5.29's on a Manual 3rd gen?

I did not know that. Thanks for the clarification.

 

I've got an AT but FWIW I fucking love the 5.29s on my truck. Good luck bro

 

AT?!?
Kidding! Thanks man, I’m glad it’s been worth it for you!

 

I’m a second gen manual on 35s and 4.88 but thought I could provide some insight. I intentionally overgeared with the intention of maybe going 37s one day. On the highway, I cruise at 70mph at 2,800 rpm in 6th and it’s very manageable.

Playing around with the Grimm Jeeper calculator for your transmission, axle ratio and tire size, you’ll be better off than I am. At 70 mph in 6th gear you’ll be at 2,600 rpm. These trucks don’t mind maintaining higher rpms on the highway.

If you were to go 4.88 you would be at 2,400 rpm on the highway.

Here is the calculator. The RC62F isn’t on the drop down menu for transmissions so I input the ratios manually.

http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html

 

The Hilux RC60F transmission is the solution here, albeit an expensive one. It has the crawler 4.78 1st gear to get the truck moving on the street, and provide an acceptably decent crawl ratio in low range. The 6th gear overdrive drops to .64, which, with 5.29 and 34" tires, places things at almost exactly the same RPM and speed as stock gears and tires. Now, I need to get my a$$ and complete the swap!

 

Thanks! This is super useful.

 

What what what?!? How do you get a Hilux tranny in North America?

 

I have a manual, but it's stock gearing. I really believe you will be over geared with 5.29 and 35s. Will be great off road tho.

 

Order from overseas, then the input shaft needs swapping...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/hilux-rc60f-transmission-swap.629019/

 

I have a manual and did 5.29s a month ago. Still breaking in, so no off-roading yet.
I knew going in that it was going to be drastic and it is drastic. Currently, I'm on 255/85/16 E-rated, so around a 32.5" with no other added weight. The stock gearing did not cut it. My truck was a dog and I suffered bad mpg and lower power. I can accept one, but not both.
With 5.29s, it drinks gas and I use 5th and 6th all the time, even in the city. Somewhere around 13-14 mpg city and 15-16 highway.
I knew this going in after doing the math over and over. GrimmJepper is a good tool, it's mentioned higher up in the thread. At 70 (gps) I'm reading about 2400+ rpm. Not ideal for mpg, but not horrible. I'm still on the break in oil in the diffs, if that matters.

Very soon I will be adding front and rear bumpers, plates, sliders, and moving up to a 35" tire. It's all arriving shortly.
The 5.29s will push the weight and the extra tire size along and within a few hundred rpm of stock once everything is done. The final ratio will change in my favor once 35's are on.

4.88s would be more mpg and decent low end, 5.29 would be much more felt torque at the low end. I anticipate my use will be more rock crawling than long multi day trips. My commute is short in the city and I do not do frequent highway trips, I opted for the 5.29 and I think it was the correct choice.
If I was on the freeway more, if I wasn't doing 35's with weight, and if I was more concerned with mpg then I would have opted for 4.88s.

TLDR; <35" tire go with 4.88 / >= 35" tire consider 5.29 but likely not necessary unless you prioritize low end oomph over mpg.
Hope this helps.

 

Great breakdown on your experience. Thank you for sharing.

 

Thanks so much! This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! We bought Taco’s, we new we’d be breaking the bank on fuel. The guys at the shop that convinced me to go with 5.29’s said the truck will “feel supercharged”. I’m on 33.4” tires (to be exact), I’ve got a skid, slider and a roof rack coming in January too. All the chopping has been done to fit 35’s if I decide to in the future. OVTune’d as well.
My only concern after reading your post is I will be doing LOTS of big road-trips (think Alberta to Arizona). I may abandon the 91 octane tune and go back regular for those…

Please update once your mods are done and break-in is complete! I hope the gears settle into the sweet spot for you with the extra weight at bigger tires.

 

I guess my above post helped demystify 5.29s and manuals for a few of you.
I will update this once I add the 35" tires, rpms at speeds, etc.
They'll be Kenda Klevers 35 x 10.5 / 17. (I paid 180ish per @ Walmart on rollback, 11/15/21)
Should be in another month or four, shipping dates on suspension in the current year are less than predictable.

For what it's worth, the stock 4.30 ratio with the Cooper ST Maxx 255/85/16 was a serviceable setup. It was slow and gutless due to the weight and radius of the tire, but I could squeeze mpgs if I treated the go fast pedal gently.

The planned build up is as follows (already purchased it all, just waiting for it to arrive);
KDMax tune (not done yet, happening in a few days)
A low profile Tractor Supply tool box with recovery gear, compressors, kids toy's, water, etc. (all total probably 50-100 lbs)
35x10.5x17 Kenda Klever
TRD 17x7 +4 mm wheels
Cali-raised skids and plates (270ish lbs total estimate)
SSO full plate slimline
Bilstein 6112/5160 w/ SPC uca's and Deaver U402 stage 2. (Wheeler's has a great value kit called the Trail Pro)
Undecided, but leaning Brute Force HC rear bumper no swingouts (local to me) or if I'm patient, Apogee teases a HC rear that retains BSM and backup beepers.
Undecided, winch setup, but something heavy is getting bolted up front.

So you can see I am not going full heavy weight overlander roof palace with dual swing-outs, but weight is adding up, thus 5.29s made sense for me.

 

Sounds awesome! I’m in the same boat. I keep thinking a rooftop palace may be a safety hazard after a few! Haha

 

Roof palace doesn't make sense to me. Good spots are often where you shouldn't park, they add a lot of weight the truck wasn't made to handle, they're a bastard to unmount so they tend to live up there eating at your mileage and adding high weight, and you can't lift them overhead to shake out the pine needles.
I'd rather put that money towards the luxuries in life, like ammunition and extra 10 mm sockets.

 

manual rears are 4.30s so going to 4.88 seems very expensive for not much benefit

stock autos have 3.91s and the ratios are different in the two transmissions on the top 2 OD gears, among other things. Autos have to work harder to drive bigger tires, and a regear cuts down on the whole shifting gripe as well



5.29s or nothing for my manual if I were to upgrade. Pull like a mule, and be great in 2low on the rocks.

 

Manual 3rd gen running 5.29s with 34s here. No regrets, but I’m also running a heavy camper in the back.

 

Actually a thread I can post some "real world" experience in.... I just jumped in on the gearing group buy and had my gears done on my 6 spd manual last week. I opted for the 4.88 and am currently running 295 70 17's... I couldn't be happier. I am also planning on running 315's as my final set-up. I don't believe power will be an issue anymore. Had the work done in So Cal.. and I live in the bay area. So quite a drive. Had the REM finish done to the gears so that I didn't have to stop every 35 miles.. Obviously, street driving only but so happy with my decision. I did also go with the rear e-locker... Not sure if anyone cares... NO power issues in all the L.A. freeway driving and had no issues on the grapevine... Lots of power to pass people... LOVE the 4.88's....

 

When I reached out to Nitro, they told me 4.88's for the manual trans and 5.29's for the Auto. I've got the 4.88's and love it. No experience with the 5.29's though.

 

Im running 5.29s in my 2.7L 2nd gen 5 spd manual and 285/75R17 tires. I turn around 3200rpm at 75mph. I am happy with my choice but i know it's not for everyone