marshallr

There are no real downsides to 4X4.

They cost a bit more initially, but retain their value better over time. A fellow can spend a lifetime buying and trading up to new/newer trucks and spend the same amount of money if all were 4X4 as the guy who does the same thing buying 4X2's. Once you get past the initial cost it evens out. If you ever trade down to a 4X2 and try to go back to a 4X4 it will burn you up with the poor trade value of a 4X2 going in to buy a 4X4.

The curb weight of a 4X4 is 180 lbs more than a 4X2. No biggie.

Less parts yes, but very few people operate while in 4X4 enough to wear out those parts. My truck has 77,000 miles on it. I might have 2000 miles in 4X4 and I use it more than most. The people who break 4X4 parts are the ones beating the crap out of them "playing" off road. Drive it responsibly, use 4X4 when needed and you'll never wear out any parts that a 4X2 wouldn't wear out.

I'll lump these together. There are those guys who put on the monster mud tires and their trucks ride quality and fuel economy take a hit. If you run sensible tires on a 4X4 there is no measurable difference in either fuel economy or ride. Very little real difference off road.

I just returned from a 4100 mile road trip to, and all over Colorado. We took my 11 year old grand daughter to experience the mountains and state. My 2014, 4X4 Screw with 5.0 and 3.55 gears pulled 12,000' passes with ease. I got 19.3 mpg for the trip and as much as 21.1 mpg on one tank in the mountains where I was able to coast for long distances. And I had to use 4X4 3-4 times even in June to get through 2-3' snow banks on lightly traveled roads that had not been plowed yet. On the last leg of the trip I drove the 1053 miles in one day. 21 hours total with a couple of stops. Spent about 2 hours eating and going into Cabelas in Kansas City. I couldn't have done that without a comfortable ride.

BadCon

Even with 4wd, if its wet out I can't get on it otherwise I'll crab walk into the ditch. It may not be a 180, but it'll lateral right off the roadway lol...kinda cool really :p

Threeper88

I was under the idea the 4wd was closer to 400 lbs. more. 180 lbs. sounds a lot better.

w00t692

Honestly having seen a few different truck weights it seems closer to 300 lbs.

5.Bro

According to ford, its about 264 lbs more

rojizostang

I like both, but I prefer 2wd. To say a 2wd won't launch well if it's too low is really a matter of perspective (it depends on what one considers launching well). I have about a 4.5/6" drop and I can get 1.7 60' times. After the next gear swap I believe I will be in the 1.6 range.

For a 2wd to launch well however you'll need a good set of drag radials and traction bars, no doubt.

yonson

True, however I was meaning even lower than that, that's how much I have my 4x4 lowered and I've been between 1.67 and 1.69 every pass, I don't think my 60' will go much lower until I get a converter...

rojizostang

I'm not running a stall converter either. A gear swap is a lot cheaper, but perhaps not as effective, but I'll be happy with it at 1.7 or less. Honestly I'm not that unhappy with it a 1.77 or so either, being that it's just a roush tvs 2300 on a gen I coyote with less than 11 lbs of boost. The truck weights 5000lbs. Ideally I would install 3.55 gears and a stall converter, but that's a lot of money, so I elected to go from 4.10's to 4.56's to get the trap rpm's at around 7k or a little better in 4th, and retain the stock converter.

Sorry about the thread hijack.

4.56's are going in tomorrow

Threeper88

4wd will definitely be more flexible. And I’ve learned in the past to always leave yourself options.

Pricing out the same truck with 4wd actually comes out about $5k more. Gotta pay to play though.

How about suspension? I’m fairly novice to lowering trucks. I’d likely go 2/4. Any significant difference to dropping the two?

rojizostang

Now this is just an opinion, but a 2/4 drop isn't worthwhile. Too much gap over the tires and doesn't look significantly different from a stock truck. If you're going to drop it....drop it