Tire size & Gears

I'm aware that this topic has been talked about ad nauseum but I feel like adding to it.

I've been researching wheel size versus gear ratios. It's been said before gearing is always about compromise. On one hand you go for good mpgs or more power performance.

I think the sweet spot for our 1stgen trucks are 33" tires for optimal performance off road. Striking a balance between that performance and the need to modify. Sure you can SAS the front and coil spring the rear with 3 links but I don't want a crawler I want an overland rig.

I came across a gear ratio calculator and within it has a graph.

You'll notice the circled area is 33" tires and 4.11 gears. My stock gears are 4.10 close enough. The green highlighted row is best performance. At 65MPH 4.10 gears the RPM's @ 2720. 4.56 gears RPM's @ 3018 not too bad as you're on the threshold of more power but worse MPG's.

I'm considering mounting 16" nomad wheels with 4.10" back spacing a 2" lift and 255/85/16 Toyo Open Country MT's.

I plan on hammering the pinch weld, relocating the washer reservoir, and mounting a tube front bumper. I would prefer not to trim the fenders and keep the mud flaps. Is this possible?

I plan on trying the setup with 4.10 gears first but may regear to 4:56

What's your experience? Have you gone to 33's and run the stock gears? Did you regear? What did you notice? How were your MPG's affected?

 

4.10 on 33s will work, but you might not like the loss of power.

In my experience, gears are somewhat personal preference, and also can vary based on the health of your engine, local elevation, and how much driving uphill you do.

For me, I had 3.91 stock gears, 2.7L, and went from 235/75r15 to 235/85/r16 at ~250k miles. I could still drive the truck but a hill or headwind meant downshifting. Forget about passing. Truck was a dog.

I did a junkyard regear to 4.56 (the lowest that Toyota made stock for our trucks) and it’s much better. Honestly the truck is still a dog, but having driven my buddies 2.7L, I think my motor is also pretty tired. Gears aren’t going to fix that. I also live in a hilly and windy area.

On the other hand, you’ll also find people who claim to tow trailers in the fast lane up the side of a mountain on 33s with 4:10 gears.

Your mileage may vary.

I suggest you buy the tires you want, see how it drives and if you like it, then regear if you want to.

 

33’s on my 3.4l taco, 4.10’s and automatic no issues.

 

Charts like the ones posted are really not helpful unless you're talking about ancient vehicles with non-overdrive transmissions. The chart is showing you what rpm would be in your 1:1 gear, not top gear. Therefore, with 4.56, you're not going to be at 3018 rpm at 65 unless you're driving in 4th.

 

I run 33's on 4.10s with a 3.4l MT.
It kinda sucks, but it gets me where I need to go. If it were free I would've regeared already, but that money is better spent elsewhere at the moment.
When I do regear it'll be to 4.88s+ to open the door for 35s.

 

33s and 4.10 with a manual was just fine for me, even with a 4 banger, sucks on an automatic truck though

I'm happy with my 4.56 and 35s now too though so what do I know

 

I disagree, my 4.10 auto on 33’s runs fine. good acceleration and no rubbing with spacers

 

lol, see above responses OP.

Experience of gears and tires vary quite a bit from person to person and truck to truck for whatever reason.

 

You and I have mtns around... the flatlanders don't understand gears until they hit a grade

 

I've got 33's with a 4.10 on my Taco, 4cyl manual.

she's alright..... I can still wheel, still tow my pop up camper (1800 lbs dry ) reasonably well on the highway.

two things I really noticed:

1) it feels like you constantly have a big load in the bed, meaning I have to give it a bit more throttle to get going. Pretend your going to stick 500lbs in the bed and drive around forever type thing.
2) I need to drop a gear for most of your driving. I knew my route to work pretty well, and could tell you what gear to use on what section, so where I would normally use 4th, I would have to be in 3rd after the 33's, Highway, forget about 5th unless I was speeding ( aka, going over the limit to get the RPM's up ) so pretty much I run in 4th on the highway unless its downhill with a wind at my back type thing ( its not that bad, but honestly if there is a slight incline or strong headwind you gotta hit 4th or risk loosing all your momentium )


hopefully that helps put things into perspective.

awesome side note... it corrected my spedometer.. I used to be slightly under what my speedo was reading when passing those side of the road radar thingies, now with 33's its bang on!

 

Flatlanders haha, I do have a sloped driveway

 

Since you have a 5-speed 3.4, I think you'll be fine with 33s and 4.1s. For fuel economy, pick a lightweight setup. E rated M/Ts are not that

 

Haha, that's a happy accident

 

I plan on Nomad wheels with Falken Wildpeak MT's. They weigh around 50# vs the Toyo Open Country MT's at 60#