Hey guys I really want to know about gears, and re-gearing. 3:56, 4:10 what does it all mean. What are better gears for off-raoding and why, what makes them better? Please help me out, I have alway wiondered and wanted to understand these things when you guys talk about them. Thanks in advance, I know you guys will always come through.

 

Its expressed as a ratio. 4.10 means 4.1 to 1. the drive shafts turn 4.1 times for every 1 time the wheels turn. 4.88 means 4.88 driveshaft turns for every 1 wheel turn etc. The higher the number the better for offroading because the motor turns more times over the same distance. You can go slower over big rocks without stalling.

 

just in case you didn't already know, we're talking about the gears in your differentials. well in your case, differential. depends on what kind of wheeling you do. if you like the fast pre-runner stuff, higher (numerically lower) gearing is what you want. if you like to climb stuff where slower speeds are used, lower (numerically higher) gearing is the way to go. also, if you upgrade your tires to a larger size, you can re-gear the differentials to offset the upgrade to where your truck will drive like stock. it's all about picking the right combo. if you research a little, you'll find other people who had the same question you do and the decision they made. all that said, your best bet is to try to keep everything as close to stock as possible. like, if you upgrade to 35" tires, you're gonna want to go with 5.29 gears to offset the difference and return performance to normal.

 

Pre-running requires gears that are numerically higher so as to not limit the upper end of speed.

Crawling requires numerically lower gears get get maximum torque multiplication.

I have 5.29's with 33's and love it.

Ballpark:
3.0, auto, 33's=5.29's
3.0, stick, 33's=4.88's
3.4, auto, 33's=4.88's
3.4, stick, 33's=4.56's

 

Got a question for y'all:

So, just say I upgraded my tires to 33's - by installing 5.29 gears, would I be gaining back the acceleration I lost by going to 33's?

Just so I have my ideas straight:

Lower gearing (higher numerically) = faster acceleration
Higher gearing (lower numerically) = faster top-end speed

Is this right?

Thanks for the help guys-

CTB

 

You are right about your lower / higher gearing assumptions!

 

Cool, thanks.

And just a little addition to my previous post:

Lower Gearing (higher numerically) = faster acceleration (and higher highway rpm's?)

Higher Gearing (lower numerically) = faster top-end speed (and lower highway rpm's?)

Am I right with the rpm assumptions? Thanks again fellas-

 

Yes.

 

Great, thanks Jay

 

Ah I love this forum. You pople here are the best damn friends to learn from. Thanks for all the help. Now I can put up another little knoledge point under my name. Now to just learn even more about gears now that I get th basics of it al. Thanks again, you guys are a big help.

 

On my 95 runner, I went from 31's with 4.56's to 33's with 5.29's.

It feels faster than it did with 31's, but that is because I now drive it a little heavier. Run the tach around 3k and that will produce better mileage and some power.

When I was breaking in the gears with 31's it was a rocket off the line.

You can crunch numbers and stuff to get in the right area, but the real world is different than numbers. The calculations forget about increased mass, rolling resistance and contact area.