Dakota's Yota Build (Long Travel, Chevy 63s, and BS)

Yeah we have different mind sets haha I see it as the faster your engine is turning the sooner parts are going to wear out and need replacing.
But I do understand your way of thinking, have the power for mountain passes and a useful passing gear would be nice.

 

You know I completely agree with you. I get a lot of peer pressure *cough* to run 37s but I too am astounded at my trucks capabilities with 285s. Especially paired up with my suspension travel... Add in lower gears and a front locker and I don't know what I could really stop me. 35s would just make things easier and more comfortable. The way I've been looking at it is, if I find myself at an obstacle that requires a 2" taller tire, it's probably not a trail I should be on in the first place. As long as I have body panels, probably not going to require 37s haha. Additionally I don't want the stress of breaking stuff all the time.

So now lets talk about gears. I don't ever really drive on the freeway... like ever. I have a Ram 1500 with a 5.7 for work and I'm looking at getting a cummins (tow pig). The only time I do is to go to a meet over the mountains or to Moab. I turn about 2500 at 75 on the freeway currently. Also this thing is a heavy lugging pig wherever I go.
Using a gear calculator here is my results.

4.56s with 315/70/17 at 75 mph = 2843 RPM
4.88s with 315/70/17 at 75 mph = 3042 RPM

So basically 500-600 rpm higher than right now if I were to run 4.88s.

Now check out the final drive ratios in 1st gear low.

Current setup - 3.73s with 285/70/17 = 39.97
New setup - 4.88s with 315/70/17 = 52.30

I like that improvement a lot...

But you still hear mixed reviews. I know @loco says he wished he would have ran 4.88s. But then I know @HomerTaco thinks he's overgeared on 4.56s and @Adamar85 thinks he's overgeared on 4.88s... Then you also hear the people who say 4.88s will strip easier. Man I don't know...

 

I loved my 4.56 on my 35s and I even love them on my 37s. Nwitaco loves his 4.56 on 40s. But he does have a crawl box for the trial.

 

Installing my turtle box in two weeks God willing.

Dakota, since you're a manual trans go with 4.56

If I was sticking with 35's and had I known then what I know now I'd have gone with 4.10's

37's on 4.56 with a manual will be just right IMO.

Also, in regards to highway driving: everywhere I wheel I have to drive a considerable distance on the highway. Therefore Highway performance is important to me. If I was a trailer queen I would not GAF.

 

I wish a had money for teh crawl bawks... that would make this decision easier.

Craig, is it really that bad on the freeway? Is the 2800 rpm about accurate at 75?

 

Yes - pretty accurate. 2800RPM for hours and hours gets old...

I get the desire for low end torque that the re-gear provides but you need to balance that with on-road capability if your driving long distances.

There's nothing wrong with trying to get back close to stock RPM's with larger tires - you've got a transfer case low range for wheeling.

 

Yeah... bleh I could see 3000 getting old fast especially with my exhuast... even 2800 could be irritating but 4.10 is definitely out of the question.

I'm only looking at a final drive ratio of 48.87 vs 52.30 between 4.56 and 4.88

Besides irritation factor, is 3000 rpm for hours and hours *really* detrimental to the engine? I'm pretty sure a modern engine is pretty good at protecting itself as far as cooling and lubrication goes right... minor RPM differences in theory shouldn't worsen an engine life, right? I thought most 4 cylinder vehicles run really high... If I recall right my sisters 99 civic ran at like 3000 on the freeway and she put 290,000 on that.

 

I don't think it's very detrimental to the engine however: when Anthony was on 4.56s and running 285's we all were headed down to uwahrrie North Carolina and he blew an engine code in Virginia. He thought it was from running very high rpm's for extended periods of time.

@PSU Taco85

Maybe he'll chime in.

Bottom line for me is I'm trying to get as close to stock RPM's at highway speeds with ridiculously large tires.

 

No that makes perfect sense... especially since you got da turtle mod

On a separate note, what do you think of having a short shifter off road?

 

I'm confused by you 2nd gen guys. That 4L is not a big, American V8. 3K RPM is perfectly fine to run at all day long. The only reason you're so low to start with is the 3.83 highway gears and MPG crap.

 

Yeah and it still sucks haha. Wish I had a .75 6th like the FJ!

 

I will say two things. The high RPMs are NOT good to run these engines for an extended period of time, it's not a B16 honda tuner lol. I learned that the hard way.

Think of it like this,

going from 3.73 to 4.56 is about an 18% reduction in ratio from stock.
going from 3.73 to 4.88 is about a 23.5% reduction in ratio from stock.
The difference will be negligible on the trails but you will notice that a ton on the highway or any speeds above 50 mph. I was not "comfortably" able to do 65 mph with 4.56s and 33s, with 4.56s and 36s I am about back to stock gearing and it is nice. The goal of regearing is to get the truck back to stock ratios which is where the truck best performs, and possibly some slight overgearing. 4.88s and 35s on a manual v6 tacoma is way overgeared IMO. I am getting 16 mpg being back at stock RPM with a fully armored truck with RTT on there at all times, that's about what I got the day I bought it haha

To get 4.88 you need a new front carrier or you need to get an ARB due to the carrier break (maybe you were already planning on the front ARB) so it may not be a big deal. Nitro makes thick cut gears so you can keep the 3.73 and down carrier, but if you go with yukon or the like, that might not be the case.

And lastly, get a crawl box if you really want the difference. They're only another 2k, that's not a big difference after all that long travel glam.

My crawl ratio is 229.7

https://youtu.be/RQovf2BSc-U

https://youtu.be/jUWVO-pN9I0

 

Short shifter is just a "feel" difference for these trucks - I'm not like Torspd or Coupe with a rocket under the hood and zipping around a track where quick shifts are a must...

Regardless, I like it.

 

lol. I'm an idiot narrating that vid.

 

Hmm I see. What engine code did your truck throw?

Also I'm getting a front ARB regardless.
Maybe I will do a crawl box. Dat crawl is sex Hell, I mean gears and crawl box might even be slightly cheaper than LT lol

Haha okay, I'm considering. Just wanted to know if it makes shifting in low harder (aka more gear crunches)

Lmao I thought that was you!

 

Woohoo!

 

Hey man, just catching up on your build since I've been away from TW for a few months. Things are looking sweet! Keep up the good work.

It sucks to see little things like the bearings and seals come up that set you back. I know the feeling all to well. It's always something...

I look forward to seeing what you got in store next

 

Hey man, nice hearing from you thanks! Yours still looks amazing haha. I'm going to tackle wiring soon... I'm dreading That day. You made yours so clean.

Yeah I, like many here, have had to come to the terms if you want to DD your wheeler you're gonna need to deal with a lot of little wear items.

 

Also here's a pretty cool view of my truck I snapped at my buddies house. Who can guess what's missing? First person to guess gets a like lol

 

Can't figure it out