TPI

i dont know if have posted on the right forum but,

i got a 87 4runner lifted 3inches, with 32x11.5 dunlops, i heard you have to change the gearing when you lift or put bigger tires on, but when you change the gears arent you messing with the tranny gears as well?

i just got this truck and im learning lil by lil, i dont know if its stock gears how do i check?

that and its a slug on the highway, 70mph is all i can go unless i floor it to get past that it will go to 4k rpm....any help will do

AKennedy87

Umm a few things I think are right... I'm no pro.

It is advised to change gearing so it mantains a proper ratio for optimal power.

The gears you change are in the axle, nothing to do with tranny.

With big tires your speedo reads wrong. http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/4LoCalc.shtml Check that out and you are really doing about 80.

Good luck, I should be running 32's very soon so give me imput on the ride quality and all.

Alex

TPI

im happy with the ride with 32" tires, i just dont like the slugness, but since there is no issue with changing the gears because of bigger tires, then im gonna find out if i have different gears or stock, i wisht there was a way if they been changed it, i bought the truck like that so i have no idea.

but it rides great, not alot of bounciness...

91 4Runner

I find with the 32's that the ride quality is better due to the larger footprint.... As was mentioned - not as bouncy..... Gears should be changed to do 3 things 1) correct the speedo, 2) correct slugishness 3) correct your MPG.... Other than that you really don't need to change it...

JL8Jeff

I've been running 32's in almost all the Toyotas I've had. I think they are the perfect size for the first gen 4Runners since they are a bigger tire, not too big that you need a lift, make the truck handle better due to wider footprint, they fit on the stoc k15x7 wheels s ono added cost of new wheels. If you keep the stock gears, it will feel a little sluggish compared to the stock size tires, but once you get used to it you won't even remember what it was like with stock tires. The braking seems to be the area that you notice it most. It definitely takes more effort to slow the truck down. I usually upgrade the shocks and steering stabilizer to compliment the 32's as well. My current 88 4Runner is set up pretty good and I'm pulling down 19-20 mpg(corrected for the bigger tires) so I have no complaints.

TPI

thanks for the opinions guys, great!

what gears should i go with if i decide to change them?

JL8Jeff

I think you would be best going with 4.56 gears. If you plan on going with even taller tires later on, then 5.29's might be needed. Personally, I wouldn't waste the money on gears. I'd put the money into getting more power out of the engine. Get a header, cat-back exhaust, cam or whatever.

TPI

EWAYota

To find out your gear ratio, click here

To figure out what gears you need, click here

After looking at that table and figuring out what gears would suit your driving wants, if you have a Automatic, you probably want to take the next gear ratio higher than suggested. For example, it says that you need 4.56's for the power band you want, bump it up to 4.88's for Automatics. Manuals you can stick with the 4.56's.

Cedarbarn

I am running 285/75/16s on my 2005 tacoma. They are OD 33.1 I have a 3 inch lift, no body lift, fenders are stock.

I have stock 4.10 gears. (yes, 2005 4cly is 4.10, not 4.30 like years past) I am a lot more sluggish getting up and going than with the stock gears.

There is a good formula on the BFGoodrich website. You can enter your stock tire size, new tire size, and gear ratio. It will tell you what gearing you need to run to be close to stock.

I am going to re-gear to 4.88s To return close to stock I would need 4.56, but I want lower gearing overall. 5.39s on 33" tires would be too much gear IMHO. That gear set is more suited for 37" tires. IMHO

I think gearing is a better investment than trying to coax more power from an engine. Look at the Unimogs, they have very little horsepower, but will climb like nothing else due to their gearing. I know this is not a fair comparison, as the Unimogs are more like a tractor than a street vehicle.

Anyway... My 2 cents.

