Bigger tires without losing speed?

Ok I am new to this website but love it! And I really got inspired to start doing mods to my taco....I have a 2002 prerunner 2.7L 4 cylinder. I want to get a 3 inch lift on it and bigger tires but dont want my truck to loose speed and have a super slow get up time... I was looking on another forum and found a link to get different gear ratio to 4.56....this is the link... http://www.ebay.com/itm/95-04-Toyot...es&vxp=mtr&hash=item4837711e32#ht_4295wt_1008

Is that all i would need though to be able to get bigger tires? and are there any like downs to doing this?

 

When you go with bigger tires, you will get slower. There is a lot of extra weight. Gears will help with the slowness, but not eliminate it. Do some research and figure out what ratio is going to be what you need. You can go too high of a ratio too and make it so that you are revving really high on the highway. There is tons of great info on this site, just search gears and start reading.

 

Alright thanks man....and do you think like a 32 1/2 tire would be better? i just want to give it a bigger and bad a%$ look to it! but want to do it right and not mess the truck up!

 

In my experience, a minimal lift (if any) and more aggressive tires is all you really need.

Here's a pic of my 2007 Tacoma...



No lift, just a set of Mickey Thompson MTZ's and I was done. Everybody that saw it asked what kind of lift I had - most were shocked when I said none.

Fink

 

Dang man thats a pretty clean truck! Ill post some pics of mine later...and next year I am giving my truck to my little bro and am going to get a 05+ and get 6 inch and do a ton of stuff haha Ive wanted a tacoma since I knew what the name of them were and love them!! But nice truck man...is it 4x4? and trd?

 

It's my old 2007 - it was a 4x4 TRD Sport.

My only point was that something as simple as an aggressive set of tires can really change the entire look of the truck.

Fink

 

Yeah I see what your saying...I have nitto terra grapplers on it right now but plan on getting a sicker tire

 

You will need a master install kit which is about $200.00. If you haven't done gears before have a shop install them.

I have a 98 4x4 Reg Cab with 33s manual 2.7L with Nitro 4.56 gears.It is geared perfectly and has just as much power as with 31s if not more.

Go with the 33s and the gears. I am so glad I didn't get the 32.5 tires. You can also get a 33x10.50 so the tire is stock width and still is BAD ASS. Heck, I wish I had 16" rims so I could go with something a bit bigger than the 33" which is 255/85 R16.

Read the following link about tires and rubbing. http://www.expeditionswest.com/equipment/tacoma/bfg_mt_km.html

I would not do the gears on a 4 cyl... you will have no power

Most people with automatics use a lower gear like 4.88 because generally auto trannys have a lower gear than manual trannys

 

I have the nitro trail grapplers and love how they look and perform off road. But they are heavy and I can really tell when on the highway or looking at my mpg.

 

So save your money & give it to lil' bro as is.
Then use the money you saved to mod your Taco.

 

Great information! Helps a lot...but yeah I have the 2.7L also...should I do 4.56 or 4.88 gear ratio?

 

Yeah but hes mainly paying for it...and I can get the lift put on for free and so Im only paying a small fee to do it all so it'll be worth it....but thanks for input...I thought the same lol

 

you should get 4.56 Nitro gears. If you have a 4x4 then you need front and rear kits. They will make a huge difference. East Coast Gears is the place to call. I just ordered my 4.56 gear kit from them, (built front diff with gears in it already and 4.56 kit for the rear)

 

and btw the gears in the link are for the front. you need the rear gears if you're going to regear

and some tacomas come with 4.56s so verify your current gears before making your ratio decision

 

I have a 2.7 AC 4x4 with 32 inch Nitto Trail Grapplers. I have noticed some lost power (but it's a truck so I don't wanna go fast anyways..) I plan on doing intake, MAF calibrator, headers and muffler for some mild gains, but do plan on regearing once I step up to 33's or 34's (this is down the road)

Also, gears are expensive.. Personally I'd just deal with the lost power since you're just a 2wd, just lift it, get the tires and call it a day.

Your truck, your money. Tire size calculator will show you good ratio's to go with, and like they said check to see what you already have.

 

Can you tell me what size tires you are running, also any difference in speedo and gas mileage. Have the 2012 4x4 dblc. Looking to go up a size on tires. Thanks

 

Are you the one that PMd me about this? If not, go ahead and shoot me a PM as I don't want to junk up this dude's thread.

Fink

 

98 2.7L manual reg cab.

added 33s and 4.56 Nitro Gears. No lost power... maybe even gained power very slightly.

make sure you get a master install kit with gears.

4.56s are perfect for a manual and 33s.