Hi all, new here. Name is Mike. Hate to have my first post be a gripe rather than a tech question but here it goes. Recently aquired a 96 4runner with the 2.7 and an auto. For tires it has 235's on it. I gather from my door sticker it came with 225's so they are marginally larger than stock. From my searching I know from the VIN it has 4.10 gears. Seems a little high for an auto. Anyways, when I bought it and test drove it, it seemed zippy around town not very underpowered at all. I didnt have a highway close by where I could take it up to freeway speeds for a while. Well now that I have it home, I had to drive to work down the highway and there was about a 25-30mph crosswind. What the hell it couldnt even maintain 70! I had to keep it almost all the way to the floor to maintain 70, and then it would downshift out of overdrive all the time. What a dog! It scoots just fine in 3rd but once it shifts into overdrive, its like OD is so high the 4 cylinder cant carry the weight. On the way home the wind had died down to calm. Now with no wind to fight it could do 75 with about half pedal. I cant believe the wind affects it that much. And this is with stock sized tires. Does any other 2.7 with auto owners experience this?? Why is OD so high geared?? I cant imagine putting 31" tires on here. There isnt anything mechanically wrong. Everything tune up wise is in order, you name it its in good shape or has been replaced. It has around 100,000 miles. Is the 4runners with the 3rz and an auto that much of a dog?? Thanks Much for any insight.

Mike

 

haha..235s..man i got a 90 with the little 4bangin 22RE/Auto with the stock 4.10 gears with 35s! and yes even with 31 the thing was an absolute DOG..70 was a great feat, only managed that one a few times on downhills haha..now as the 4runner is in a sumwhat broken state..i use it in town with the 35s..not bad at all..of course i may only hit about a max of 25mph..now back when i had a set of 235s on it..she was still a dog, but come on..its one heavy truck with a 4cyl/auto! u cant expect a whole lot