A diff guy tells me 4.88 gears are overkill!

[RangerCB]

I don't think this is a newbie question, but I'll try it anyways. I have a 03 Dub Cab Tacoma V-6 with 4.10 gears and 285/75/16 tires. I want to restore the power I had when bought it factory(with 265/70/16) or go even farther towards performance. The Diff guy says 4.56 would be best and 4.88's would be too low (I think he's full of it). I don't wanna go too low though. Anyone have opinions. It's a daily driver

[locotaco85]

I have an 01 4-cylinder with 4.10s, running 33s... it's far from unbearable. I think 4.88s with those tires would be way too deep for DD. Even 4.56 is more than making up for the increased tire size, and a little left to account for the extra weight.

Having the auto might make the 4.88s more reasonable though- I just can't imagine how some people run them with 33s in a 5-speed... too buzzy on the highway for me.

[tnxjjeeper]

Are you planning on steping up to a larger tire any time soon? 4.88's would be pretty low if you keep your current tire size.

[RangerCB]

I could missing something here but I thought the auto was more foregiving than the manual(because of the stall speed on the converter) which would make me less likely to go with 4.88's(P.S. when these tires these wear out I wanna go bigger). I don't take alotta long trips and live in SoCal. What I need is the perfect world.

[BLK Scout 800]

Originally Posted by RangerCB

What I need is the perfect world.

4.88 is your gear then

[98taco4x]

If you have an auto and will go bigger than 4.88's will be better so you don't have to regear again.

[broken wrench]

I have an 03 x-cab 3.4 manual with 33's, what would you guys suggest for gearing?

[pk]

I always get lower gears than what I think I need. If it's too low, I can shift into 2nd. But if it's too high I can't shift into 0nd.

PS, and I don't mind 55 on the highway.

[Brian Ellinger]

Our customers are usually happiest with 35's and 4.88 with v6/auto. And going to 5.29 at 37 and up.

Interesting enough 5.29/37/v6/5spd is a bit high in the rpm and the speedo was ~10% high.

[RangerCB]

Hey Brian,
You said customers, so I'll direct this your way. Ever install 4.88's on a V-6 with 33 in. tire and if so did the customer have any complaints?

[TacoDell]

4.88's manual 3.4 285/75's here...
Little high on the rpms at 70... But it likes the trail work plenty fine...

An auto would help out the highway rpms...

But I'm absolutely happy with my gears...
But then I don't commute with this rig either....




I

[orangething]

I just geared a 95 runner V6 5 spd 33's with 4.56's and he is happy with the restored power. With it loaded up and on the freeway in the hills he is in 4th gear doing 55 to 60 mph. On flat ground he can speed with everyone else at a reasonable rpm. I stand by my decision to use 4.56's for his application. Where are you located? What diff guy did you talk to?

[RangerCB]

I live in SoCali, The diff guy is through a friend and I can't think of his name right now

[broncoboy351]

I have 5.29 on my 2.7L auto taco with 35"s and i plan on installing 4.88 since my rpms are reving a little high on the freeway.

['00Tacosinger]

Originally Posted by broncoboy351

I have 5.29 on my 2.7L auto taco with 35"s and i plan on installing 4.88 since my rpms are reving a little high on the freeway.

with the AT? you will hate life
I went from 4.88s/35s to 5.29s and all is well again.
the 88s were perfect with 33s but not 35s. the 2.7 just doesn't have enough power to reasonably push much more than a 33 with the AT.
2.7 5sp

.02

[highplainsdrifter]

I have an 04 DC that is also daily driven but wheeled often. I have 4;56's and think they work good, with 4'88's you would hardly be able to drive at freeway speeds if your only going to run 33's. The 456's with 33's are actually a little lower geared than you were stock, and are the best compromise IMO.

[BigMike]

According to a calculator I found, your stock tire (265/70/16) is equivalent to a 30.6" tall tire, and your new tires (285/75/16) are equivalent to a 32.8" tire.

