The 5.29 Mega Thread!!

Wrapped up the 500 mile break in today. Just got home and changed the fluid. I fully intend to change it again at 2000 miles.

Pics of the color difference and the drain plug.

 

@MountainManGuy
@clayota

I'm having such a different experience during the break in. My mpg is up with stop & go and highway as well. On the highway I'm like 800 to 1000 rpms less as compared to stock. I'm used to sitting between 70 - 80 mph with the rpms in the low to mid threes and the trans shifting all over the place. Right now it's calm and steady. I wonder if it is the elevation, i'm in FL. I hope it works out for you.

 

Nice, glad things are going well for you. My truck definitely drives better than before...maybe I had unrealistic expectations for MPG improvements for the type of driving I do. I’m getting a tune next and really looking forward to seeing how the truck drives after

 

Yea I'm thinking a tune is in order at some point. Wish I could find someone local to the Springs that could do it. Although I've heard a couple people recently say the tune isn't all that great and that I shouldn't do it. Not sure why this stuff is so polarizing. It should be pretty cut and dry.

I might just take you up on that one day soon. You can try mine out as well and maybe tell me if I'm being dumb about this.

 

I have also been considering a tune even before the gears. I'm going to wait for another 2,000 miles or so. I'm interested in the KD Max Tune. Which one are planning on getting? Would you share your thoughts and impressions with us on the tune after a bit driving please. Thank you.

 

I just flashed the KDMax 6.0 tune last week and it’s definitely good enough that I have put off my re-gear until the winter. I am on 35’s and the truck drove like shit with the stock tune and even on stock tires. I tried a few other tunes prior and the KDMax is worth the money. Still planning on and looking forward to re-gearing but tuning the ECUs is a must and cheaper so it’s a good place to start before dropping the money on the re-gear.

 

I felt the same after my gears. I'm in Denver and spend the majority of my driving going up to the high country. People who say the tune doesn't help are totally wrong...they just have expectations that are out of proportion. I added the KDMax tune after getting gears and felt a ton of difference in Denver. For high country driving you'll still need to keep it in S mode and cap it at 4. You'll also be pleasantly surprised when you get down to Arkansas. The acceleration is much better at lower elevation.

 

soo I am getting to the point of needing gears.. currently running the below mods/weight adders... I really think I am near GVWR when all packed with gear and food, and my fat ass self.. and maybe one passenger... have'nt gone across a scale yet.. .. the CBI skids, ICECO VL60DZ fridge really pushed it over the edge in terms of weight. this truck is my DD at the moment, so maximizing fuel economy would be great.. although not a priority ( I only drive 8 miles one way to work & back, but would like the range for when out in the woods "overlanding")..... I do plan to get the KDmax tune.

my question is what gear set do I get? 4.88 or 5.29?

I've heard confusing information... saying 4.88's would be sufficient for my needs, and that would put me near stock specs as far as gearing, and a little head-room (slightly lower than stock ratio) for the added weight & size tires I run). and others have said that 5.29's with my 285/70/17 ATX (32.7") will rev the engine too high at highway speeds. currently the best MPG i get is around 17.6mpg summer fuel mix on 33's, and drops by at least 2MPG in the winter with colder intake temps (requires more fuel for denser air), and winter mix fuel (it really does decrease fuel mileage a bit). I dont see 6th gear at all unless the ground is level (not much of it around here in coastal/inland Maine) and I am keeping the truck at 68 mph.. which is not bad, but would like to get above 70-75 & move with traffic... so which? 4.88's or 5.29?

 

From your description I personally thing 4.88 and the KDmax tune would work perfectly fine for you. I wouldn't go with 5.29 unless your have larger tires than you have now AND have a lot of weight. If you plan on adding more weight then 5.29 would be the way to go.

 

I think so as well.. I literally just got these tires 3 weeks ago... so hopefully with 5 tire rotation it will last a while..... thinking I will get the KDMAX tune first.. as I can afford it sooner.. and save my pennies for the gearing....

