So, i'm planning on regearing my 91 ext cab 4x4, 22re, 5spd. I've been doing alot of searching over the last few days, and most people recommend 4.88's with 33 inch tires to get the power back to stock levels. I was thinking of going to a 5.29 gearset, in hopes of gaining a little more zip, and i'll also be covered if i do make the move to bigger tires down the road. So if anyone has any experience with 5.29's turning 33 inch tires, let me know how well it worked for you. Thanks!

 

thats what I run in my 3vze and it works fine. for wheeling I couldn't imagine any less, especially with your 4cyl. I actually used to have shorter ones (5.51's i believe).
If you do a lot of freeway commuting maybe 4.88 would be better, since it revs pretty high (my v6 turns 4k at about 82mph). If you do mostly in town and offroad it, i'd pick the 529.

 

the truck is a daily driver of sorts. Almost never sees the highway, but i use it everyday as a work truck, about 90% gravel roads and crappy prairie trails with lots of weight in the back. Lots of DEEP snow in the winter. Thought the 5.29's would be nice so i don't have to run around in 4low all winter.

 

Go with 4.88's you always have 4-low to use if you need the extra oomph offroad.

 

Please explain. i figure that 5.29's will help alot in the power dept. and since my truck rarely goes over 60mph i'm not too worried about my top end being reduced. I know i can do the 4.88's for less money as i located a front diff with the 4.88's already installed for a very good price, but i'm still leaning toward the 5.29's. I should add that while i'll be running 33's for now, i'm pretty sure i'll move up to atleast 35's in the future.

 

Well, 4.88's are Perfect for 33" tires. They are a little lower then stock to help out with added weight.

But if you are not concerend with hwy driving (higher rpms at speed) and you just want to help out under say 60mph, then go with the 5.29's

I remember ovrrdrive (sorry if I misspelled that) drove with 5.29's and 32" tires and he said it was not very nice, constant shifting, albiet the torque was nice.

Perhaps he will chime in

 

Ran that setup for a few years, works fine as long as you don't do a lot of 70+ miles per hour driving. You'll be turning ~3500 @ 75MPH, which gets pretty tiring after a few hours. Your speedo will be off ~13%, so you'll either have to live with the error or get a correction box for ~$100.

I now run 4.88s with 33" tires and find that a much nicer setup. Highway cruising is better, RPMs lower. Sure, I need to downshift a little more on the hills, but it is a 22RE afterall. I do notice a little lower gas mileage w/ 4.88s than with 5.29s (and yes, that is corrected for the gearing).

 

i've got a 91 5spd 4cyl extended cab on 33s.

I'm running 4.88s and getting 20-21mpg. I drive fairly frequently from Auburn Al to Chattanooga TN... 4 hrs in the car or so at 60-70 mph. On the highway the gearing is awesome but i still feel slightly sluggish starting off around town. If you don't worry about high speed I'd say go ahead with the 5.29s.

 

If you had an auto, they may not be low enough to hold the overdrive, and you might want to consider 5.71

Since you have a manual (like I do), they might be a tad much, but everytime I go over a high/steep pass here in CO, I wish I had done 5.29 instead of 4.88.

I tach 3000 RPM at 70MPH with 33's and 4.88.

 

That's way too much gear for 33's... Go with the 4.88.

I ran 5.29's with my 32's for week before I got my bigger tires on and it was very painful on the road. I hated it and after a week I was ready to park the truck.

 

I just recently regeared my truck. I'm running 33's and put in 5.29's (I have a 5spd tans.). It is slow on the freeway but it doesn't bother me much, I just leave a little earlier now . Mostly it's my around town DD (I'm a stay at home mom). Offroad it is awesome! With the lower gearing I can just crawl up stuff...I just feather the gas when it feels like it's going to stall. It makes me want to put in a dual transfer case when I go up to 35's.

Additionally, if you are thinking about going up to 35's anytime in the near future, it would be more cost effective to put in the 5.29's now. Unless you are getting complete 4.88 gear sets for free, why spend the money and time to do it twice. Go with the lower gears, deal with the inconvenience on road for a little while, put on bigger tires and then be happy! Just my .02

 

I would do the 4.88's as well. There better on the freeway and your MPG's.
The problem with 5.29's or lower is if you do any type of hard wheel'n you will put yourelf in a situation where that tiny/smaller pinion gear could break.
If you plan right you could run up to 35" tires with the 4.88's (though it may lag off the line a little) and install some crawler gears in your t-case to make up the difference.

 

Once again i'm not too worried about top speeds. This is not a highway truck, it sits at my worksite and travels about a 20 mile area near there. At best it will take a 35mile trip to my house for maintenance and such. Most of that drive is on the highway, but through a series of river coulees that are quite steep. For about 5 months of the year i keep a 75 gallon methanol tank on the back of my truck and travel through alot of snow on roads that have never seen a snowplow. I think i'll just go with the 5.29's like originally planned, i don't want to have to regear later on. If i don't like them i can always get bigger tires.

 

That was easy. Enjoy.

 

Thanks for the help.

 

I don't see how I helped, but I bet your going to be just fine with the choice.

 

Ya i realized after i posted that you never helped at all, but thanks anyways.

 

i run 33's with 5.29's, no complaints, plenty of torque

 

Yeah...sure....anytime!

 

me too