SOS Sick Of Sluggishness!

I have had my 2011 access cab sr5 manual 4x4 for almost a year now. I have tried to convince myself that I can live with the total lack of power of the 4 cyl. I think I have reached my breaking point. Truthfully it is not at all fun to drive. It is actually painful to commute in my truck. Everything else is great about my truck. I thought about trading up for the 6 cyl but that would mean eating another couple grand in taxes and the difference in price. Not to mention that I sunk a ton of money into suspension upgrades, wheels and tires, stereo, and an alarm system. I don't see a trade-in being very cost-effective. I am considering re-gearing. I barely use 5th on the freeway right now. When I do, it bogs down on even the slightest grade. I believe factory ratio is 4.10. I wish I knew if re-gearing to 4.56 would be enough. I think 4.88 is overkill. I swear I would buy the URD supercharger kit if it were smog legal in CA. I'd love some advice on this. Anyone else fed up with the sluggishness? Ive read a lot of the re-gearing threads but I just don't see any real data showing any differences. Anyone in CA have the supercharger? Thanks for reading my rant.

 

If you're lifted with bigger tires, imo it's a smarter move to just regear.

 

if you trade it in you can take all the stuff you bought off your old truck and put it on your new truck and put the factory parts off the new truck on your old truck.

it should be fine though. i'm not sure what the problem is. you just have to downshift going up hills.

 

I agree. Large diameter wheels and tires gear your truck higher. If you want your pull back, you'll need to compensate with gearing.

Do you take your truck off road? If you don't, it's a total waste making it look like it does.

I had big "wagon wheel" off-road tires on my 2.7 street Taco, and it was so damned sluggish.




But when I returned to a stock diameter wheel and tire equivalent to what the truck came with from the factory, it the little truck came alive...




Then I put a long tube header on it along with a few other bolt on mods and...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvIBURPwtXw

Greg

 

what size tires are you running?

i didn't notice any difference going from stock 245/75/16 to 265/75/16 tires.

 

If you camp and tow, lower gears are your answer. They will increase your engine's mechanical advantage.

Greg

 

Yeah, I am leaning toward re-gearing. I can order a gear package from ECGS in 4.56 or 4.88 ratio. From what I have read 4.88 might be too low for my needs. My current tires are 31s. I don't ever plan to put tires bigger than 33s. If I were to run 35s the 4.88s would be necessary. I don't know. It would be an easy decision if I knew how much of a difference either ratio would make. I don't want to have to do it twice.

 

I just put 265/75/16's on my truck today and drove over 160 miles round trip on the highway with speeds over 70mph and had to keep backing off every now and then because my speed was slowly creeping up and I was in 5th gear the entire time on the highway even when passing. truck still feels the same as it did with the 245/75/16 stock tires. It could be that crappy California gas that they run out there which I noticed lots of issues with my cars when I was stationed out there for 9 years in the SF Bay area. Loved living there but F that gas that they run out there. been getting much better gas mileage with the east coast gas and my cars seem to run much better.

 

I had a 2013 Hyundai Veloster while I was stationed out there and the best MPG I got over 10K miles was 28mpg and that was 80% highway which was crappy because the rating on the window sticker said I should have gotten 38mpg. once I got to Virginia I was getting 40+mpg on average with 60% highway. on my drive across country I got 55mpg on two tanks of gas.

 

yes that is 33.5" which is too tall for a 4cyl without regearing.

265/75/16 is only around 31.5"

big difference there.

stock tires and my bigger tires have the same diameter pretty much. maybe a slight difference but not much at all. only difference is they are wider.

 

I was in your same situation OP. Wanted to regear and Chase at ECGS talked me out of 4.88's and thought 4.56's would be best for my use.

Try this neat calculator before you spend any money. It will tell you if your engine will be screaming intolerably if you regear, what tire size does, etc. and the best part is its FREE!

http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html

 

I can't recommend regearing as a solution seeing that you're still running factory tire size. And it's an expensive option. You'll spend as much money regearing as you would lose in a trade in.

To someone outside CA I might recommend the URD supercharger.

I'd say return your truck to stock form, get a V6, and then put your mods on the new V6. Life's too short to hate your truck.

 

I bit the bullet after 15 months with an I4 automatic. Just got a 2015 V6 identical to my 2013. Happy, Happy, Happy