 

Thank you for sharing, I think my mind is set on the KD tune. Gonna let the gears settle in a little before I get it tuned. I would like to do it right. I'm thinking about doing a dyno run before and after the tune to get legit numbers for my truck. Would be a sweet video for the channel. Time to start looking for a local shop that that has a dyno. Thanks again.

 

I felt the same as you, there is a ton of info that seems to contradict itself. I went 5.29 currently on 295 70 r17 so just a little larger than a 33. My stop & go driving and highway mpg have increased and my highway rpms are way down under similar conditions for my driving style. I'm in FL, so low country. I would go with 5.29. The large majority of gear charts on the web put the 5.29s on the more power /better towing side for the common sizes we can run on the taco. The pull to always run larger tires will get you at some point. I find it better to be prepared. I will have a follow up/review of the break in video soon of highway before and after the gears but I'm between 800 to 1000 rpms less on the highway.

 

I posted a couple pages back about my Nitro Gears breaking (no warranty) ... so I coughed up the $2500 and replaced the gears and all is well. After spending 5k on gears , Now I have gear failure paranoia.... Is this a real concern or can I expect my gears to last 100k miles. I’m running 35’ KM3’s with Fox Coilovers, SPC.s etc. etc. I’m having some regrets as I never had a repair like this in 3 Tacoma’s I have owned over the years ...resale is good right now, so seriously thinking of selling my truck and starting over and going 285/75/17’s as. I’m thinking 35’s are just not worth it....anyone else had gear nightmares?

 

What? Why weren’t they repaired under warranty?

 

I bought Yukons from ECGS. No issues yet. They are quite. Maybe it’s because I bought the complete units instead of having a shop install just the gears into my stock diffs.

 

I installed my 5.29’s than flashed KDMAX 6.0 5.29 33’s. Truck felt pretty much like stock gearing with a tune afterwards. Which really wasn’t a bad thing. Better than super high RPM’s etc. Figured hopefully the difference would show up towing over Mountain passes. Well, what I’ve noticed is the same as someone else posted. Instead of running in 4th with stock gears, it’ll know run in 5th but feel more like a dog. Been tweeking the tune and still haven’t got it dialed in. Towed my boat yesterday (small light 12’ Jon boat).
200 mile round trip. 500ft elev. up to 5000ft and back down. Pretty crappy on the uphill pulls and pretty crappy on the flats doing 60-65. It’ll sit in 6th and run such low rpm’s that you have to push the throttle farther and farther and farther until it finally shifts back down to 5th and there is still no power until you force it into 4th than the Rpm’s will rev up to 3500+. Got a new tune this morning and we’ll see what happens. Currently really miss the way my truck ran before the 5.29’s but hopefully I’ll get it dialed in before I haul my BIG trailer for Father’s Day weekend. As far as the Yukons from ECGS go, they have so far been very quite. And the experience dealing with ECGS was good.

 

It’s one thing about gears not a lot of people understand. The ECU programming will still advance the tranny through the gears until it reaches it’s desired result, which is low RPMs for efficiency, in as high a gear as it can get away with, with the bare minimum torque required by the situation. If that used to be third, now it’s 4th, if that used to be 4th, now it’s 5th, and so on. The only time the gears truly show themselves is getting the truck rolling from a stop, and when you are up in 6th and have run out of gears to shift into.

In the middle of the range, the truck will be pretty much like stock, unless you tune, or press ECT etc.

 

Well, I'm geared and tuned and having a heck of a time getting it dialed in but my tuner is awesome so hopefully this week I'll get it as good as I can.

 

A lot of people seem to reach some happiness with gears and tune. Good luck!

 

JoeCova, I posted about the on this thread https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-5-29-mega-thread.557305/page-164#post-25137850
Basically Nitro blamed installer error with the side adjusters, while my mechanic claimed the install was perfect… So typical right?? I’m caught in the middle with no one willing to man up on this one. Nitro pretty much said too bad, so sad… . So what the use of a warranty, IMO Nitro just told us, everyone here…how they will treat you if your gears break…