4.88 gears or 5.29 gears?

Hey everyone I'm looking to re-gear my 2019 Tacoma TRD Offroad V6 Automatic. Having a hard time deciding between 4.88s or 5.29s. I'm wanting to run a 3 inch lift and 33 inch tires. Just wanting everyone's opinions and what I should look out for. Thanks.

 

5.29s for the automatic, doesn't matter the tire size, but especially on 33's.

 

Disagree. 4.88 unless he's going to be really heavy or might go to 35s.

 

Don't plan on going much bigger than 33s. I use the truck as a daily driver and some light off-road use.

 

Just get the 5.29's. I run 33's (though I am heavy) and I couldn't imagine paying the same amount of money to just get 4.88's.

 

In my opinion, there is no reason to choose 4.88s. 5.29 on stock tires will be 2400 at 70….on 33’s it’ll be 2200. There is absolutely no benefit from 4.88 running at less rpm. There’s already barely enough power to maintain 2200 rpm at highway speed.

 

Exactly, the difference is so small its difficult to even discern without intense focus.

You're going through a huge hassle upgrading gears, just do it once and be done with it. You never know how your build may progress in the future. Set yourself up for success.

 

Agreed. If I can live with 5.29s on a stock manual, anyone can do 5.29s on an auto on any tire size lol.

 

Whats the rate for a gear change?
You adding a locker?

 

I ran stock size for a year with 5.29s and it sucked. There is more to drivability than just rpm charts.

Edit: I'm now on 35s and the 5.29s are perfect.

 

4.56

 

Specifically why did it suck? Plenty have done the same and don’t think it sucks.

 

Here is what Nitro Gear has to say about it.

https://nitro-gear.com/shop-by-category/gears/tacoma-packages.html

And here is a chart another member made for the RPM ranges. Make an educated decision for yourself.

 

Fuel economy was unexpectedly bad across almost all driving scenarios. Highway driving was unpleasant, very sluggish to pass. City driving characteristics were tolerable, but worse than stock. The one place the 5.29s and stock tires didn't suck was offroad, the torque was awesome.

With 35s, all of those complaints are gone and it drives much better. Highway fuel economy is better with the 35s than it was stock with 5.29s.

 

Don’t know what the deal is with yours but I lost 1 mpg average. Highways at 70-75 mph are still 18-20 mpg and that is revving anywhere from 3000-3200 rpm.

sluggishness to pass makes absolutely no sense, as the torque with small tires and 5.29s is much greater than 35’s and 5.29s. Unless the truck plain wasn’t downshifting like it was supposed to, that makes absolutely no logical sense.

 

I'm with you on how things should be logically, I'm just stating my experience.

 

One possibly is difference in terrain. Everywhere I drive is quite hilly, it got decent mpg over long flat roads.

 

Run skinny 33s (255) on OE wheels, or wheels with OE specs, and you don't need any lift, no rubbing, no cutting. Several good threads on them.

The tire calculator shows how sizes impact final gear ratios, which might help your choice.

Since you don't off-road much, do the tires first and see how the size and weight change feel to you. Probably more sluggish. It might influence your gear choice

 

Just thinking, would I need to calibrate my speedometer? I'm just looking at everything I need to do before I start.

 

Speedo is calculated via ABS sensor so gears won’t affect. Tire size will however you are only looking a small change with 33s