4.10's in 2005 AWD

[thegreenmachine]

if you have awd, match the gearing front and rear, if you have 4wd, a .01 difference in gears (the "taller" set in the rear) is not a problem

so. if you are re-gearing an awd, it is important to match the gears front and rear.

[Tegnus]

So I have few questions...

I will be rebuilding my rear end soon and putting G80, but now I start thinking that it's maybe a good time to make it a bit more complicated and re-gear everything to 4.10 (4.11?!)...

What I have found quickly looking at RockAuto is that they sell RearEnd gear ring and pinion:
Ring & Pinion Gear Set w/4.11 ratio http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinf ... cc=1423875
and
Ring & Pinion "Thick" Gear Set w/4.11 ratio ; Thick Gear http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinf ... cc=1423875

#1 Anybody knows difference between Thick Gear and non-Thick Gear, which is better?
#2 Where can I find front end Ring & Pinion gear set ? Anybody knows model #?
#3 Which would be better 4.10 and 4.11?

[LiftedAWDAstro]

The thick and standard rings refer to what series carrier you have. You have to look at the carrier breaks. These rear ends use 2 and 3 series carriers. The series 2 is 3.08 ratio and down and the series 3 is 3.23 and higher. So if you have 3.42's, you would grab a standard ring/pinion. There is no difference in the front diffs. There is really no difference between the 4.10 and 4.11 ratios. I would look at getting the gears and install kits as a set from someplace like Complete Off Road or Randy's Ring and Pinion. They will probably do a deal.

[Tegnus]

So I guess what I need is:
For Front
GM IFS 7.2" (S10 & S15) in a 4.11 ratio, something like this:
http://www.justdifferentials.com/produc ... 11r-ng.htm or http://www.ringpinion.com/b2c/ProductDe ... inion_Sets

For Rear:
Ring & Pinion gear set for GM 7.5" in a 4.11 ratio
http://www.justdifferentials.com/produc ... 411-ng.htm or http://www.ringpinion.com/b2c/ProductDe ... inion_Sets

Can somebody also explain this how 4.10 is 4.11?
Name: 7.5" & 7.625" GM 4.10 Ring & Pinion
Ratio: 4.11
Link: http://www.justdifferentials.com/produc ... 411-ng.htm

[doyoulikeithere]

Without getting too deep into the science of it all...
The difference will be noticeable when trying to corner, and if driving on pavement.

I believe that:
In an AWD configuration, you want the exact same ratio front to back, like, 4.11 at both ends.
In a standard 2wd/4wd config (not AWD), you might prefer the 4.10 front with the 4.11 rear.
Astro Vans never came with a standard 2wd/4wd config, but lots of folks swap in the 4wd transfer case for it.

You should NEVER drive the standard 2wd/4wd config on pavement, locked in 4wd.
You would ALWAYS drive the AWD config on pavement, or anywhere.

[Tegnus]

Still looking for explanation of this, can somebody help?

Can somebody also explain this how 4.10 is 4.11?
Name: 7.5" & 7.625" GM 4.10 Ring & Pinion
Ratio: 4.11
Link: http://www.justdifferentials.com/GM7-5- ... 411-ng.htm

Also looking at these it says splice count 27, shouldn't it be 28?

[LiftedAWDAstro]

4.10 and 4.11 are interchangeable. The difference is that older 4.10/11 ratios use teeth counts of 37/9 where they now use 41/10 ring/pinion.

27 splines in the count on the pinion, not the carrier.

[Tegnus]

@LiftedAWDAstro - Thanks a lot for explaining this!