[neilss]

hi guys
just wondering what everyone does when off road if they use hi range or low range i found hi sucks when in sand and on the beach and going up hills i havn't really done much mud 4wd but just wondering what is the best and do you let your tyres down

[Ben_Sierra]

I always let my tyres down on any terrain off road.

In soft sand high range will not be very effective (and a good way to fry your clutch). Choice of high or low depends on the terrain, it all comes down to experience and knowing what works best where...

I often do whole trips in low range, but then on other trips I barely touch it. It all just depends on where you are and what the conditions are like...

[flaxton123]

let ur tyers down for comfort mainly in a swb and it does help with traction and unless u have transfer gears eg 6.51 low range gears then i wouldnt bother with high range even on stock tyres

[Rusho]

Depends what terrain you are driving?? Sierra I asume? What type of tyres? Not a great deal of difference between the 2 When I do hilly, muddy rocky driving I use low range with tyres down to about 8psi. Beach driving 4 high and tyres at about 10psi. I run 30 inch muddies, so it may vary for what you have.

Hope that helps

[neilss]

thanks for the advice i have 30" tyres, yea off road i havn't ever really bothered with hi and just wanted to see if everyone else was the same it seems like only use hi when doing easy 4wd.

[Ben_Sierra]

If you have a Sierra with 30s and stock gearing you will struggle in high range, as the gearing will be WAY out... Do you have reduction transfer case gears, or just stock?

[neilss]

stock

[neilss]

how much would reduction gears set you back

[Ben_Sierra]

depends on the ratio's you choose....

My 4.16:1 gears cost me $650, which with my 29 inch tyres are perfect. High range is spot on like it was from the factory. With 30's they would work quite well.

Provides a 12% reduction in high range (matches 29-30 inch tyres well) and an 87% reduction in low (giving you a bit of boost in the low range).

But you have to be comfortable with pulling apart and rebuilding your transfer case, or find someone who can do it for you...

[alien]

i use 2wd (hirange) for easy stuff and low range for the rest... i drive generally rock/mud though... in sand 4hi would mostly be used as im running 5.14tcase gears and 31s...

Just because you're in low range doesnt mean you cant use 4th gear (i try not to use 5th low for anything other than getting from one spot to the other - not on technical bits.

I'd say offroad my zuk spends most of its time in 2nd low.

[Ben_Sierra]

I've just looked and lowrange have them for US$520 shipped to Australia.

[neilss]

Ben_Sierra wrote:

depends on the ratio's you choose....

My 4.16:1 gears cost me $650, which with my 29 inch tyres are perfect. High range is spot on like it was from the factory. With 30's they would work quite well.

Provides a 12% reduction in high range (matches 29-30 inch tyres well) and an 87% reduction in low (giving you a bit of boost in the low range).

But you have to be comfortable with pulling apart and rebuilding your transfer case, or find someone who can do it for you...

87 % in low range so does that mean low range would be heaps lower also how much difference does it really make?

[Ben_Sierra]

Yes, low range becomes lower. Which is good because there is too much overlap between high and low anyway I think.... You have 10 gears may as well get the most out of all of them...

It makes a massive difference... Believe me you will never go back.

[BUZOOKA]

hey ben how does it effect ur hi range ??

[v.w.dave]

Gears will transform you sierra. Its worth every cent you spend. you will fall in love with your car all over again. The % he is talking about is how much lower it is from factory high range.

[Ben_Sierra]

BUZOOKA wrote:

hey ben how does it effect ur hi range ??

With the 29 inch tyres the gearing is almost exactly like the factory gearing. Its fantastic.

[mcwilly]

I have 6.5s and 33s and I always use low range heaps more control

[jakeyr]

is there any dis advantage of getting reduction gears?

[shep]

jakeyr wrote:

is there any dis advantage of getting reduction gears?

nope.

[MrRocky]

Yes there are disadvantages to the 6:5's
In the sand you may find low range is to low to climb dunes as top speed is significantly reduced. I found that with 31's hi-range was still just a bit to high with the stock motor and 4.1 diffs.
However now that i have a 1.6 efi i have found high range is much more useable with the extra power.
I reckon if you only have 29"s then just keep it in low all the time.

[Ben_Sierra]

There is a disadvantage if the gears are too low for the tyres that you have, you will be revving a lot higher to do the same speed on the road. Not ideal in a daily, especially with highway driving...

[jakeyr]

I have been thinking about getting these reduction gears do u guys think I should do it I have 30 " Tyrese and most do sand beach 4wd

[lukes_89]

id say just get a 1lt transfer case as its not as big a reduction but still reduced down

[Ben_Sierra]

For 30s 4.16 gears would be good...

[v.w.dave]

if your not planning on going any bigger 4.6s would be good. To give you people that have never driven a geared sierra. With 6.5s and standard w/t everything else my 3rd gear in low is slightly lower then your 1st gear in low so think about it this way with 6.5s you will have 2 more lower gears but you loose your 2 higher gear (4th /5th) with 4.6s you get one more lower gear and loose you top gear.

I hope that made sence.

[sierra_666]

i have a nt with wt diffs but the centres are 3.9's as far as i know the t/case is standard nt what would the gearing on that be? i run 31's and with the little wheelin i have done in this car i mainly keep in low second, it seems to crawl up just about anything. oh and i have the 1.6 efi in it also.. does anyone know what my gearing would be?

[SuziBlu]

I have a NT, standard diffs, 31s and on sand only ever 2wd, high range is perfect.

Any lower ratios and Im not sure it would do what it does now.

[kenn]

Or you could change your diff gears. The best place to reduce your gearing is as close to your wheels as possable (which is why portals are good). I run a 1.6 EFI, 4speed auto ,1lt switch light transfer, 4.6 diff gears and 33's, on the highway the speedo is dead accurate and the auto holds over drive at 100kmh perfectly. Off road low range is very good ,though the auto helps heaps.
Joeblow runs the same driveline except for an extra transfer case (cause he can) and 5.1 diff gears. Joe has also done alot of stock Seirra's with 4.6 /5.1 diff gears and 31's to great affect.