Go Off-road In?

Doing a gear swap and going for lower gearing should only be done once you have determined what tire size you are going to use. With stock tires, lower gearing could cause the engine to rev too high at highway speeds. It's best therefore to do a gear swap in conjunction with a tire change. That way the engine will get back into the optimum rev range, the lower gearing offsetting the bigger tires.

A gear swap that lowers the gearing ration will almost always improve slow speed trail driving, for sure. But it is normal to install a performance differential while swapping gears, and this obviously adds to the expense, which is not insignificant to begin with. In addition, fuel economy may suffer.

On a new truck still under manufacturer's warranty, you should also check with your dealer before commencing any modification as modifications often make the warranty invalid. In this case, partly because of greater stress placed on components and the danger of the engine being overworked because low gears increase highway cruising speeds.