Hey

I've got a 1990 4runner. I've read in other forums about how fast people can go in theirs. One guy said 60-65 @ 2600 RPM another said 70 @ 3000 RPM. Mine can go about 60 @ 3000 RPM. Is there something I can do about that or am I just going to have to live with it?

 

It all has to do with what gear ratio you have in your differentials, Manual or automatic tranny, and your tire size. Easiest way to gain speed at set rpm is go to a taller tire. Your spedometer will still read the same unless you have it recalibrated.

 

I've been reading about people upgrading to a 4.88 gear set. Would that help?

 

If you are wanting to go faster, Probably not. You need to find out what your current gear ratio is. Look at the sticker in the door jam on the driver side.toward the bottom right side of the sticker you will see one of these codes that start with a "G".
VIN code:
410: G292/G294
430: G282/G284
456: G254
488: G144
Match it up and you will know what your current gear ratio is. The Larger the number the lower the gear ratio, and thus the slower it will go at a certain RPM.

 

I do want to go faster. That's my only problem with my 4runner. How do I change the gear ratio? Thanks for all your help by the way.

 

You would need to change the ring and pinion gears in your front and rear differentials (assuming it is a 4 wheel drive). If your gear ratio is say 4.56 then a 4.30 or 4.10 would get you more speed at the cost of low end power. If you do alot of offroading then I would really think twice about gearing up. Look at your sticker and let me know what code is on it so I can help you further.

 

Also What tranny do you have? is it auto or manual?

 

Will do. My dad drives it to Idaho in October every year so sometimes he switches into 4 wheel drive because of snow but that's it. I'll look tomorrow at the sticker. It's eleven o'clock here and I'm going to sleep soon.

 

Manual transmission.

 

Ok I will check back tomorrow.

 

The sticker said g254.

 

You have a 4.56:1 gear ratio. To the best of my knowledge, trucks with this gear ratio came with 31x10.50 tires. A 4.30 or 4.10 gear ratio will give you more speed and lower rpm's. A 4.88 would give you less speed and higher rpm's. Your truck should be able to pull the higher gears with stock sized tires alright on the highway. You will lose some of the low end grunt around town and offroad though. If most of your driving is on the highway, your fuel consumption would probably be real close to what you are already getting. But if most of your driving is around town or offroad it would probably get worse. Hope to have helped. Good luck.

 

my '90 v6 5speed will go well over 70 easily, stock. Yours only tops out at 60?

 

Yep, sixty's as fast as I can go before it starts to get shaky. Real frustrating...

 

Thanks for your help

 

if its getting shakey, you have other issues than the engine. Go 3000rpm in 2nd gear, does it shake?

Id get the tires rebalanced?

 

Oh no, sorry. It can rev at 3000 fine. I meant like if I went seventy I'd have to rev at about 3300 or 3400 which is a bit high.

 

Ahh gotcha!

 

For the record... my 93 4runner 3vze with a 5 speed and 5.29 gearing goes... 4000rpm to do 84mph. It does that all day long, without complaining. Why do you say 3400rpm is "too high"?

 

My 92 with 4.88s and 31s does 3250 on the freeway 5 hours at a time. After having several of these motors, I can say they are most efficient around 2700-3000 RPMs. Also, my redline is at almost 5500 RPM. 3400 is nothing. With 4.56 gear set, what you need is bigger tires if you want to lower your RPMs, however you can expect a lot of shifting between OD and 4 if your lower your RPMs too much more.