33" w/ 4.56 Gears - Your Experience?

I'm awfully tempted to just do nothing at this point. It's much less frustrating!! LOL

Though I want Air Lockers still.

 

Seriously, when you get them from ECGS, all you have to be able to do is work a wrench. The rear will take you less than 2 hours. The front took me probably 4 or 5 hours of actual work and would have gone quicker if I wasn't by myself and slow. It cost me around $1900 to replace both and add a detroit truetrac in the rear. I you have someone helping you, you can easily do both in one day.

 

Just got off the phone with Curtis at ecgs and said if I were to run 35"s that 4:88 were the way to go and if I was running 33"s that 4:56 was the best route for those size tires.

 

This is what I am running with Cooper ST in 255/85R16. I have the 4.0 liter V6 and auto transmission. I have added plate bumpers front and rear, steel skids, sliders and a bunch of stuff in the bed. With factory 3.73 gears the truck felt underpowered on the highway. 4.56 put the zip back around town and in 4-Low it pulls hardwir locker engaged!

Gas mileage was lousy before and no worse now unless I drive 80 mph on the freeway as the rpm is up there at this speeed.

Go for it!

 

Okay - Officially... I talked to Stephen @ ECGS by phone. He said the 4.30 WILL NOT fit in the 2005-2015 Tacomas in either the 8" or the 8.4" rear diffs. He said it's a totally different design and doesn't work. They've already looked into it.

So I'm either 4.10 or 4.56 only at this point.

Total cost if I order front/rear diffs with ARB lockers from ECGS w/ ARB Compressor and Tire Inflate Kit is $4,157.24 out the door. That includes $800 worth of core charges. Once I ship my diffs I get $800 back (less then $60 he estimates it costs me to ship them back). So that puts me at $3,417.24 roughly. Plus whatever the local shop charges to install the diffs and the ARB compressor and switches.

ECGS thought the 25 hours of labor sounded.... well he didn't have words for it.

Also - For the record. He said that if I do the ARB locker up front that replaces the faulty designed Toyota needle bearing - so no need to even do an ECGS bushing in the future!! Plus 5 year warranty on the diffs.

 

So I drive 55-70 every day. What's your highway mileage like?

I like to do 75 on the interstate since that's the speed limit. LoL

 

I do not use my Tacoma as a daily driver, this is why I have it setup primarily for off-road use. But if we are honest 80 of my mileage is highway and much of that is Intersate with a 75 MPH speed limit. I set the cruise on 70 or 72 MPH as observed on my portable navigation unit not the truck speedo as it now reads a bit low. I get about 17mpg average.

Here is where I am impressed, on really slow hard-core off-roading I get 14 mpg and this is a lot of slow crawling and idling while we wait for our turn through the really hairy sections. Gotta love fuel injection! My truck does so well off-road that I just cannot complain about fuel mileage. I have climbed up and down some rocky ledges that you would think it was impossible for a pickup to get through that section, but 4-LO, Rear ARB locker ON, pick a good line and let it crawl, use the sliders and skid plates and the Tacoma will impress. Maybee it is the 255/85 "skinnies", maybe it is 20 years of looking for a good line when I had only 2WD?

 

Sounds fun! I have to use mine as a daily driver so I'm not sure if 4.56 is right for me or not!

 

Are 4.56:1 gears right?

If you have extra few hundred pounds or more of weight: Yes
If you have or want 33" to 35" tires: Yes (remember wide and tall tires add a good amunt of weight in themselves).

while 4.10 : 1 ration seem like about the best compromise it is harly worth the expense for that little change, plus the higher ratio is like getting 50 more lb/ft torque, you will like it!

 

Did they happen to give you a turn around time if you sent in cores for them to build and ship back?

 

Lead time is 2 weeks on diffs. I didn't ask about sending my own. I only own a single vehicle so I can't do that.

I will say Stephen @ ECGS was obviously very knowledgeable. He knew every detail about the Tacoma diff system like he was telling you how to spell his own name.

 

Yeah I'm waffling on this one. I'd like to retain as much fuel mileage as I can since much of my commute is in that 55-75 range depending on which route to work I take. But I do indeed have extra weight on my truck! Plate bumper up front, back, and steel skids on everything along the bottom. So maybe 4.56 is not a bad idea. But again - it's a daily driven commute vehicle too so.

 

Well, answer this. Did you like how it was with factory tires? Will you be happy to go back to that? If so, 4.10s are your answer.
Was it underpowered with the factory tires and did you wish for more? If so, go with the 4.56s.

Also, do whats best for you. It doesn't matter what other people have and how they drive their truck. What's not worth it to some is the best thing for others.

 

Agreed. I thought about this on my commute home. I'd like to keep the fuel economy. But I thought the original setup was under powered to begin with. I drove like grandpa to get 19mpg when it was stock though!

I'm thinking now doing 4.56 as originally planned and just deal with crap mileage. At least it'll drive like it has balls.

I pushed home through stiff wind on the way home tonight and it felt like it was really working.

 

The difference between 4.10 and 4.56 is much greater on paper than on your truck.

Will 4.10s give you better mileage? Maybe. How much? In ideal conditions, maybe 1 mpg, possibly 2. In a headwind, going uphill, carrying/towing a load, equal or possibly lower mileage, depending how much the engine lugs.

The engine will appreciate the extra gearing.

With my 4.56s, I towed my trailer over the weekend and got 13/14 mpg. This includes a headwind for half the trip. Now, I did not venture off road, and ran 65 - 70 on the highway (and 75 when I wasn't really paying attention.)

Go for the 4.56s - your mileage will be fine.

 

Okay if I set up that calculator properly:
3.73 Gears @ 245/75/16 (Factory Stock)
Gear 45/55/65/75 (mph)
1 6515 / 7963 / 9411 / 10859 (RPM)
2 3776 / 4615 / 5454 / 6293
3 2591 / 3167 / 3743 / 4319
4 1851 / 2262 / 2674 / 3085
5 1333 / 1629 / 1925 / 2221

4.10 Gears @ 255/85/16
Gear 45/55/65/75 (mph)
1 6598 / 8065 / 9531 /10997 (RPM)
2 3824 / 4674 / 5524 / 6374
3 2624 / 3208 / 3791 / 4374
4 1875 / 2291 / 2708 / 3124
5 1350 / 1650 / 1950 / 2249

4.56 Gears @ 255/85/16
Gear 45/55/65/75 (mph)
1 7339 / 8970 / 10600 / 12231 (RPM)
2 4253 / 5198 / 6143 / 7089
3 2919 / 3567 / 4216 / 4865
4 2085 / 2548 / 3012 / 3475
5 1501 / 1835 / 2168 / 2502

Looks like it's anywhere from 200-350 RPM difference throughout the range if I go 4.56. The 4.10's look almost identical to the 3.73 with stock tires.

 

Just throw this into the discussion:
When I was running 33" tall tires and stock 3.73 gearing the truck needed to downshift on the slightest incline at 70 MPH on cruise control on the freeway. This made me feel underpowered. This was with a RTT up in the wind on a bed rack and probably 600 pounds of stuff in and on the truck.

Same configuration with 4.56 gears, truck stays in 5th gear on the freeway unless going up a pretty steep hill. My feeling is I am not working the motor as hard (although it is spinning a bit faster). Twenty years from now when my Tacoma has 100K miles and the motor is still fresh I will have proof.

 

Ordered a bit ago. Bit the bullet and did 4.56.