What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

4:30 with 265/70/16 and manual was about perfect. A little under geared now with 255/85/16.

I would get the 4:30 over the 4.10. Especially since you’re auto.

 

seeing as your a 2.7l with an auto..you should have 4.56. You sure your rear is 4.30? Thats what most 2.7s with an manual came with.

Edit: Nevermind. 4.56 came with 2.7l auto 4x4s.

You should keep the 4.30s. Or just regear completely to 4.56s

 

I have the elusive A07A gear ratio - apparently there's a lot of controversy behind it. I spun the wheel and driveshaft and I'm pretty sure I have 4.30 - but I'll check again tomorrow to make sure. It's either 4.56/4.30 according to the post on this forum somewhere. I say elusive because on that thread someone had the A07A ratio code but 4.56 gearing.

 

See my edit above.

I wouldn't be shocked if you had 4.30s as you are a prerunner.

But 4.56 makes more sense. Count again very carefully.

 

Pretty sure he’s right about the autos coming with 4.56.

I’d thats the case, I wouldn’t want anything less than that. That little engine doesn’t need to be at any more of a power disadvantage than it already is.

 

I've never had the 3rd member apart before, I just spun the driveshaft and counted the revolutions of the tire, and vise versa to confirm. Although that was a long time ago I'll do it again tomorrow to make sure.

What would be better fuel economy wise? 4.30 or 4.56?

 

doubt it. Lowering your drive line ratio will make your motor work harder as you won't be able to cruise in the power band easier. And considering you upped the tire size a bit. You will notice the power hit.

Gearing is how effective your vehicles uses your power. RPMs become a little irrelevant to a point. Its like if you loaded your truck up with 400lbs of shit in the back..you'd notice. Well the motor see the load in the back the same as a lower gear ratio. (Sort of, you get my point).

If you are at 4.56s now, you will want to stay for certain.

 

Let's say I have 4.30 in the rear. What would be better fuel economy wise, 4.56 or the 4.30? Should I swap the front and rear to 4.56 if I have 4.30 or stay at 4.30?

 

I think the common way of thinking would tell you that lower rpms the 4.30s would give you would lead to better mpg. However, lugging your engine kills mpg.

For example...

I’m on 33s with 4.30 diffs. Under geared. Cruising at 65 mph, I get 2-3 mpg more in 4th gear than I do in 5th. This is calculated by scangauge. It’s pretty neat to watch the instant mpg change shifting back and forth between 4th and 5th, keeping the speed constant.

If your truck came with 4.56, dropping to 4.30 is just going to cause it to struggle more, not get you better mileage. Plus, you are running larger than stock tires.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, I had asked this question a while ago and got dissapointing answers. Knowing that a tundra ect didnt all have the same spec spares, I knew there was a solution. I picked some steelies and have been putting off the brakes till I had time to figure this out.
Thank you thank you for your efforts.

 

Perfect example. The lower gear may raise rs but put you in the power band more allow the engine to work more effectively.

 

it went from ...to Nice weld on the wrench!

Gearing...3.4l auto 4wd w/ 4.10, fuel mileage 18-19, 265/70R16 Yokohoma Geolander AT-S

Consider- the cost of replacing all of the gears, fuel mileage you'll gain, most importantly when you push the pedal- do you sit there like my 2.2l s-10 or start truckin'

Minimum gearing needs to be 4.30, if you're upsizing tires or rims/adding armor/tool box/etc...go with 4.56 or higher.

 

I will say I have 4.10s and for my 31.5s it is perfect with an manual. But for sure you need 4.30 or 4.56 with the auto, the auto kills all power these trucks have v6 or i4, it is a reliable beast but it saps power hardcore.

 

@Speedytech7 what kind of skid plate do you have? thinking about fab'ing one or ordering from 22Ethan

 

Question: see photo please. Looks like a helper leaf. Does that stiffen up the ride or have an effect on the ride while bed not loaded? Thanks for your help!

 

Stock tinfoil, it's really smashed in though. I looked at it at lunch today and thought "why have I been putting this off". I like 22rethans design and the skids are really nice looking but it's stainless so welding to it would be hard for me to do if I don't want it to rust, and I'd have to weld to it because it has no structure other than it's shape. It's a great plate for stock replacement, or mild to moderate use. But I don't need the stainless aspect really, I need beef and something I can easily fix when I inevitably break it.

I've had to rejoin pieces of my stock plate here and there and that's cake being mild steel. Probably just going to make my own plate, plenty of great base designs already measured out that I can beef up with ribbing on the back and at the major bends.

 

It'll stiffen it no matter what, but you'll feel it less unloaded.

 

Cool. So can I take this off then. I am not planning on loading it. Thanks again!

 

...glad I ask, wasn't thinking about the stainless steel and repairs down the road.

 

4xinnovations has a 1/4" front skid on sale right now, it looks pretty good. They also have the same skid for 96-02 4runners, but with an option for a 3/16" transmission skid as well, I really wish I knew if it'd work for Tacoma's too.