The 4.88 mega thread!!

Do you know what rpm you’re at doing 80? Interested in going 4.88s with the same tire size

 

Recent road trip. 70mph cruise loaded up as shown, roughly 650-700lb of gear and bike.

 

Don't wanna push it too much before the 500 miles. I will update as soon as I get there.

 

80 mph at 3000 rpm slight incline in 6th gear. THIS TRUCK HAS NEVER DONE THIS THE ENTIRE 58K MILES BEFORE 4.88s. I am so happy making the change. Just so everyone knows, I never will need 5.29s because I am too cheap to spend all my hard earned money on 35's and hate the fact i would have to cut my truck up to fit them. This truck is more then capable pulling a 5k trailer and weekend warrior offroading with my steel skids and rocksliders. Best setup for me here in southern NM. The gears are too new to give an update on towing.

 

https://www.motortrend.com/features...arctic-trucksbuilt-2017-toyota-tacoma-on-44s/
Motor and transmission are stock from what I can gather. Certainly not light weight. Running 44s on 4.88. The rear axle is custom. Maybe transfer case magic? I have a personal belief that 5.29 are a bit too much for most tacos, but this truck seems like it would be prime for it

 

Any recommendations for a shop in the DFW area to do this on my 16 TRDOR?

 

Short drive down to Triple C Chop Shop.

 

I see lots written about MPG and RPM after the 4:88 install....

How about all around driving, get up and go and the crazy shifting we have all grown to hate ?

Any improvements or feedback ?

All my driving fun is up to 65 mph or so. I want more bottom end grunt. I also tow a 4500 lb trailer about 5K miles a year.

Being able to smoothly accelerate in a power band and pass in traffic would put a smile on my face without having to mash the pedal to the floor and take off like the proverbial raped ape while making an ass of myself in the process...

(and for the record, I have honestly never seen 6th gear in 4yrs / 85K miles)

 

I am running 4.88 and 33's with about 200lbs for constant weight. I went back to the stock tune because the transmission shifted correctly once I fixed the gearing. I did update to the latest TSB and that made a huge improvement also. If you truly don't break 65mph I might suggest 5.29 since you tow, but normally I don't see the point unless you have huge tires and are really heavy or need the lower speed for rock crawling. I had stock tires when I regeared. That basically gave me the same gearing as 5.29 with 33's. I didn't notice a huge improvement on acceleration over the 4.88 with 33" combination. The big change was the jump from the stock gears. It feels much lighter now

 

4:88’s with 32’s SL’s/2” suspension lift/camper shell for ~13k miles. For myself, It’s a big difference 0-65mph and in town driving. 65mph and above is almost zero gear hunting and you will utilize 6th nearly 100% of the time. Downshifting using the throttle is a lot more doable meaning it’s easier to anticipate downshifts. I drove mine (2019) after 4:88’s with stock tune for the first 3k.
Added a KDmax 6.0 tune after that and performance/ drivability increased again. Again, its night and day vs stock gears/tune and another big increase in drivability vs stock tune/4:88.

Recently upgraded to KDmax pro and even better. Smoother throttle/shifting and more torque! There is no comparison in drivability when compared to stock/gears tune. I utilize 6th gear on the highway 100% of the time and zero gear hunting! It will drop to 5th on larger uphills…which it should. It’s so smooth though, you almost don’t notice it. On overpasses/small hills it stays in 6th and pulls through. Super easy to downshift to 5th using throttle if needed to pass or accelerate faster.

I do tow a boat regularly and utilize S-5 when towing. At 65mph in S-5, I’m turning ~2400rpm which is a great rpm for this engine’s powerband. It pulls well and doesn’t lug/bog. At 70mph I’m at ~2600 rpm and still under 3000 at 75mph in S-5…..I wanted 4:88’s to stay in these parameters when towing. Post 4:88/tune I get better mpg’s towing vs stock which I had to tow in S-4….. not towing my mpg’s are very similar to stock gears/tune/tires. Highway (not towing) 75mph varies….16-19 mpg depending on headwind.

