FINALLY ReGeared!

So I just regeared my Tacoma 2020 6 speed manual I re geared it to have 5.29 gears by nitro I purchased their oil which was 80w-140 but my mechanic insisted and made the change to put Toyota GL.5 75w-85 I know everyone insisted on the Lucas so I decided to just purchase what nitro recommends but my mechanic that I’ve know for a long time Repeatedly INSISTED to use the Gl.5 75w-85 from Toyota I am really questioning it what do you guys think? What can happen?

 

Do you trust your mechanic or not?

 

I trust him but I’d like a answer you got any?

 

I don't know what your mechanic knows... but when the manufacturer of the gears and ECGS (who installs a literal ton of them) "insist" on 85W-140... I know who my money is on.

 

Honestly I dont think it matters, but maybe the shorter rear end requires a better heat range to compensate for the increase in torque/load.

My issue with heavier oil is it stays thicker longer in the winter, so in a cold region I tend not to suggest heavy oils for diffs intended to run lighter oils.

Hauling/frequent towing? I may be more inclined to agree.

With an aftermarket gear set its not a bad idea to change it after 6 months to see how the shavings are doing. I'd let the oil do its job and decide down the road if you want to keep it.

 

85w140 Lucas, always used it. Read this, nuff said

https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/files/PDF Files/ecgs-gear-oil-recommendation1.pdf

 

Almost more important than what line to use in the breakin procedure. Did your are you following what Nitro recommends?

I would be changing the lube at the 500 mile point. You can add Lucas at that point if you like. Where are you located? Will you be towing? What weight of load?

 

What he said! I just did my 500 mile change. Usually at the 500 mile change I see a grey tint to the oil, this time it was pretty clean. In the past I would do 500 mile and 1000 mile, but this time i'm good with 500 mile. FYI, when I have done the 1000 mile its been pretty much a waste of oil, it comes out clean.

 

Curious as to why you went with 5.29s? When I reached out to Nitro, they told me 4.88s for the manual trans and 5.29s for the auto.

 

Sorry, I don’t know anything about the oil. But I would be interested how it drives now. I would love to gear down my 22 manual sport.

 

I keep on seeing (maybe more anecdotal) that 5.29 with the auto is the same as the 4.31 stock gears with the manuals. if that's the case I would be let down dropping all that cash for it to only perform at that level. Also, seeing the nitro infographic shows 33" and below 4.88 and 33"+ 5.29 with the manuals I'm on the fence as well especially since the manuals wouldn't rev limit the same way as the autos.

 

I have the 5.29 with an auto on 33's. 5.29's were absolutely the correct choice for me. Weight of your mods also plays a factor.

As you said, an auto with 5.29's is close to the same ratios as the stock manual... that's just a testament to the poor gearing of the stock auto.

 

4.56's work perfect in my 3rd gen running 35's (puts it running like stock and can cruise 85 and highway easy)
4:30's work perfect in my 2nd gen running 35's, that puts me about 10% undergeared so it has pep, but can still cruise at 80 on the highway at 2300RPMs

NOTE: 3rd gen has only a few hundred pounds extra weight, 2nd gen has alot of extra weight, bumper, winch, etc

 

I don’t like generic suggestions from manufacturers like that, because the only variable they’re factoring in is the transmission. It depends on what tires you plan to run, and how you plan to drive it. I did 5.29 and I’ve run stock tires, as well as 1” larger (31.6”) and 1.5” larger (32.1”). 0 regrets. If I was keeping the truck on stock tire size then I might have gone 4.88, but I also had plans to swap to the RC60F transmission, which with the taller ODs allows to gear the axles even deeper while still maintaining similar cruise rpm. So 5.29 is what I went with and I haven’t been disappointed at all. Even with the extra high rpm while I’m still stock transmission and only running 31.6” tires, I’m happy.

Mostly just depends on preferences. If you were happy with a completely stock truck and didn’t want the rpm to be higher, then going to 4.88 will do the job for 33’s and 35’s. 5.29 for extra performance.

 

I run what the gear makers suggest, 85W-140 conventional.

 

If you take an automatic with 3.90s and stock tires and a manual with stock tires, then gear the automatic to 5.29, it will have the same final drive. Aka about 2450 rpm at 70.

That said, the automatic will gain much more performance in all the other gears from the 5.29s, compared to the stock manual. So they aren’t “the same”, it’s just putting the autos at a similar final drive.

Really there is no reason to compare the manual to the auto at all when choosing gears. If you’re happy with stock, you should regear to what ratio puts you close to stock. If you want more performance, you should gear deeper. You may or may not affect mpg, no real way to know. My best tank has been after the regear to 5.29, but generally my mpg is poor and always has been. I didn’t buy the truck for mpg, so I don’t really care. I personally thought stock was extraordinarily underwhelming, so it made sense to go as far as I could go. Especially for the sake of helping out reverse and 2nd.

 

I think the reason that these gear companies recommend a heavier weight oil, is that the taller the ratio, the smaller the pinion gear actually is therefore you have less teeth or surface area making contact so you need as much film strength as possible. With a 5.29, you really only have a single tooth engaged at any time

 

I personally would follow the gear manufacturer's recommendation.