3rd gen 3.5 6mt differential gear ratios

hmmm weird. I'm running stock and spend most of my time in 6th (I'm not in the mountains though). I'm actually considering running taller gears because I feel like the final gear ratio is a little too low. I'd rather be running about 2,000RPM at 70mph. I might just go with taller tires and call it a day but the tires I've found are about an extra hundred pounds of rotating mass over stock (25x4) so I'm not sure yet.

 

I don’t have much flat ground around me, you may see a 2-3 mile stretch but that’s about it. Other than that it’s all ups and downs. Mostly medium/high grade at that so that’s probably why 5th and 6th are a bit much for me. You gotta figure when your towing and get that weight up to speed you can carry momentum easily.

I’ve got some extra weight in bumper, 35” spare. And a bed full of tools etc. and I lose momentum as soon as I hit a hill. I’m positive I could tow on flat ground, the truck doesn’t struggle whatsoever if I’m on a flatish road. I’ve towed my fathers enclosed trailer packed to the roof while moving and it was great on the 2 1/2 mile stretch of flat highway we have outside of town. It’s the hills that burn me.

 

These motors are happiest around 2k. They were designed to be wound up rather than lugged down. There’s a lot of pre detonation on mine when lugged down also not sure if that’s just me or what but it’s audible. It was present on the stock tune, and not as noticeable on the current 2.0 modified tune i am running currently. However it is definitely still there, if I’m in town turning onto a side street at around 1200 rpm I’ll get audible spark knock everytime no matter how easy I am on the throttle. I usually just try to slow down even further and drop 1st. Just something to keep in mind.

Also 1900 or so rpm seems to be the sweet spot for gas mileage on the 3.5. If I can keep it around 2k rpm I can usually pull 3-4 more mpg, but with all the hills around here I have to downshift a lot and it really puts a hurtin on my mpg average (13.2) atm.

Running stock 265/75’s 6th gear would put you at 66 or so at 2k rpm mathematically, so that sounds right. But if your looking to go a bit taller try tossing on some 33’s first. It’ll be cheaper and if you decide you don’t like it then a set of tires is much easier to sell off than a used set of gears. Plus these trucks look good with some wide tires on them.

 

Also big thanks to @Speed Freek and @gudujarlson i had no idea I had the big ring and housing. I knew the 2nd gens did but I thought Toyota tried to save all the pennies they could on the 3rd gens.

 

Here to help, or troll... you got lucky, or maybe you didn't

 

Yeah, that was my assumption just listening to the sound of it. 2000rpm just sounds like it's happy place. I wonder if mine is knocking too. I've never had somebody actually point out the sound of a knock so I'm not precisely sure what it sounds like or if there are other manifestations (though I have noticed that the truck does buck a bit at lower RPM and WOT). If I do end up putting on taller tires, I think I'm going to go with skinnies instead of going wider. I like the look better, and from what I've read about the pros and cons of wide vs skinny, I think the skinnies will suit my driving style better. Also it's easier to go taller with skinnies than it is with wider tires.

 

The larger axle you have was new for the 3rd gens and not used at all in 2nd gens.