sixstringsteve

New to the forum. Not new to wheeling or to yotas.

Info:
'97 reg cab tacoma
2.7L
5-speed
OME 880/ Dakar lift
35x12/50x17

Trying to decide the best gearing for MPG and cruising on the freeway. I won't be towing, I don't have a huge winch or bumper. Just a simple truck for camping/exploring and the occosional trip to moab. If I do more crawling, I'll get a doubler.

sixstringsteve

I'm more interested in MPG than low speed crawls. I've played with the gear-ratio calculators for hours, and the 4.88s will give me the RPMs I want, but I'm not sure if they'll give me the power I need. I'm not power hungry, 4.10s and 31's feels like great power to me. I don't mind downshifting to 4th if needed for a hill, but I don't want to be totally bogging it down around town and on the freeway.


I had 4.88's in my last taco with the 3.4L auto and 35's, and it was perfect. I'm really looking for people running a similar setup to see what they like. I'm aware that the 5.29's will give me more power, but MPG is important to me, and I'd rather be at a lower RPM on the freeway than a higher RPM (unless 4.88s just aren't going to cut it).

MaK92-4RnR

you'd probably be fine with 4.88s. but your speedo and such will be off.

sixstringsteve

yeah, i don't care about the speedo being off. I can change the teeth in the speedo gear if I cared. Not trying to be rude at all, but do you have any experience with a similar setup, or was it just an educated guess?

MaK92-4RnR

I have 4.88s on 33s. ( which is correct geometry ) my speedo is only off by 2 mph. I also have the v6. ( the 3rz, which is what you have, has the same power numbers ) I've never had 35s on the truck. But after my SAS, i'll be running 35x12.50R17s, which is what you have now. and i'll be regearing to 5.29s.

sixstringsteve

I don't quite understand. You're saying my 2.7 has the same power as your 3.4L?


EDIT: now I get it, you have the 3.0

Thanks for the real-world feedback. I wonder how our 5th gear ratios compare.

MaK92-4RnR

your W-59 is definitely different than my R-150. my truck revs at like 2.8k at 65 mph. my brother's truck ( who has a 3.4 tacoma ) is close to 2.3k. Yours will most likely be different. You actually might be able to run 5.29s and still get KILLER gas mileage.

sixstringsteve

That'd be ideal. Hoping to hear from a few people with that setup.

RogueYota

5.29s....dont think twice.

sixstringsteve

Anytime I'm dropping $800+ for parts I think twice

RogueYota

I dropped the same amount when I did my axles....thought just once on gear ratios lol

But seriously I love these gears. With 35's and just a 22r I can pull hills in 5th at 2500 and still stay steady. Not even in the secondaries lol

sixstringsteve

Right, but I don't have a 22r or a w56, so your situation is different. Not trying to be rude at all, but our rigs are different. My last rig ('94 x-cab sas 35s) had 5.29s. MPG is more important to me than pulling hills in 5th.

RogueYota

Yes....its all preferance in the end.

crolison

5.29s..... ran em in my 4runner on 33's with a 3rz and 5spd, also in my 3rz taco on 35s.....


Same if not slightly better in my 4runner with 4.88vs5.29s..... off road was a big difference.

sixstringsteve

I plan on a doubler soon, so I'm really wanting to gear for on-road and highway performance, then the doubler can take care of crawling duties.

So your 4runner had 4.88's and 33's? And your taco had 5.29's and 35s? Did your MPG suffer at all with the 5.29's? I realize this isn't a geo metro, so MPG is all relative, but if there's a 4 MPG difference, I'm going with the higher gears. This is all really helpful, thanks.

crolison

4runner: 33s and 4.88s, and I had 33s and 5.29s

Taco: 35 and 5.29s

The 4runner got same mpg with 4.88s and 5.29s (17-18mpg)

Taco gets 14-17mpg (it's sas'd and really heavy).

sixstringsteve

very interesting! Thanks for that feedback.