DefconBrix [ overland Tacoma build ]

Very cool. What does your sister think of it?

 

This picture is just askin' for it:
"Dafuq?"

Hope you don't mind.

 

I've been doing a lot of "local exploring" lately.
Instead of taking a couple trips a month somewhere 8+ hours away from home I figured I would spend less time driving and more time exploring whats near me. Being in Utah there is something around ever corner to discover.

Every week Max and I will be taking our rigs out to find new areas and trails to discover and will be bringing the cameras along of course to document the trips and plan on starting a youtube channel.

Random shot from our Thursday trip down in the Eureka mine country.



This photo cracked me up because as I climbed up this mountain side to check out an old building I turned around to take a shot of the truck and caught Max filming me lol awkward! Not used to being in front of the camera at all.

 

Hey man, from what I've noticed you commute and travel a lot in your truck. How are your 4.88's treating you. I plan on regearing here very soon and adding an ARB rear locker. Just spoke to the guys at ECGS and they recommended that if I wheel, have a lot of weight (RTT, bumpers, skids, sliders, bed rack, etc.), and moving up to 35's that I should probably go with 4.88's. I love to get out camping and wheel as often as I can which honestly is probably only 20 percent of the time I drive my truck. I just don't know if I should go 4.56's or 4.88's. I guess I'm looking for a little insight or advice since you're truck is an inspiration to a lot of people on this site and is certainly built right (in my opinion). Thanks in advance!

 

I run 4.56s with 35s, I want 4.88s, that should be enough. You'll run higher RPM's and use more gas, but I get 13 on a good day with the 35s/4.56s and it still down shifts a lot going up a slight incline. Just go with 4.88s, especially with a lot of weight in the truck.

 

Thanks for the reply man! I appreciate the insight. Even if I'm not able to get out and wheel too much? And I guess I should have mentioned that I don't always have the weight in the truck. Just when I go on wheeling/camping trips

 

I guess we do the same thing then.. ha. I try to wheel 4 times a year, and am only loaded down when I do so. I am not happy with the 4.56s, I would much rather have higher RPMs.

 

Very good to know. Thanks dude. The guy at ECGS said that it would probably be around 250 RPM's higher on the highway with the 4.88's.

 

Also where do you live though? Do you drive a lot of hills and stuff? I live in Southern California. Lot of flat ground with not many hills at all.

 

Houston, flat as can be. Only when I go to wheel it gets to the hill(y) areas.

 

Haha gotcha. Another thing I've read through searching some threads is that the 4.56's are stronger than the 4.88's as far as a gears themselves. Some say the 4.88's will break easier than the 4.56's. I will be purchasing a fully assembled 3rd member and a clamshell so I will have 5 year warranties on them I just wanna make sure I'm getting something that won't break easily haha. I don't know a whole bunch about gears. Did the whole suspension on my truck and can do a lot of other things but gears are kind of a new thing for me haha.

 

I would like to see a broken 4.88 tooth from a ring & pinion being pushed with a stock 1GR motor, I haven't yet ... Also I recommend Nitro brand gears. You have a weaker ring, but need less effort to achieve X power, it's a trade off.

Edit a word.

 

Haha alright cool man. Yeah I plan on getting the Nitro gears. And plus I don't wheel so hard that I'm worried about breaking my gears (knock on wood). I also just had my first kid 2 months ago so I'm driving a little slower anywhere I go now.

My type of wheeling honestly is a lot of exploring, however I do enjoy some challenging technical trails. Like the trails in Moab, and some here in big bear, among others.

 

There is also a break in period, I would ask ECGS about it when ordering. I've been using different weight oil as well, 85-140, I think it was chase from ECGS who recommend it. The change intervals are smaller as well, air locker sometimes pukes up diff oil, I've been doing front, t-case and rear diff at 30k which is another $100 or so every 2 years.

 

Okay cool man, I appreciate that. Yeah I spoke with Steven from ECGS. Super helpful guy and very nice as well as knowledge. I'll be sure to ask a ton of questions and make sure to get a regular maintenance cycle going for the additions. I appreciate all the help man. I feel a little more comfortable moving forward with things now.

 

We sell a lot of Nitros up here, break-in should be: Install gears w/ new oil, change after 20 miles, change again after 500, and only run synthetic AFTER 5000 miles to assure proper break-in.

 

Cool man! Thank you

 

Royal Purple is just too good at it's job to break in gears haha

 

I absolutely commute a ton with my truck! I sometimes wish it wasn't my daily but even when I have another car to drive I still choose to drive the Taco lol I just love it too much.

So I am honesty torn on the gearing..
Because it is a daily and I jump on the freeway often I hate that I run higher rpm's and more frequent downshifting with the 35/4.88 combo, especially when towing the trailer on the freeway up a hill. So for a daily I wish I would have gone 4.56's. But offroad is a whole other story. I love the 35/4.88 combo here. I run more weight than most people but I'm getting around 14mpg currently so long as I'm not in a rush while driving. I try to keep my speed around 65mph on the freeway, any faster and the fuel economy drops quick.

 

Usually once a month my truck turns into a farm truck...
The wife is obsessed with horses so you know what they say... happy wife happy life.
They ended up being my chores and her enjoyment lol






My Boxer, Baxter, goes everywhere with me and was sadly just diagnosed with cancer about a week ago... he is only 7. If you're a dog owner you know the bond that they carry so this news is something I haven't really came to terms with yet.