Bigger tires, now need gear solution!

[pray4surf]

FWIW - I'm running 4.88's with the 2.7L/automatic tranny/285/75R16 BFG AT's and I'm real pleased with this setup. If you have the 3.4L (V6) you'll probably be OK with the 4.56's.... YMMV

An excellent front brake upgrade is to install the 199mm Tundra calipers and rotors. Also a bolt-on upgrade... This requires 16" or larger rims... Check out one of the recent 4WDTO issues as they did a writeup. Also many discussions on YotaTech, TTORA, etc. regarding this modification. My stock brakes (even with the OE 225/75R15 tires) left me feeling a little helpless in panic stop situations...

 

[dustboy]

Just ordered my Yukon 4.56 gears, install kits, and Truetrac rear diff from Marlin Crawler. Total was $1,375 shipped. Ouch. And they ain't even installed yet.

Now I just have to settle on a shop to do the work, can't wait to get them installed.

 

[CYi5]

Right on, I think you'll be happy with the 2.7, 4.56, 32" combo.

 

[TangoBlue]

Interesting timing... seems a lot of folks are re-gearing! Let us know how you like your new gearing Dustboy.

I have a 2.7, AT with 4.56 on 265/75/16 BFG AT's. I wasn't happy with the performance then and was even less than thrilled with I moved up to 285 BFG MT's (MAR 09), although great off-road at low speed; downshifted at the mere view of a slight incline on the road ahead. At a level 70 I was doing around 2100 RPM.

Tomorrow I take the re-geared 5.29 diffs with ARB RR air locker for a break-in/shake down run. I'll be sure to share my impressions tomorrow evening.

 

[dustboy]

I have a 2.7, AT with 4.56 on 265/75/16 BFG AT's. I wasn't happy with the performance then and was even less than thrilled with I moved up to 285 BFG MT's (MAR 09), although great off-road at low speed; downshifted at the mere view of a slight incline on the road ahead. At a level 70 I was doing around 2100 RPM.

Wow..that doesn't make sense to me, do the AT's have a really high OD? Right now with 3.58s in 5th gear I'm doing about 2100 RPM at 70.

 

[TangoBlue]

I can't explain it Dustboy... it must be one of them Tacoma miracles but the Scan Gauge doesn't lie. Doing 70, with new gears, straight and level and I was at 2470 RPM; even the instant economy reading has gone up. Perhaps the charts I too labored over on the internet were developed for different sized engines and transmissions? The OD is .0740 IIRC. Internet charts offer great guidelines but the pratical experience of more seasoned Tacoma owners that I met on this site and others guided my decision and I'm glad I listened. All I can attest to is my 3RZ FE and AT running 285/75/16 and a metric butt-load of extra weight (trail armor)- YMMV.

"How I spent my week of leave..."

My re-gear to 5.29. Took it out for a break-in run and then later home; will put on some more miles this evening and tomorrow. The usual first impression... why didn't I do this earlier? No more lugging; it feels like I'm back down to stock and the power I once thought was long gone. It never performed smokey burnouts but it held it's own on the interstate; with all the mods and no regear I was stuck in the right lane, the AT constantly down-shifting for every incline in the road ahead. Not any more - I'm back in the 2.7 power-band. Also asserted is a return of fuel economy - before the mods a while back I was in the low 20's. Prior to today I was lucky to get 15 mpg. I'll try to collect a first tank mileage number although it's hard to keep off the skinny pedal with this new-found power.

Also added Demello frame reinforcement plates and performed a Ruff-Stuff u-bolt flip with their shock tabs moved up to the axle. Where I used to have the rear-end stuttering over every patch or bump in the road, RR tracks, or manhole covers it glides right over them. I emphatically recommend frame reinforcement plates if for nothing but stiffening the frame and enhancing the ride comfort.

"Icing on the cake" is the ARB rear locker and compressor. Mounted the Hansen connector on the ARB bumper. Added a Blue Sea fuse box for future additions. Wired in-cab winch controls.

:wings:

 

[dustboy]

Huh, never would have thought the frame stiffeners would have made that much difference. Seems like an easy afternoon project though, I'll take any excuse to fire up the MIG. You seem to have the same mod bug as me. My wife asked me when it's going to stop..I didn't have an answer!

