Originally posted by spanky:
Why does everybody want to go so fast?
Well, it's not exactly like it sounds.
The ability to go fast and the desire to go fast are two different things.
A truck that can go fast does not have to be driven fast.
An occasional ride to town in a slow truck is great, but don't shoot yourself in the foot by thinking that's all you will ever do. If it was a stock old truck then that's one thing, but a truck with a modern engine with plenty of power is different.
The old trucks are geared slow because the engine is at the limit of what it can push down the road. When you replace the engine with a substantially stronger one then part of that swap should be a gear change to make the best of the new engine. Even if you don't use the speed available you will save fuel by being able to choose a gear that lets the engine turn slow when it is not working, when you hit the hills you down shift.
This discussion is about a "truck for daily use" as stated by CAJUN CRAW FISH in an email to me.
To me that means that plans to drive slow will change occasionally, perhaps often, and maybe even permanently. He will end up driving it fast on occasion to get somewhere before he is late. Occasionally it will be nice to hang with traffic on a busy road. And in the end he may enjoy driving on longer trips, say for truck shows, or to haul stuff, or just for fun. A properly geared truck will be nice in these situations.
I live about 10 miles from town on a 55 mph road, or if I take the slow way it's about the same time, but 35-45 mph. All three of my trucks that were geared slow handled this fine, but if I just needed to run in to town for a quick errand it would take the car. The trucks were just geared to slow, even for traveling at those speeds. After I re geared the ford I would drive it more often, and the same trip to town, driven at the same speeds, was more enjoyable for both me and the truck.
Again, a properly geared truck does not have to be driven fast, and if driven slow there will be a fuel savings if it's properly geared, remember that fuel is expensive now, and will continue to be.
It's also safer to be able to keep up with traffic if you do need to.
Grigg
