2.7L with 3.91 stock gears. Tire size experience?

Exactly! We can dream though.

 

This is a good point. Back in the day, I test drove a 2002 2.7L auto prerunner regular cab. That thing was a dog. I ended up in a 5-lug 2.4L 5-speed for a while. And while that thing didn't exactly haul ass, the 5 speed made way better use of what little power it did have.

It spent plenty of time up and over the Sierras loaded with bikes and gear. It did "fine". My 3.4L auto doublecab does better, of course, though it's not exactly a powerhouse either...

 

I'm running 265/75/16 K02's with the 2.7 auto and 4.30 rear. Thing is terrifyingly slow lol

 

I bought my 2003 Tacoma Preunner 2.7L auto with 31/10.5/15. It has the 3.91 gearing. I never got to experience the truck with the OEM 225/75r15. I didnt by this truck to go fast. Its a bit of a dog but I really just use it as a daily driver. If I wanted to have more pep I would have bought another V8 domestic regular cab short box rwd. The Tacoma also gets pretty good gas mileage. Being a 65ish liter tank, I can get almost 500 kilometers out of it. Good luck with your final decision.

 

@WrappedTaco Thanks for the feedback, and nice truck!

I know that upping tire size will obviously have some impact, but it is great to hear from some others that this combo is still drive-able. I do nto have immediate plans to buy a set of tires but I will for sure update this thread when I get around to it.

Thanks to all for your time, suggestions, and pictures.

 

If only my wheels were 7 inch wide I would put BFG KO2 31/10.5/15, no questions asked. This is the biggest tire I could fit without the lift and be the best tire for my need including higher clearance and less potholes to feel. But I'm stuck with 6 inch rims, so 30/9.5/15 it is.

 

Nice rig!
Even though my rig has the 3.4, with the 3:91 gears it still struggles on hills, but it is a Toyota and everyone I have ever had except my 84 2wd hated hills, of course the 84 just disliked hills.
When I upsized to 235/85 R16 Toyos I rarely use 5th, of course I don’t drive as fast but can stay around 65 @2600-2700 rpm, which makes my wallet happier. Still empty most of the time. I love the ARE topper- I bought one for my full sized Ram CTD, and hit sticker shock when they told me it would cost about the same for my Taco as the 8’ bed Ram. So I will stick with my $275 craigslist special until I can find used contractor cap or a Drifter. Most likely that will be after a winch or I do the regear to 4:56s, the diffs are over at a friends in Montana, so once the lockdown is lifted and the honey do list is sufficiently pared down, I hope to get the diffs swapped out. Then look at OBA fro the ARB locker at some point, $$$ permitting
I may go up to a 255/85-16 , but I really like the 235/85s and they are a lot easier on the wallet and wear great.

 

Don't know about the 3:91 but I recently pickup a single cab PreRunner auto with the 4:30 as my daily commuter/weekend farm road truck. Tires, shocks everything was still stock so upgraded with Bilstein 4600 front and back,

$169 Moog 81082 Coil Spring Set

Moog 81082 springs, and 235/85/16 Firestone Destination X/T tires. She rides better without any real noticeable change in power performance or gas mileage. The main benefit of the Destination X/Ts is that they are just 39lbs compared to the KO2 which are 48lbs in that size. They are an E rated tire but the side walls are not as re-enforced as the KO2s but that is ok for what I need it for. To early to tell how they will hold up but so far so good.

 

Figured I would come back and update here. I finally got around to reworking the suspension and steering on the truck. Capped off with a set of 235/85r16 Duratracs. Figured if it was shit then I’d give ECGS a call after saving my pennies for a bit.


Just got the tires on today so not a ton of drive time in them. Love the look, fit, and feel on road so far though. Not too rough for an E rated tire.

Around town I can feel a bit slower acceleration. And a bit more sluggish on hills. So far not unreasonable though. They look like monsters compared to the old tires!

Will update further once I do some off-road travel on some steep and rough roads. For now I think the 3.91 with this size is manageable, with the correct expectations.

 

Those are the magic words right there.

Truck looks great!

 

Yes, expectations are key! So far in normal driving around town I hardly notice the difference.

Thanks! Oscar has come a long way since I got him. One of these days I should put out a "build/maintenance" thread.

 

Looks nice, I definitely noticed some doggish response after I went up to the 16” wheels. Since I have been having some drama with the front end- bad crush washer, kinda sloppy and lurching- I went ahead and pulled the trigger on 4.56 gears and an ARB locker. So I hope to get that swap done when time and $$ allows, then OBA- always something.

ECGS was great to work with, check with them on their turn around time, I was in danger of getting calendar bit, so I went ahead and tracked down my own cores and sent them in for the work, as my original plan was to haul them up north and install them this summer at work, but plans change don’t they...

 

I think this might be the way to go. I have to see what a junk yard would want for a clamshell and third member if and when the time comes