82 D150 shortbed. 225 slant with A833 OD. 8.25 rear end currently with 3.23. Looking to get more pick up off the line without sacrificing too much highway manners. I know you can’t have both but this numerically low gear is a dog.

all stock? Still lean burn controlled? any mods? What size tires?

Holley 2 barrel 350 cfm, Aussie speed headers, hei upgrade, 235/70r15 all the way around.

I would go straight to 3.90 or 4.10. The overdrive in the trucks is .71:1 The formula is axle ratio x high gear ratio = overall high gear ratio. 4.1 x 0.71 = 2.911 Plenty of these trucks came with 3.55s without OD so you'll be turning 18% less RPM than those.

I drove my '66 Dart for years with 4.10s, 26" tall tires and the car A883OD's top gear of .73:1 It's perfectly fine.

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Joshua

Great info! Thank you for the help.

I have an 85 D150 longbed/ that once I get my new engine installed, I'm hoping to be able to retain my 3.21 gears. Difference between yours and mine is that mine has a 727 automatic rather than a stick trans. I wish mine had a stick, if I can eventually drum up the parts I may convert it to a stick, possibly even a 5 speed (lots of talk about T5 conversions here) I have heard of people also using (ugh) a Toyota W58 trans instead of a T5. My new engine, as is the existing engine, are both /6... difference being the work and mods I have put into the "new" engine, vs bone stock/ will hopefully help my get up and go factor while retaining the /6. .

I have an 82 D150 long bed, slant and 833OD with 3.55 gears. It does OK just to drive for transportation, but when I put a load in it or pull my flatbed trailer I have to slip the clutch to get it going. 3.91 gears would be better.

I also have an '82 slant shortbed, stock, '78 BBD, HEI with 833OD, 3.21 FD. I currently run 225/70/15 rear tires and have run 215/75/15 (27.7 in. dia.) In the past I often wished for a 3.55 or ideally, a 3.73 aftermarket rear. That thinking was mostly based on making the .71 4th gear a more useable commodity. As it is now, I rarely try to use top gear under 55 and that is on a nearly flat road. On rare expressway driving that OD is nice for flatter terrain and 70 mph. The thing is, I like the flexibility of third gear very much now. Depending on terrain, it will handle 35 to 70. It will also climb semiserious grades in third at ~40-45., near the torque peak around 1800.

The first gear on the slant 833OD is something like 3.09. I've found that steep gearing nice on the very occasional times I haul about 1000 lbs. I can't imagine living with it with anything shorter than a 3.55. If I had an auto and it's 1:1 third gear it would very close to what I'm driving now without 4th. I guess the super wide gear spacing on the 833OD make anything a compromise. If I was running taller tires with a slant truck, like 235/75/15 or bigger, than a 3:55 or shorter would almost be required.

I suppose that if you had a non-OD 833 with a 1:1 fourth and taller first then a 3:55 would be a good compromise between good acceleration and not crazy engine speed at 65-70. All depending on tire size a good bit.

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1982 Dodge D150 ( Ram)
225 with A833OD. 2bbl. Non power brakes