Made an appointment in a few weeks at Mudrak Custom Cruiser, I know I don't have an FJ but Gary there was happy to take on my gear install. He comes highly recommended by the FJ crowd, and he's going to loan me an FJ62 to drive in the meantime!

 

[TangoBlue]

Oh, this is too coincidental. Iron Pig Offroad did my install. Cam loaned me his FJ62 when mine was on the lift! And, I see your little woman gives you the hairy eye-ball when it comes to the truck as well. Small world.

Just got back from my brake-in 250 mile drive. SWEET! Back in form again. Corrected GPS speed from speedometer - approximately 8 mph difference at 50, 60, and 70.

Corrected GPS reading of 70 showed 2760 rpm, 60 was 2350, and 50 was 2000. Even with cruise control engaged there were less down shifts to maintain a constant speed. For the 266 miles I drove I calculated 18 mpg, up from 15.

Besides the gear change the other notable improvement was the frame reinforcement plates - driving on an especially bad patched concrete road bed, notorious for inducing blood in your urine, the rough road was barely noticable. Pretty cheap mod that you won't regret IMHO. Good luck with the rest of your projects!

OBTW, used to live in Redwood City for 10 years and spouse is from Moraga. Lets see if we can find some more common areas...

 

[dustboy]

Regear is done, very happy with the results. Mudrak's did a great job. Picked up the truck in Sonoma and continued up to Cabrito's hideaway in Cobb Mtn. Did the required cool-down after 30 minutes of driving.

1st gear is sooo much easier to start, no more lugging and dragging the clutch. All gears are shorter, and less lugging in low RPMs. 5th gear is much more useful, I can haul right up moderate freeway hills with no downshift. I estimate that the speedo is reading about 10 mph fast, meaning that the gear/tire combo is lower than stock. Which is good, because I always thought it was geared a little tall. Glad I didn't go with 4.88, the engine at 4.56 is already buzzy at highway speed.

Cabrito and I went out on the Boggs Mtn fireroads for a 30 min shakedown then returned home to let the front diff cool. The rear Truetrac does a great job of controlling wheelspin when there is some contact, although I pulled one front wheel up on a mound of dirt to see if the diff would spin if I got a rear wheel off the ground. It did spin the wheel and wouldn't give me enough torque to move forward, but a light application of the e-brake locked it all right up.

One thing I need to check out is there is a new vibration at low speed when I lock the front hubs (2wd), feels like I'm rolling on swamper tires. Not sure if it is normal or not, but I mentioned it to Mudrak and he was happy to take a look and make sure.

 

[TangoBlue]

Great news! Now you chastise yourself saying "why didn't I do this gear change earlier."

I've been happy with my change, too. Just finished a 1700 mile round trip from VA to IL and back last week. Highway manners were excellent, plenty of power for the 65-70 mph state limits. Mileage from 17 to 20 depending on the elevation demands.

October 2-3 is the Fall Crawl, Rausch Creek ORP; we'll see how it performs on the rocks with the air locker.

 

[PHXtaco]

Hey Dustboy,

How was your milage going up to Cobb & back? I am really debating a gear swap too.

 

[dustboy]

PHX, it's a lot of scratch but I'm glad I did it. Overall the tag was just around $2k. Haven't got through a full tank yet, and my odometer will have an optimistic reading judging by my speedo. Man, it's way peppier in every gear.

Where have you been since I saw you guys at DV?

 

[PHXtaco]

Other than a trip to CO and another to Central NV, have not been out much. Right now the truck is in my garage with the entire front suspension torn off for a rebuild. Just got the coilovers back from Icon, but my Toyota order was missing some parts. Probably another week before I have all the parts to put it back together, but I am looking at the front diff thinking it would not take much more to pull it. However after this last round of repair bills there is no way I will be able to talk my wife into re-gearing right now!

 

[dustboy]

Well I swung by Mudrak's yesterday and it seems all is okay, it's not advisable to lock the hubs in 2wd during the break-in period. Makes sense since I don't get the vibration in 4wd. The real problem is haven't been off road enough!