4.56 vs 4.88 auto regear ?s.

2015 DCLB auto, mid travel suspension, 265/70/17 current, front (and soon HC rear) bumpers, sliders, camper shell estimating #700 over stock. Truck struggles with retaining highway speed and has to downshift on any incline because of weight I’d assume. Looking to go to a 285/70/17, don’t have immediate plans to go to a 34/35 but we all know have builds evolve. To those that have regeared, what is your opinion on 4.56/4.88? Thanks for any and all help.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/my-review-of-4-88s-on-a-2nd-gen-with-34s.702452/

 

4.56 is pretty close to stock with 33s similar to how the review ^^ describes for his 34s, so 4.88s are probably the way to go for 34/35. I have a similar setup on 255/80r17s and it holds normal hills well after installing 4.56s.

Just make sure you wear in the gears properly. Nitro has good instructions on it for their sets.

 

I have 4.88s waiting to install.

When I was debating on which one, the vendor made the following recommendation.
mostly CITY 4.88, mostly HWY 4.56

 

So this is my exact dilemma.......I have a 2013 dclb front bumper with winch, skid plate trio, sliders, rear camper shell, and I am waiting for my HC rear bumper with swinout to be delivered. I moved up to 33's with -12mm wheels and 2.5" inch all around. It is good around town but on the highway, especially going up hills or Towing something, I is a pig.....I finally decided on 4.56's because I will never move higher than 33's due to it being a daily driver. Even if it was only a toy and not a daily driver, it is a trail.limo already and I have been most places around me that it can already do for offroad. Harder places really need a shorter wheel base which the dclb just doesn't have.

 

Seems like many of us cross this bridge. 14 DCSB AT, F/R steel bumpers, sliders, shell, 305/70r16, hi lift, 285/75 spare. Based on all the weight, Will at ECGS suggested 4.88s. And S/C’d. Was not disappointed. Pumped life back into the giddy up. 26/2700rpm at 70mph. And if ever bitten by the 35 bug, the truck is ready.

 

Nice, have you installed the gears yet?

 

Thanks for the info. My concern was if I do just stay on a 285/70/17 the engine would be a little rev happy on highway with a 4.88. I’m in TX with long stretches of highway and it’s not uncommon to go 85 just to keep up with traffic. 4.88 might be the smart choice and it appears it would be the best bang for the buck.

 

Not as of yet......with all of the projects and things I have going on the truck, it most likely will not be done until late next year due to funds being tied up in rear bumper, stage 3 deavers, 12 inch rear conversation and a off-road trailer project.....lol. I figure it this way, if you are REALLY dead set on staying with 33's, like I am, 4.56's from all of the research I have done is the way to go overall. If you even think for a small second that you will be moving up to 35's and gas mileage or "daily driver" isn't an issue, 4.88's might be more up your alley. Like I said, I do not have first hand experience with gears on my truck now but moving from 3.93 to 4.56 for my purposes is a big enough change.

 

4.88's on 33's is a little low for highway. Going 85, your RPM's are going to be over 3000. Stay with 4.56 and buy a locker if your don't have one.

I have 4.88's on both my Tundra (34's) and Tacoma (35's) and from experience go with 4.56's if it's your daily.

 

When I had 33's and 456 gear, I had good power. Then went to 35's and it felt more like stock gearing. @MattCowsmasher traded me 488 for my 456 and got the power back with the 35's. If you want stock like feel with 33's, 430 gear is the closest.

 

Geez you guys drive fast, 85 in a truck like that is an awful experience. At 80 with 4.88s im at 3k rpms. Also I feel like im going to flip over going that fast.

 

Oh, I don't ever push my truck past 80. OP says he drivers in TX and they go 85. I've done it once or twice to see the RPM's.

 

I do miss my truck being stock and being able to comfortably being able to cruise like that

 

But you don't look as cool.

 

Maybe so, but like everything else I try to buy to make me happy its wearing off

 

@Jared8907 where in Texas are you? If you're up in DFW you're welcome to test drive my truck. I regeared to 4.56 when I added my front and rear ARB lockers. I'm currently on a true 34 (Toyo at3 285/75r17 measuring right at 34"). My truck has the Mobtown front recovery receiver bar, sliders, and full steel IFS, trans, and t-case skids. I'm also on a 2.5" Fox DSC lift.

It's been my experience that weight doesn't affect the ability of the truck to cruise at a constant speed when on the highway. Mass, once up to speed, doesn't really make a difference (think about long trains). However, aerodynamics, rolling resistance, and tire size all play a big part. Whoever told you that 4.88 would be better for city was exactly right. That will really do well at getting the extra mass UP to speed but that ratio will be revving pretty high with anything less than a 34 or taller when on the highway.

My suggestion would be to go with 4.56 if you're going to stick to a 34" tire or smaller. It's a great ratio for everything and my truck will go far faster than 85mph without breaking a sweat....which is handy when you're driving through New Mexico to get to Colorado. It will probably be ok for 35s but that's starting to get out of its comfort zone. If you drive any considerable amount of fast highway and think you might end up on 35s then and ONLY then should you really consider 4.88 in my opinion.

One thing I can't stress enough though is for us TRD Sport guys, if you're getting gears done and you have the diffs out of the truck go ahead and install locking diffs. It requires zero additional labor. I had my hesitations but holy shit, you can't even imagine what locked diffs will get you over. It's unreal. I went with ARB diffs that require the air compressor. Initially I looked at having a compressor as an extra expense....but I swear I use that thing all the time. Probably the most useful mod I have on the truck haha.

 

If you plan going 35 with armor get 4.88 and be done with it. Trust me i under geared the first time and had to regear again. Don't waste money lol. Just get the lower gear ratio. You'll be happy you did. I'm on 5.29 with 33's but also have a 2.7 but I'm right at 2900 rpm at 70 which isn't that bad. My truck wouldn't be drivable if i didn't have the gears which is why i geared so low.

 

In addition to the torque band (and level) of the 4cylinder being totally different, your manual trans final gear is 4.10 vs the 3.73 of the 5speed automatic the OP has in his truck. So the rear end gears are a lot harder to compare in that regard. It's a totally different ball game.

 

4.56 is stock ratio, but 33s and up are not stock tire *weight*. There is a lot of parasitic power loss from the heavier tires, and my opinion is that 4.88 compensates for that plus the diameter change.

Having gone to 4.56, if I did it again I wouldve gone 4.88