I considered 5:29’s which would of added 150-200rpm vs 4:88’s….they may have worked great as well. But, I’m extremely happy with the outcome of my 4:88’s/KDmax pro tune. If only these trucks came this way from the factory…….

 

I'm running 235/85 r16
I DD and will keep my Rtt (150lbs)
Bed rack (80lbs)
Water tank (13gallons)
Fridge, grill, awning, etc etc

Will 4.88 be a good choice for me? I don't drive fast, usually prefer backroads. I do the weekend warrior bit. I keep the fridge and all 24/7 because it really comes in handy at work.

I'd love to just see an increase in mpg and peppy drive ability

Also anyone near Central Mississippi that is reliable to install?

 

I don't think that's in 6th gear. i'm on 5.29's on 33's and doing 80mph in 6th gear i pull 2600rpms you should be even lower than me.

 

Why are those of you with autos questioning your gear selection? On stock tires (used as an example) a 4x4 V6 6AT Tacoma with 5.29s is turning TWELVE additional rotations per minute (2362rpm) compared to its factory stock 6MT sibling with 4.30s (2350rpm).

I wish somebody developed a rear that was even HIGHER than 5.29 as I want to turn a 3rd gen into a dedicated 4x4 RV.

 

Anyone know of a good shop for gear install in the Cleveland Tn area? I'm just outside Chattanooga Tennessee. I'm upgrading to a 285/70 17 with 3.5" rc lift. Definitely going to need the lower geared rear end.

 

Head to NC and hit up East Coast Gear Supply (ECGS). 20 Min. Northeast of Raleigh. Best in the country for gears.

 

Hi Folks - like most everyone here, I am torn between 4.88 and 5.29. Some days I am certain to go with 5.29 but some days, my gut tells me to go with 4.88. The shop where I am taking my truck to regear strongly recommended 4.88 and actually advised me not to go with 5.29 since it will be overkill for my set up. I have 2019 TRD Sport 4x4 Manual Transmission with 32" tire, camper shell, roof rack, skid plate, steps, and etc (see below). My biggest issue with the truck is it can't maintain high speed (65MPH+) on the freeway where I have to downshift to 5th or sometimes 4th. MPG is bad (16-17mpg on the freeway) but I accept this. I have no plan to tow or going larger than 33" tire for my setup. I drive on the highway a lot to visit national parks across the country.

My questions to the MT folks with 4.88 @Pablo8 , @splashflash , @Dkarr13 :
- Do you still experience power lost after 4.88 and OVtune on the highway with uphill/elevation?
- What is your rpm at 65mph+?
- Any regret not getting 5.29?

This is an expensive mods for me and I want to make sure, the regear will fix my issue. Thanks in advance!

 

I hardly pay attention to rpms so I'm unable to give some info there.

On flat highways, no regrets. Hills, cakewalk. Going up mountains, sometimes, but rarely if I don't time things right. Take this with a grain of salt though, if the expectation is to always be on 6th, don't count on it. Regearing will fix your issues but the scenarios will go from "here's the hill I need to shift at" to "was that the hill I usually shift at?" and "here's when I usually bog down at" to "yeah it still does a little but now I'm a gear higher at least".

The only times I wish I had 5.29s are when offroading in 4lo, but even then it's just a "I wonder how'd they do" thought.

If you don't go bigger than a 33 and pair the 4.88s with a kdmax tune as well, I think you'll be sitting better than me. I'd expect a bump in mpgs as well since it surprisingly happened on mine.

Hopefully this helps! Good luck

 

Good to hear, thanks Art!

 

Does anyone have a recommendation for a trustworthy regearing shop in the South Florida area? Just picked up a set of Nitro 4.88’s. I’m willing to travel outside of the South Florida area for the right shop but somewhere close by is obviously preferred. Thanks!

 

Manual transmission 4.88 all day long.