Taco questions

[Clark White]

So I have two questions regarding my 2000 Taco. First, I just put 33x9.50 tires on my truck and not surprisingly, it is now a bit sluggish. I think also do to the tires, my MPG has fallen quite a bit (around 15mpg from almost 20mpg as an early estimate). What, if any, gears would be suggested to both bring up my millage and give my truck some guts back? I'm more interested in the MPG, so I would trade guts for efficiency.

My second question is, I have a Warn M800 winch in my ARB. Buddie of mine just got a hold of an M9500 for cheep, but has a one ton Cummins, so he wants to get a 12000. Would it be worth the trouble of selling my 8000 so that I could buy his 9500? I kind of like the idea of the extra pulling power, but I'm not sure it would really matter any with such a light truck.

Thank you much for any advice you can give!

Clark

 

[mountainpete]

Do you know what your current gears are?

For the winch are you sure it's an M9500? The only 9500 lb Warn winches that fit into your ARB without modifications is an HS9500 and a 9.5xp. Personally, I would keep the M8000 though.

Pete

 

[Clark White]

I currently have the stock 4.10 gears in my truck.

 

[p1michaud]

Gears and winches

What, if any, gears would be suggested to both bring up my millage and give my truck some guts back?

Can you provide a bit more information about your truck. Is it a manual or automatic, what kind of use do you have in mind for it, is this the tallest tire you plan on using, etc... They all play a factor into making a decision for new gears.

Would it be worth the trouble of selling my 8000 so that I could buy his 9500?

My opinion would be to keep your M8000 as moutainpete suggested. I would take the extra money and purchase ssome quality recovery gear to complement your existing winch. I'm thinking of the following:

1. A good quality snatch block (ARB, Black Rat and Warn come to mind)
2. A few good quality D-rings (2-3)
3. A good quality Tree Saver (go for the 10' models rated at 16 000 lbs min. for a double line pull)
4. A good quality winch extension line

You may have noticed a them in the above list: "A good quality"... I did this purposely so that you don't waste your money on stuff you would find at the local hardware store. When you deal with vehicle recovery, safety is paramount thus spend the money once on gear that will not fail on you while in use. IMO by investing some money in the above items you would be better prepared to handle various winching scenarios that you may encounter. This way, your money is better spent than upgrading to a 9500 lb winch. All this is assuming you don't already have this gear of course!

Oh, one more thing make sure you know how to properly use the equipment at take the time to practice because that's the fun part! :wings:

Cheers,
P

 

[taco chaser]

Are you sure your ratio is 4.10 not 3.73? you shouldn't have a problem with 4.10's, they should push those 33's unless it's an automatic 4 banger. I think 4.56's would put you back very close to your original MPG and help with your loss of power and your RPM's in each gear.

 

[Clark White]

Can you provide a bit more information about your truck. Is it a manual or automatic, what kind of use do you have in mind for it, is this the tallest tire you plan on using, etc... They all play a factor into making a decision for new gears.
P

It's a V6 with 2.5" lift and manual trannie. It is a DD, as well as making many cross country trips, but I also use it as a 4.5 trail rig. I have an ARB bumper and home made rear bumper, as well as a camper shell, so she is a bit heavy. Where I start seeing the difference in power is at HW speed. Coming off the line it gets up and moves well enough for me, but she doesn't like to make it to 75 anymore. I usually try to keep it around 65, but I'm often in a hurry so you know how that goes. As far as what gears I have now, I just confirmed that they are 4.10's. Also, these are the tallest tires I plan to run. Only change I would make would be if i went to a 33x10.50 instead of the 9.50.

Thank you for your advice on the winch, I just told my buddy I'm going to keep the one I have. I'm also going to upgrade my winching gear. I have a nice tow strap and D rings, but no tree saver or winch line extension, and only a cheep snatch block.

 

[p1michaud]

Gears

It's a V6 with 2.5" lift and manual trannie. It is a DD, as well as making many cross country trips, but I also use it as a 4.5 trail rig. I have an ARB bumper and home made rear bumper, as well as a camper shell, so she is a bit heavy. Where I start seeing the difference in power is at HW speed. Coming off the line it gets up and moves well enough for me, but she doesn't like to make it to 75 anymore. I usually try to keep it around 65, but I'm often in a hurry so you know how that goes. As far as what gears I have now, I just confirmed that they are 4.10's. Also, these are the tallest tires I plan to run. Only change I would make would be if i went to a 33x10.50 instead of the 9.50.

Based on this, I'd recommend you go to 4.56 if you change your gears. That would put close to stock as taco chaser mentionned. My truck has the V7 with manual, loaded heavy and is used as a DD as well. I went from 4.10 to 4.56 and they work perfect for my combination. The 4.56 gears would be ideal for the V6 and manual especially if you want to hold the 75 cruising speed. The 4.88 gears would push your RPM's too high for highway cruising at 75 IMO. :Mechanic:

Cheers :beer:,
P