Wanting a liitle bit bigger tire to replace the 225 but I don't want to strain my 22re with bigger tires... don't have the time and money to re-gear it with what it should have. Anyone who has this set up please let me know your thoughts or experience.

 

22re doesn't make much power to begin with. I am getting ready to put 4.88 with 31s in my truck so yes bigger tires will kill the performance. if you don't have money or time leave it stock.

P.S. there are tons of articles on here about this same subject.

 

I have 4.10s' and run 10.50-31s on my '87 4Runner.

The engine has near 290,000 miles on it, but it still pulls pretty strong.

I'm happy enough with the 4.10s'. It'll pull moderate hills in 4th gear @ 55mph and steeper hills @45-50 in third gear.

I don't like to rev it over 3300-3400 because of its age. A fresher engine would be able to do a bit more, and might run better than 4000rpm all day.

I guess it depends on what your expectations are. A good running 22RE is a thing of beauty, but it ain't no high powered outfit.

 

Agree. I dont ask more from this engine than it can handle. It runs strong and does well at 5 and 6000 feet in Montana going up passes and hills at 65 to 70 mph in 4th. Sometimes slower. But that's with stock tire size. If I go a little slower with 31 than that's fine. I would go 30 or close to it but I can't find much availability. I really just want taller but not wider than stock but I'm not sure what that size would be.

 

I personally don't care for 31s and 4.10s but lots of guys do run them. It may be hard to keep up with stop and go traffic from stop light to stop light.

 

Where I live in southern AZ, stop and go traffic is not a daily issue for me. When I do need to venture into a larger metro, like Tucson or Phoenix, I mostly use one of my auto tranny Ford Escorts.

If I lived in the likes of LA, I would'nt care to row a manual tranny machine around, regardless of what gears it had. Automatics have their place.

 

I ran 31's on my 22RE, manual, 4:10 4Runner for the first three years I owned it in West Virginia. Plenty of hills there and it did fine. Not fast but it's not going to cause any problems. You're mileage might actually improve if you live somewhere kind of flat since you'll go farther for each rotation of the crank. You just need to correct for the odometer being off due to the larger tires or you'll never be able to see the improvement. I now run 33's on otherwise the same truck. This is about the limit I'd say for using fifth gear at all. I can run fifth when cruising on the highway but not like before. Fortunately with 33's, 4th gear is pretty close to exactly what 5th gear used to be.

 

You see some guys going as far as running 5.29s with 33s. I personally like the 33/5.29 combo but I also live on a mountain. Most internet heros will tell you 33s = 4.88s and 31s = 4.56s. But personally for 31s I like 4.88s and for 33s I like 5.29s.

 

You wont even notice a difference between 4.10s and 31s. lol

 

Really depends on auto vs manual. Ive currently got both with 31's and 4.10's and the manual has plenty of power. Granted the manual has a header and a newer head, but it feels like it has way more power than my auto. I'd say 4.10's are no problem with a manual, but with an auto I'd want at least 4.30's (should be stock on an auto) or 4.56.

 

I am on 31s with 4.10 and as many have said, on the highway it is great, but as far as those first 30mph it leaves a bit to be desired. Uphill at a higher altitude it gets tougher. I never felt like I needed to down size the tires however, but, I would consider 30x9.5 as well. 225/75 are so small so I understand why you are looking to upgrade. On the flip side, 225/75s are great in snowy road conditions.

 

There is also the 235/75r15 size. Pretty much a 29" tire.

 

Good advise! I actually decided to go with a 30 9.50 15 not too big and not too small.