Is 5.29 gears too much?

I love torque. I guess since I don’t wheel like I used to etc I just want the best experience and fun in daily driving 65% 30mph to 60mph zones and 35% hwy speeds and only really ever drive 73-75 mph tops on any highway

I just don’t care for the stock slug of a truck feel the taco has

 

On my truck (e-rated 32.8" tires, 5.29s) driving 40-65mph is the sweet spot. Above that and it feels like the truck struggles a bit with the wind resistance.

@FishaRnekEd drag is a good example of an exponential function. Drag = speed^2

 

I must have become too used to the stock gearing before I upgraded, because my truck (same setup as you, plus a giant windsail) now feels like a rocket on the freeway. Haha

But I do agree, 45 (the main speed limit around where I live) is very, very nice.

 

Ya just depends on your final build and stuff. 5.29s give you more room. I have three separate vehicles all geared at 5.29, 5.29 and 5.38. So I tend to always go lower.

 

In the flatland desert you're probably a little better off than I am in the foothills. On the flats you're right 75 isn't bad at all, but if I come up on even a relatively small hill at that speed I'm definitely having to downshift to 5/4th to maintain that speed which absolutely kills my mpgs

 

You would be incredibly surprised how much elevation exists in Arizona. I routinely drive to Sedona/Flagstaff/Grand Canyon. The I-17 goes from 1,400 ft to over 7,000 ft. The South Rim is at ~6,000 ft, with the North Rim being at ~8,000 ft.

The entire state is not Phoenix. The median elevation in the state exceeds 4,000 ft.

 

lol I'm aware. I lived in Yuma for a while. I was referencing your local area, where I assume you do most of your driving like the rest of us

 

@Halloween Oh, forgot to mention my baseline listed 245 tires that come stock on the SR's if you have an upper trim you come stock with larger tires so the low 4 ratio to get back to stock for me would still be an improvement for your feel and set up. Just trying to help you see the Apples to Apples comparison

 

Yeah I went up an inch tire on my taco
265/70/17
And forgot to mention I live on the east coast near Va beach so I’m running pretty flat terrain

Here’s a pic. Will at times have gear in the rear and most I’ll do up front is a cbi bumper w winch. Basic stuff. No overland build. Maybe a 285/70 after these (but maybe not lol)

 

Always some give and take. I just got to find a happy spot

 

ive thrown around the idea of doing a hidden winch for its utility and for weight savings. Im maybe a black friday deal away from pulling that trigger

 

After having had an OVTune and 4.88s with KD Maxxx tune, just get a 5.7L Tundra. You wont regret it. I get better gas mileage and dont struggle to pass on the highway.

 

I drove an f250 for a couple years, a Tundra isn’t a huge ass truck

 

They are literally the same size.

Tundra Crew Cab w/ 6.5 box
253 x 80 x 78

F250 Crew Cab w/ 6.5 box
250 x 80 x 80

Exception being a dually with 8 ft bed which are a significant minority which is 13" longer and about 20" wider (which is the same measurement to the mirrors on both trucks)

 

I just went 5.29 on 33s/285/75R16 with MT and a bunch of weight in Decked, racks and skid plates, although the skid plates are off right now while I do the break in. It has completely transformed the truck. I wish I had done the re-gear a long time ago.

RPMs are not too high at all, at 35mph in 4th it’s right at 2000 and has plenty of torque to accelerate. At 60 in 6th it’s about 2500 and 2650-2700 at 65mph. The RPM calculator predicts about 3100rpm at 80. Perfect if you ask me. MPG has eeked back up a bit, but at highway speeds the extra air drag from all my racks kills any gains. When I can do a nice uninterrupted cruise at 40 I average 25mpg or so.

Starting out in 1st is obviously much easier and the truck will just creep along at 1mph with no gas. 2nd gear is actually useful below 10mph now and there’s almost no throttle lag at any speed.

So get off the fence and do 5.29s, especially if you’re driving a dog turd automatic. I couldn’t imagine that kind of hellish purgatory.

 

That’s surprising it struggles that quickly.

 

Agreed and I don't even have the weight or the 33's. i did it on stock tires, which I'm sure most would agree is a bit excessive, but after 3 months of that I finally switched to 255/75R17. 2850 at 70, 3250 at 80. Absolutely perfect with this engine.

Now I want the Hilux trans for more gear in R/1/2/3, and less gear in 5/6. But, I am happy with how it is also.

Absolutely glad I didn't go for 4.88, like I planned for such a long time. I would have only wanted to stay on stock size tires if I did that.

 

FWIW this is the table that Nitro Gears recommends...

 

What’s more, the power necessary to overcome the drag increases with the cube of velocity, so Doubled velocity = 8x more power to maintain…that’s just the aerodynamic side of it.

 

You lose nothing but a smidge of mpg by going 5.29, but you gain a new truck