The difference here is 6.8% larger tires, so likewise, the change in diff gearing should (theoritically) be to 4.38:1. Then of course accounting for the increase in your newer tires inertia and weight, the 4.56:1 seems to be about perfect if you want to "regain" your stock rpm-to-wheel speed ratio.

For 4.56s we typically advise a range from 31-33".
For 4.88s we typically advise a range from 33-35" (37s depending on the powerplant)
For 5.29s we typically advise a range from 35-37"+

When I was building my truck, 5spd 2.7, at one time I was running 33s with 5.29s and it was horriable. First gear was worthless and I kept looking for a 6th. Then I got 35s and it was better, but I felt it was still too under geared. Then with 37s, it feels perfect and my speedometer is only off by +1 mph.

If you plan on running 35" (like a 325/75/16 ) and no larger, then get the 4.88s. If not, then I would take the 4.56s.

BigMike

[TACO 4X4]

Originally Posted by RangerCB

I don't think this is a newbie question, but I'll try it anyways. I have a 03 Dub Cab Tacoma V-6 with 4.10 gears and 285/75/16 tires. I want to restore the power I had when bought it factory(with 265/70/16) or go even farther towards performance. The Diff guy says 4.56 would be best and 4.88's would be too low (I think he's full of it). I don't wanna go too low though. Anyone have opinions. It's a daily driver

4.56 will get you relatively close to stock (a little lower) with 33's. If you do a lot of freeway driving I would opt for the 4.56's. More trail riding then DD'ing then get 4.88's. I have 4.88's and 35's, good combo for me.

[Blue-Beard]

Don't know if this helps but I've run 4.56's on every thing from 33's to 37's on my v-6 5 speed taco.
The following accounts are all based on on road performance, off road is negligable due to the fact I have a marlin crawler for the slow stuff.
It was great with the 33's, good power, good milage. When I went to 35's they still felt pretty good. Still had decent power and milage. Now I run them with 37's and they are slow. I usually have to bang 3rd gear heading into the mountains on the steep grades. Still getting about 15-16 mpg though. I'm contemplating stepping up to 4.88's at this point.
Really the thing to ask yourself is will you be getting bigger tires? If yes than go for 4.88's. Also if you do a lot of wheeling and feel you need the extra contol off road you can go for the 4.88's. Other wise I'd go with the 4.56's.

[jester_motorsports]

I'd definitely suggest 4.88's with the 3.4, auto combo and 285/75's. That was what I was going to do with mine before I decided to stop spending money on the IFS.

['00Tacosinger]

Originally Posted by jester_motorsports

I'd definitely suggest 4.88's with the 3.4, auto combo and 285/75's. That was what I was going to do with mine before I decided to stop spending money on the IFS.

I know a lot of guys in both norcal and socal who have the 4.88/AT/285 combo and they all love it for both street and trail. A couple of them that don't drive over 70 on the hwy are getting 20mpg...wish my 2.7 would do that

[archer1965]

If you commuting in your truck in SoCal, I would imagine you never use 5th gear, rarely use 4th. If this is the case, go with 4.88's cause you won't notice the difference in your commute and you will notice it on the trail.


my $.02

[RangerCB]

Thanks for the additional input gentleman(I use that term loosley). I hadn't seen a post for so long I thought the subject was beatin' to death. What sucks for me now is I've heard I can go either way with a plus or a minus. I guess I need to go and polish my shocks and wait for more posts(and consume more beers).

[knoxtaco]

If you want to go back to stock equivalent gearing and dont do any hardcore wheeling I would go with 4:56, if you wheel it pretty hard in the slower stuff or plan to go bigger on tires then put the 4:88's in.

[coonass]

Not to hi-jack this thread but...

How about a 96 Tacoma v6 5spd with 33's pulling a 1000 lb camping trailer on hwy/ along with mild wheeling?

The truck is not driven daily, but to and from the trails can be anywhere from 3-6 hours.

I would still like to maintain 70+ mph on the hwy.

From What I'm reading it seems as if 4:56 would be the best compromise for my situation.


Thanks, Jacque