I have a Suzuki X-90, and am currently running 35" tires with the stock 4.625 ring and pinions. Obviously, I have next to no acceleration. I do not have the money to invest in the extremely hard to find, and very expensive 5.7-5.8 gears. I also am going to be putting on 39.5" tires on it soon. This got me to thinking. Can I just drive around (on the street) in 4wd low, and either remove the front drive shaft, or install manual locking hubs, and drive with them unlocked, with the front driveshaft in? The low ratio in the transfer case is 1.82:1. According to my calculations, with the 39.5" tires, while driving in 4wd low, my RPM's would be just a little over what the car is from the factory. This way, I do not have to purchase any ring and pinions gears. So my question is: Are my gearing calculations corrects, and will it work, and will it hurt anything driving around in 4wd low with the hubs unlocked, or the front driveshaft removed? Also, how do you post pictures on here? Any input is greatly appreciated.

Please post photo of your X-90 on 39.5's.

Here is the formula to calculate your vehicle speed with the variables being RPM, Tire Diameter and total gearing and the number 336 is a constant.

             RPM X Tire Dia.          3000 X 39.5
Speed= ------------------   =     -------------                  =49.7 MPH
             Gear ratio X 336        4.56 X 1.81 X .86 X 336

At 4000 RPM your speed would be 66 MPH.
 
The 4.56 is the ring and pinion ratio, 1.81 is the T-case ratio in low range and .86 is the ratio of 5th gear.
Running in low range probably places more wear on the T-case than high range which is straight through 1:1 ratio.
Running those size tires in high range would probably be worse on the trans and T-case.
I am sure you are not planning 1000 mile trips with that set up.
The 1.81 ratio will not be low enough to make good use of the 39.5's off road.

I should have used the 4.625 ratio which at 3000 RPM's = 49 MPH

Thank you for the info. That is what I was coming up with also. My transmission, however is an automatic overdrive, and until I fix the wiring, it is only a three speed (1:1 final ratio). As far as off roading goes, I just mess around on dirt roads, and such......no steep hills or rock crawling, so I assume I would be okay. As far as street driving, I just drive around town on errands. No trips longer than a maximum of 7-10 miles each way. I pretty much can't use 4 high, or 2 high with the 35's on it now. I have driven it around (in 4 low) with the 35's on the side roads, and it does fine, however the RPM's are slightly higher than I like. The 39.5's should bring me back down pretty close to where it needs to be. Do you think there is any harm with running the front hubs unlocked with this set up? I am always in 4wd, and don't need to be powering the front wheels. I enclosed a couple of pictures of it (on the 35's.....they, and the wheels are for sale, by the way).I was just starting to make fender flares for it, and obviously, it is not finished yet. I will post pics of it, as soon as I get the 39.5's, and get them on it.

Looks great and will be fun to see on 39.5
For the short distances you have in mind all should work well in low range with the front hubs unlocked.
I could be interested in your 35's but the wheels are too expensive and nice looking for my builds.
I live southern Oregon coast so if you are not too many states away let me know.
That X-90 will for sure get the thumbs up when you drive it to town with the 39's.
You need a dual transfer case set up, so you car do some serious off road with it.
Sean at Aftermarket 4x4 built a dual T case for his X-90 which is strictly an off road car.

Sooner or later, if I actually feel that I need it, I might try the dual transfer case set up. Until then, I will just leave it as is though. As far as the wheels and tires go, they have less than 20 miles on them (probably closer to 12-15), and am asking $1000.00 for them. I am however, located in Silver Springs, Florida.

If you were on the west coast, these would be gone.  Out here we have cases of 2'" itus, where we need 2" bigger than before, and my tires are getting thin.

 LOL..........wow, guess I have 15" itus, and must be really sick!!!! My original tires were only 24.5" tall. As far as the "West Coast" thing, I unfortunately hear that slot.

I think that I am just going to make sure my front hubs are unlocked, remove the front driveshaft, replace it with just the driveshaft yoke (I have a spare one), and drive around in 4 low. If, and when I decide to go 4 wheelin', I will just put the driveshaft back in (just a ten minute process for me, and most people). What does everyone think?

hey the ride looks cool, but if you cant wheel in then whats the purpose of building a pavement princess..... just asking. I would love bigger tires like 35s but it wont get me where I need to be in the bush

I think that I am just going to make sure my front hubs are unlocked, remove the front driveshaft, replace it with just the driveshaft yoke (I have a spare one), and drive around in 4 low. If, and when I decide to go 4 wheelin', I will just put the driveshaft back in (just a ten minute process for me, and most people). What does everyone think?

You should quickly discover that when removing the Tracker front drive shaft that the oil seal no longer has anything to seal against and a big puddle of TC gear oil is forming.  Both front and rear drive shafts on Trackers, including X90, are slip yoke (unless modified).
You could go into the TC and modify it for twin sticks, allowing you to run High/Neutral/Low on one stick and 2wd/Neutral/4wd on the other stick.  Then you can run 2wd in Low without turning the driveshaft, or both in neutral when being towed.

Yes, I am aware of the slip yoke removal puddle....lol. I have managed to get around that though. Whenever I feel the urge to go off roading, with the set up I have, I can drain the fluid, remove the yoke (I have a yoke with no driveshaft attached, in the TC output shaft hole),  put in the driveshaft, and refill the case on the side of the road, or parking lot in about 10 minutes. All without jacking up the car. I really like the sound of the twin stick set up on the T case, and am very interested in doing this. Where can I find out more on how to do this?

Low Range Offroad is supposed to have them.  With your experience you may fab one up, with a quick search here is what I found that gives you and idea.  http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/general-suzuki-forum/help-a-idiot-please-can-i-put-in-twin-sticks-wo-t-case-removal/msg235885/#msg235885

Thank you for taking the time to look up, and post the link for the twin stick set up. It is pretty straight forward, and should be all that I need  when I decide to partake on the modification. I never had heard of that being done before, and when I get tired of swapping the yoke/driveshaft  set up, I will definitely be doing that, as that would solve me driving around in 4 low all of the time. I would not need the 2/4 high for anything still, but 2 low would be great on the road for me........Ahh, but, you already knew this already didn't you?......That is why you mentioned it in the first place....lol!!!

Unless i am missing a vital piece of information, leave the front drive shaft in all the time with the hubs disengaged.
Should not hurt anything even if you drove more miles than you indicated.
How do you keep the front yoke in place with out a drive shaft unless you have the T-case shaft drilled for a slip yoke eliminator and bolt the yoke in?