re-gearing for 33"s on 1st gen

[cr500taco]

I am thinking about going up to 33's from 31's on my '97 Tacoma 3.4L 4WD auto. Non supercharged.

If I do go up to 33"s, I am going to get the gears first to get it ready for re-gearing either before or after the tire height increase. I am curious as to what gears you guys are running and what brand you recommend and also what brand master install kit?

 

[MandAtaco]

My 01 Taco and my 00 4Runner were both geared to 4.56's with 285's (33's). Honestly, if I had to do it again, I would have gone up to 4.88's. Both my 3.4's ran about 2500RPM at 75ish MPH, I hardly ever run that fast though and to me these motors seem to like to rev a little bit to get in there power band. Both rigs were/are heavy too.

Here is a cool calculater to figure out crawl ratio, engine speeds at a certain MPH, etc. You can compare two ratio's side by side. http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html

I used Yukon gears and master install kits and have had 0 issues with them, very good parts.

 

[cr500taco]

My 01 Taco and my 00 4Runner were both geared to 4.56's with 285's (33's). Honestly, if I had to do it again, I would have gone up to 4.88's. Both my 3.4's ran about 2500RPM at 75ish MPH, I hardly ever run that fast though and to me these motors seem to like to rev a little bit to get in there power band. Both rigs were/are heavy too.

Here is a cool calculater to figure out crawl ratio, engine speeds at a certain MPH, etc. You can compare two ratio's side by side. http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html

I used Yukon gears and master install kits and have had 0 issues with them, very good parts.

My RPM's are at about 2500ish, right now. As far as I know everything is stock. Did both vehicles seem to hunt for gears going up hill on the highway? I need to turn off my OD to keep it in 3rd or else it will hunt between 3 and 4th. I know the OD should be shut off anyway on hills, but just curious. Wonder if the 4.88's will help that?

 

[Applejack]

I regeared my 99 4Runner automatic from the stock 4.30's to 4.88's and feel it was a total waste of money. These transmissions to not put the lower gearing to good use. On the highway the difference from stock is barely noticeable. Yes, there is a difference, but not what I would call impressive. My fuel economy in town is in the toilet too, about 12-13 mpg's. No difference in economy on the highway. Off road in low range the gearing difference is most noticeable but I feel it has made it less easy the drive carefully. It doesn't really crawl well, the throttle input seems very jumpy and difficult to ease on and off of obstacles. Do what I should have done and supercharge it!

 

[toy_tek]

97 4runner 3.4

I regeared to 4.88. I'm happy I did. (For tires I've had both 285's and 255's, about 33")

As it is, when I'm loaded down, going uphill is quite the chore for the 3.4, so anything better than stock helps. Yes, you will need to turn off OD.

 

[MandAtaco]

My RPM's are at about 2500ish, right now. As far as I know everything is stock. Did both vehicles seem to hunt for gears going up hill on the highway? I need to turn off my OD to keep it in 3rd or else it will hunt between 3 and 4th. I know the OD should be shut off anyway on hills, but just curious. Wonder if the 4.88's will help that?

Yea if I hit a hill, or a really strong head wind, I just shut the OD off, its dang near useless. 4.10's to 4.56 helped, but again, more gearing would have been better IMO.

Really wish I had a 5speed... but that's an entirely different subject!

 

[Vegastoy]

If you don't drive super fast on the freeway I would go at least 4.88's. I have an 01 double cab that's fairly heavy (full armor, camper shell, rtt) on skinny 33's. It has 4.88's and is ok. I would almost consider 5.29's for my driving style. I don't drive very fast, usually 70mph on the highway is a comfortable speed for me. @ 70 with the 4.88's it's a little over 2500 rpms. It still downshifts on the freeway going up a hill or into a headwind.

 

[MandAtaco]

A thing that most people overlook in installing bigger tires, is trying to keep the gearing at the same. What is overlooked is the extra power that it takes to get moving the heaver tires. I would recommend if the gearing to (4.30's) stock ratio and keeping the same was a 4.56, I would go to a 4.88 so you are easier on the motor and transmission.

Now that going is taken care of, think about stopping.

Agreed 100%. For a good brake upgrade, check out the Tundra 231's.

If you don't drive super fast on the freeway I would go at least 4.88's. I have an 01 double cab that's fairly heavy (full armor, camper shell, rtt) on skinny 33's. It has 4.88's and is ok. I would almost consider 5.29's for my driving style. I don't drive very fast, usually 70mph on the highway is a comfortable speed for me. @ 70 with the 4.88's it's a little over 2500 rpms. It still downshifts on the freeway going up a hill or into a headwind.

This exactly.

 

[TheSweatyButcher]

I bought my single cab with 35'' tires and 5.29 gears. I drive slow and its geared perfect. Flat highway I use 5th but if there is any type of hill I have to downshift. I would like smaller tires on the truck but its geared for 35's.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I'd say it really depends on where you live. Out here in the Sierra Nevadas, I would install 5.29's. If you lived in Kansas I might go 4.88's.

 

[JLee]

I'd say it really depends on where you live. Out here in the Sierra Nevadas, I would install 5.29's. If you lived in Kansas I might go 4.88's.

For 33's!?

I ran 33x10.50's on my '98 5sp V6 with stock gearing for ages (in northern New Hampshire) - is the auto really that much different?

 

[v_man]

I agree with 5.29's ...

Let's think about the 3.4L motor he has for a moment . It's rated at 190 HP fresh off the assembly line in 1997 . It's common to subtract 15%-20% to calculate actual real wheel horsepower , and subtract another 5-10% to account for an 18 year old motor with a few hundred thousand miles on it .

That means he may actually only be putting down anywhere from 135-155 ponies max , to his rear wheels . And that doesn't account for any excess weight he may have in mods, bumpers, winch, armor, camping gear, women etc . To get those bigger tires moving, with more weight in the truck , and with less horsepower to work with... You need leverage . Lower gearing is simply working with a bigger lever to get your tires rotating . You are just giving yourself more of a mechanical advantage with low gears.

If you can change your driving habits a little on the highway , I doubt you will see much decrease in overall MPG. It's the guys that throw in really low gears but still want to do 80 on the highway that see big MPG decreases....

 

[SIZZLE]

The only thing I can suggest is to do one thing at a time. Throw the tires on and see how it does. Let that help you decide how deep you want to go on gears. It's also easier to run down problems when you do one thing at a time. If you do a couple mods at the same time and have a problem, sometimes it's hard to know what caused it.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

For 33's!?

I ran 33x10.50's on my '98 5sp V6 with stock gearing for ages (in northern New Hampshire) - is the auto really that much different?

Well as I say, it depends on the terrain you drive regularly. It also depends on how you drive and what other mods you may have. As mentioned above, the extras bolted on over the years and the cargo you carry, not to mention the women that want to ride in (or drive) your bad *** truck will require a gear change to keep the performance on par with factory expectations.

I just sold the 5.29 ARB diffs out of my truck so I could use the money to build new axles, but for the meantime, I put back in stock diffs with 4.10's just so the truck was still mobile. It's a '83 pickup with a 3RZ, 35's, dual cases with a 4.7 in the rear case. Driving it on the trail with 4.10's would not be a problem because of the T-case gearing, even driving around town isn't horrible, but hit the freeway and 5th gear is unobtainable.

So stock gears with 33's? Absolutely not.
5.29's with 33's? It depends on varying factors, but in my experience, people who install 5.29's don't ever complain.

 

[austintaco]

My opinion. If you drive and wheel local, than 5.29's might be a good choice. If you do long trips to get to where you wheel, do 4.88's. My truck is heavy and I am running 4.88's with 255/85/16.