I would not get any Higher gears than 4.10 for pulling with the auto, I usally pull between 10-15000 lbs and usally between 75-80 mph. Rpm's are at 2400 at 80 mph. This is my second ctd with a auto and 4.10 and I wouldnt order it any other way for my use...

 

Chubby, that sounds incredibly dangerous at those speeds.! If I had a dually and towed as heavy as you do regularly I would get 4.10's too. Tschwab, and you thought I was bad doing 85 empty!!

 

Have I driven a 48re auto with 3.73's?

Yes I have.

Have you driven anything besides that? I have.

Why would anyone want another gear?

How about 3-5 more miles to the gallon at 75-85mph?

What rpm is the Hemi at when doing 75mph? It revs to what, 5500, and its at 1800 in overdrive. We rev to 3000 and we are at 2200 in overdrive. How does that make sense?

 

I have read from multiple sources that the 48RE is electronic, just not fully electronic. Transmission nomenclature is explained well at allpar. The Alli in the GM and the TS in Ford are fully electronic tranny's -- just like the auto behind the Hemi. Dodge will be going to a six speed fully electronic auto after January of 06 -- there has been several news releases about the new tranny and its scheduled production.

The I6 design, while it may not "need" extra gearing, actually would benefit more from the extra gears than the V8 designs of the competitors. The reason are several -- auto transmissions are less efficient at low engine rpm's, creating more heat than go. One would want to keep the torque converter rather tight to limit slip and heat buildup. In order to do this when coupled with a motor with a broad, flat powerband (that starts at a low rpm and redlines at a relatively low rpm) requires more gears.

It would be very nice to have a six speed, fully electronic auto that is capable of lockup in all gears and all gears being manually selectable along with the option of a factory installed exhaust brake and functional tow/haul programming like the Alli. Throw in an integrated BrakeSmart and you would have yourself one heck of a towing package (if you could find some comfortable seats, that is).

Just an opinion

 

A 6 Speed Automatic is comming in 2007 from what I have been told by my local dealer. 68RE that is being filed tested as we speak. Months ago my local dealer told me 3 trucks rolled thru there.....2 MegaCab 6 Speed Auto Cummins and 6.1Hemi 6 Speed Auto. I am curious to see if DC will retain the Cummins. From what I was told in an email, they are contracted with Cummins thru 2007. DC has quite a few strong MercedesBenz inline 6's that they might me thinking about squeezing into the 2007 trucks......I hope they stick with Cummins......

 

Not to get this thread back on the subject, but My buddy has a 97' with the 47re. Currently at 245K and NEVER had work done to the tranny. He hauls a 1500# ice box in the bed and a 10K# cargo trailer behind him about 60% of the time. I am not concerned AT ALL about my 48RE.

 

Towing at those speeds is well,I better hold my tongue!

 

I have no complaints about the 48re. I think it is a great trans. I run 65-75 m.p.h on the hiways here in central Arizona (alot of big mountains to climb) and average 16.5 to 19.0 hand calculated m.p.g. Driving the same routes pulling my 9,000 lb travel trailer at an average speed of 60-65 (I don't like to speed pulling a triler). I get an average m.p.g of 14. The trans has been flawless in 15,000 miles. It never misses a beat. No hunting for gears. It has been very, very strong for me.
My brother has a 2004 305/555 48re and 3.73. He has no mods. The truck has around 72,000 miles on it. He pulls a 32ft toy hauler quite often the trans is flawless. It has had no service done to it as of today.
I have no regrets at all!!! The truck before this one was a 2001 6 speed. I dont miss the shifting. If I was pulling heavy loads 60% of the time I wold go with the 6 speed but for me and how and where I drive the 48re has been wonderful. Don't bag it until you've put some miles behind the wheel of one.......
Everone I know that has one likes it alot......

 

I wish I had gotten 4;10 gears,because I tow all time all over the country. The 3;73 gears are great in flat country
and rollng hills,but when you go acros I-68 in Wv or I-77 in Wv. the final drive ratio is a tad too high. Remember the 3;73
six-speed has the same final drive as the 4;10 48re.the final drive ratio on the 3;73 48re is the same as the 3;55's with the 47re,great cruising ratio and ok with light towing. If your towing 75 to 80 mph you don't get any fuel economy regardless of what gear you have.if you ever have to make a panic stop from 80 towing a heavy load,I hope you have a change of clothes with you,because the ones your wearing will be soiled.

 

It's built to be a workhorse not a dude cruiser. Reliability and durability are the standards. At these performance levels the rest is irrelevant.

 

With the auto and 3.73's and 35" tires, I am at 1800 rpm at 72mph empty on the highway. Considering that I only tow about 20% of the time, this estimated 3.40 gear ratio works out great for me. I get great highway mileage.

I did tow 9000lbs from OH to FL down I-77 to I-95 through the mountains and the trans did just fine - although I had the stock tires back then so the ratio was still 3.73. I can see some points where having 4.10's on that trip would have gotten the rpms a little higher up in the powerband. Sometimes going up grades if I wasn't going fast enough to start with it would start to bog down a bit in OD and I'd have to hit the tow/haul button, but if I stayed over 70mph it would pull just fine without lugging. Most of the time i'm towing 3500-4000lbs of ATV's and the ratio and trans does beautifully.

 

i pull 80% of the time the truck is running. REPLACED THE 48re with an ATS tranny at 72k i now have 175k in less than a year (which means i haven't had my truck for a year yet, bought it aug 15, 2004). seems that the 48re stock does nothing but search drive/overdrive. wish i had gotten a manual. i like the cummins though. that's my opinion

 

Couldn't you do that with a gear splitter? Read a little about them, not sure if one is available for the 48re. Sure sounded interesting though. search on gearvendors gear splitter or some such thing. Arlon.

 

35k with no problems to date just beginning to put her under a load (14k 5er). Towed about 800 mi so far and its a beauty!
Had a 99 v-10 with auto (which one?) and towed about 75k out of 150k and never even changed the tranny juice!

 

I believe the current contract between Cummins and DC was extended to 2011. But a contract is but a piece of paper, subject to the whims of the parties involved, and of course the courts . . . and the lawyers . . . and their lawyers . . .