Having a hard time deciding on proper gear ratio???

Well im about to dig into my wallet and regear my differentials, but am having a hard time deciding what setup is right for me. So im hoping you guys can shed some light on which direction to go in.

What i have...
2004 Tacoma, 5 Speed with 3RZFE 4cyl. I am currently running a 6inch lift with 35's.

My truck is stock with 4.30 gears and to be honest, the truck does a decent job for what its working with. But there is still room for improvement and i want my lost power back. This is my daily driver and i do occasionally off-road with it, but mostly i drive it in town and on the highway. I sometimes use it to pull my trailer.

So given this information, what setup would you recommend me going to? Its a tossup between 4.88's or 5.29's and right now im leaning to the 5.29's. Im only doing this once lol

Thanks in advance

 

How much Highway do you drive?

4.88s would give you a little bit more snap back. The 5.29s would give you a lot.

 

Probably 5.29's for 35's

 

I'm running 5.29's and 37's and its great i have tons of power. With 35's it would be better add a super charger ane you would love it! One thing to note if you drive fast on the high way your rpms will be on the high side. Mine are over 3000 at 85mph.

 

id go 4.88s since your a manual tranny.

 

Just something to think about.... TEETH thickness.

The more teeth on the ring gear, the THINNER the teeth are which ultimately means...weaker.

If that would concern you at all.

When we were deciding between 4.88's and 4.56's on our Jeep - we went with the 4.56's to retain strength.

 

Go with the 5.29s, OP. You'll be glad you did.

Good point... but with his Toyota, 5.29s would have the thicker ring gear teeth at 37 teeth vs the 39 teeth on the 4.88s and 41 teeth on the 4.56s.

 

Thanks guys!!! I mostly do back road driving (45-55 mph). But occasionally do highway driving. I have a trailer that i pull as well sometimes and it would be nice to actually load stuff in the bed and or trailer and not have to constantly downshift on an incline. Plus im sure my engine and clutch will thank me to.

Think im going to go with 5.29s... as far as strength goes i think ill be ok. When i do wheel my truck im not balls to the wall with it. I know when to let off the throttle when climbing something (no bucking) lol

 

True story though, bro.....

(From my 8" E-locker rear) 5.29 ring gear on the left (37 teeth) 4.10 ring gear on the right (41 teeth). Which looks stronger?

 

BUT!!


The pinion is smaller. Thus weaker..yes?

 

Honestly, I don't think so. The pinion HEAD is smaller, but not the per-tooth thickness, necessarily. While this may mean less tooth engagement, the pinion gear is a stronger gear (much longer teeth = force is spread out more) than the ring gear, so sacrificing a larger pinion head for a larger ring gear is worth it imo.

Strength of a gear set ultimately rests on the install quality.

 

and here is the part that i have been considering..everyone always talks about certain gears being stronger then others..when it has to boil down to that.

Especially considering the pickiness of toyota differentials.

 

Pretty much...

 

I just read over this thread and this is 100% right.

I wheel with some guys w/ 1st and 2nd gen trucks. They all run 5.29s and have done so for the last 4-5 year. Locked front and rear (solid axles) 37-39" tires. Like everything, its all how its built. Every once in a while a 3rd will fail, like I said, that with YEARS of HARD CORE wheeling abuse. For someone that does light wheeling and mostly highway and towing, you will LOVE the 5.29s and NEVER have a problem. When you hear of a failed 5.29, or 4.88 for that matter you need to look at who built it, and how old the set up is, and what it was doing when failed. A 4.10 or 4.30 diff will fail just as fast as anything else if someone doesn't set it up right.

East Coast Gear Supply is one of the best, if not the best in the business when it comes to diff. They can gave you new diff in NO time. Most of the time they have complete diff in stock ready to ship (core required).

 

4.88's i have the same set up.

 

never go lower then 4.88. anything larger then that you get to small of a pinion and you will break. i found with a 22r and 4.88s and 37s gave me perfect freeway gearing for 5th gear.

 

Thats actually who im going to be getting my gears from. Iv delt with them once before and i was very pleased. Going to be getting there front and rear master build kit...http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-14521181-1995-5-2004-tacoma-gear-package-5-29-ratio.html