TPI

i was looking into getting some 4.88's do i need to replace front and rear?

i found someone selling some yukon 5.29's for 125 each, could i install those gears and still keep the same size tires? (32x11.50) sorry for all these questions guys youve been great

EWAYota

you need to do both front and rear, yes. if you only do the rear and engage the 4wd, your gonna have one heck of a mess to put it lightly.

what do you have, a auto or a manual? 5.29's wont be the gearing you want. 4.56's or 4.88's will be just fine. 4.88's will work well if you decide to go up to 33's as well. Unless you have the knowledge on how to install gears, know how to set the depth right and the backlash, you're going to want to have it done professionally, that can range from 300-1000 dollars as well.

look thru the classifieds here and also check out the classifieds at www.pirate4x4.com and see if you can find a 3rd member already done with the gears you want, then you can just swap out the 3rd members. You can do that yourself.

TPI

the thing is an auto and a 4banger, i was leaning more towards 4.88's,

JL8Jeff

I had an 86 Auto 4Runner and I went to 32's with stock gears. It lost some off the line acceleration but I added a Downey header and cat-back exhaust and got that acceleration back and better gas mileage on the highway too. Regearing will help, but it won't make a huge difference. The 4 cyl trucks are slow no matter how you look at it. I also had an 87 4Runner turbo and that truck with 32's and stock gears got up and moved nicely with a new turbo on it. But it also got around 14 mpg because the turbo motor has much bigger injectors.

TPI

now that's interesting, that's what i wanted to hear from someone who actually had a runner like mine with that, i kinda had a hunch if regearing would actually make a difference, but we'll see what happens

EWAYota

if you were to regear, and add headers and new exhaust, you'd probably be happy. just remember, its a 22RE. It wasn't designed to produce eye popping 0-60 times, but designed to last for 200-300,000 miles.

dlbrunner

with 4:10's and 31s on my p/u it was slower than the 235/75s that came stock, but not much, in 4lo, when it counts, you won't notice the difference. On the new runner, I have factory 31s and 4:56, as cash allows I will move to 32s I anticipate a minor bogging, but they are/were both 3.slow, I won't regear for such a small tire size change. After having lots o HP in the cruiser, and low gears, I am of the opinion that the lower the gear ratio you use the less horsepower you want, because the high HP will wind out each gear very quickly with only a touch of the gas. That is my preference, others will disagree, but hey each for your own.

goat getter

i run my 85'SR5 w/K&N, LC Header, & Flowmaster with 32's and 4.56 and love it!!

i got an extra 4cyl & V6 third w/4.56 if anyone is intrestead PM me..

99TRDman

i have a 99 tacoma with 31 in. tires on it if i wanted to put 32's on do u think i would need a lift or a regear.

AxleIke

While this is a valid opinion, not knocking a guy there, but its some of the worst advice I've seen.

I have an 87 4runner. I have a 22re, and I've got the goodies for it.

The ONLY thing that he suggested that makes the SLIGHTEST difference would be the cam. Compared to gearing the truck, a cam is a buttload more work. If you know how to work on engines, go for it, it will help you out. If you pay someone, it will cost you. I highly recommend a cam. Gearing a truck will fix your issues much more simply.

HEADERS AND EXHAUST AND HI FLOW INTAKE DON'T DO A DAMN THING!!! ZIP, ZERO, NADA!!!THEY ARE THE BIGGEST WASTE OF MONEYI HAVE EVER PUT ONTO A TRUCK

Gears are a NIGHT AND DAY difference. You will notice a HUGE return of perceived power. The reason being is a 22RE stock hits its power band above 3k RPM's. With your big tires, and stock gears, you can't hit the power band for a longer amount of time, and cannot hit the power band in higher gears. Thus, you must shift down and rev the hell out of it. With the new gears, you're RPM's will be higher at lower speeds, thus giving you the ability to hold speed on the highway in a higher gear.

Since you have the auto, I would go with 4.88's on the 32's if you plan to stay there. 5.29's would be a little much, but if you plan on going bigger at some point, it might be worth looking into those instead.