The 5.29 Mega Thread!!

Cheers, yep, I don't know what to think, that's why I'm asking. I don't really care about speed, I got a small boat to tow and the truck is carrying a lot of weight already. Guess I just got to stop over thinking it and enjoy the ride.

 

Awesome..............think of it as fooling the AT. That bastard doesn't need to know!

 

So this is a stupid question but yes I searched and couldn't find it but I'm old so be gentle. If I want o upgrade to 5.29's, when I'm on
https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/c-61623-gears-install-kits-carriers-spider-gears-toyota.html what sub-heading do I look under to see which ones fit my 2020 Tacoma off-road? Thx in advance, I need to price them out.

 

I'm in the same boat, need an upgrade to 5.29's anyone recommend anybody in norther GA area?

 

I thinks it's the 8.75. They've got parts for 2016-2020. And from what I've discovered. The best setup is 5.29 for autos and 4.88 for manual.

 

I used southern off-road specialists
https://southernoffroad.net/

 

IMO, your best bet is to cal them. Steven, Curtis, Jon, (and Chase of course), they're all great and helped me confirm the parts before I ordered.

 

I'm getting close to 26K miles on my 2017 TRD OR stock tires and not entirely sure how many more miles I can safely squeeze out of them before I definitely need to replace them. However, my plan is to replace the tires with something equivalent to 33"-34" tall when I do. With that comes the lift and a regear. This is probably because manuals are not as common here, but I still haven't heard of many folks paring the 5:29's with 33"-34" tires against the 3rd Gen 6spd manual.

If I looked at the gearing charts here and there correctly, coming from stock tires/6spd manual/4:30 ratio and paring 33" tires with 4:88 gears, I should gain roughly 60rpm at 60mph. If I pair 33" tires with 5:29 gears I gain roughly 200rpm at 60mph. If I go with 34" tires and either gear ratio, it would obviously reduce the added rpm a tad.

Given that the 3rd Gen 3.5V6 is an rpm whore and actually likes to run there, I can see the benefit of moving the normal day to day driving rpms up to what the 5:29s would provide without compromising much (if anything). The tires will be heavier than stock, so taking off from a dead stop will be less stress on the clutch, driveline, etc... Low-speed crawling on a trail would be even better. The horrible reverse ratio will see some improvement. And I would say that on any given month, my truck might see 70mph+ maybe once for 30-50 miles. 55-60 is our speed limit, and I have just learned to roll at that speed.

I plan to tow my small (1500lb) off-road trailer quite a bit, and much of will be off-road. So, the 5:29s would be a help here as well.

So, am I absolutely nutz to go with 5:29's and pair with 33"-34" equivalent height tires on my 6spd manual? Am I overlooking anything?

 

Quick question sir. Without having to read the entire feed, 5.29 work well for 2nd gen without the overdrive features?

 

I did call them and Paul really ran it to ground explaining it and gave me a quote real quick. Total Pro's there.

 

Depends on your goal. 5.29 on a second gen in 5th will feel like 4th stock. Try driving around in 4th and see how it feels as that will basically be similar to the 5.29 top end.

If you need more daily use you could consider the 4.56 or 4.88 but there isn’t a huge difference in the two.

If you need the daily use consider staying a little higher.

 

IMHO, this is the way to do it. Get close to stock RPM's ( preferably a little higher as you will be) and adjust tire size as needed. With the 200 rpm difference, the 33's should be about perfect.

 

What will truck drive like with 2.7L Auotmaitc, 265/70/17s and 5.29?

 

I just recently had 5.29's installed on my 2.7L with 265/70/17 tires, and I ran the numbers and went back and forth with all of the input in my research until I thought my head might explode. I'm very happy with the way the truck responds now. If you have a 3rd gen A/T I believe 5.29 is the best way to go. If you have anymore questions let me know. There is not a lot of data to gather for your research on a gear upgrade in a 2.7L 3rd gen. To answer your question though, the RPM' don't even crest above 2k until you are above 60, and even @80 you are below 2500rpm. Accelerator pedal is tighter. You don't use as much pedal to attain speed. Your riding the gear more than the pedal. Still very comfortable to drive, in my opinion. Feels more like a truck. One more thing to mention, I did install LCE headers with the gear, but Beyond better flow it wouldn't be a whole lot of difference from what you would see with the factory manifold. I think the real thing I was concerned about was high RPM's on the highway. The truck feels the way it is supposed to.

 

Almost no info on 4cyl and 5.29, I want to do this with 265/70/17 and maybe go up to 33” later on.

How does truck handle? Is it high rpm on highway? Mine right now on each hill has to go into 4th or 3rd gear, and I think it goes into 6th only on downhill. Any info on 5.29 and 2.7L would be appreciated.

 

No more dancing from 5th to 4th. Spends a lot of time in 6th. When you do downshift going up a grade it is a slight downshift smoothly rather than the aggressive back and forth. Use this website to calculate your RPM: www.grimmjeeper.com and 2016 Tacoma product info for your gear ratios. I'm glad I didn't go 4.88 now that I see the RPM's are not too high.

 

So engine type doesn't really matter huh? Reading 4.88 and 5.29 mega thread, regardless of engine type gearing problem is the same, just 2.7L pronounced less because its 4.30 vs 3.90 in 3.5L?

 

Just curious if anyone who has gone 5.29 gears has had any issues with driveline vibes since the driveshaft will be spinning faster than with the factory gears? And does anyone regularly drive 80mph with 5.29 and have any issues?

 

I just changed the rear diff after 540 easy brake in miles with 85w 140 Lucas non synthetic. Gears were micro polished and cryo’d. The diff fluid color came out light olive green and the metal stuck to the magnet was extremely minimal and super fine. There was no suspended metal in the oil.

All other gears that I’ve broken in that we’re non polished the oil comes out black and at least ten times the amount of metal.

I’m a fan of the polishing now. Diff sounds great no howling, Hoopers Rear end did a great job.

new 85w 140 Lucas in her, now it’s time for some fun.

edit-

15.4 miles per gallon after a 1.12 percent adjustment for tire size.



Clean new oil on the bottom.

 

I was worried about the same thing. I'm in the initial 500 mi period, so keeping it under 60mph. Definetly no driveline vibrations. I crept up to 80mph one time on the freeway just to check out the RPM's, but still no driveline vibrations.