Anyone regear then regret it ?

Interested in hearing about any downsides to it. Only negative thing I’ve read about is possibly noise. Any drive ability issues with the low gears being shorter ?
Just got a new 2wd sr 2.7l. Keep hearing things improve a lot after 1500 miles or so, but I’m already thinking a switch to 4.88 will be in order. Plan to stay with stock size tires. At 70 mph it’s currently turning about 1900 rpm in 6th. Can’t imagine a situation where this little motor could produce enough torque under 2k to be reasonably useful.

 

If I was you I would give it some time. I would not regear until you have truly committed to a tire size. Yes I know you said you will be staying stock size. Give it time.

 

I intend to give it time. Just got past 100 miles on the odo today. This truck won’t be a off-roader or poser so tire size not likely to change by much if any. If I ended up with 17” wheels, I’d likely go to 255/70 and think it’s 1/2” larger. 4.88 would put 6th close to where 5th is now. From what little I’ve driven it, 5th seems to hold well on the hills here. Hoping something can improve the cruise control a bit, from posts here looks like gonna need more than a good break in for that

 

I haven't seen anyone regret regearing but some wish they went with a different ratio. 4.88s arent a huge jump considering you are staying stock. Most are running larger tires and weight and thus went with 5.29, in those cases we see more regret from those who went with 4.88s than 5.29s but i dont think ive seen anyone regret regearing.

I have 3 vehicles that are all regeared.

 

I re-gear everything that I have added larger tires. Some vehicles just got new gears, some got gears, lockers, and new axles. On my 2nd set of gears for my truck. 295s and going with 4.88s. So re-gear and never look back. Good luck with your truck.

 

Yep. I wish I would have bought my truck a couple years later when more options were out. I’d kill for 5.29’s, but 4.88’s where the only option back then (I think I got one of the first few sets in the US).

A properly setup gear set isn’t going to make any more noise than stock. Personally I feel like 4.88’s are too much for stock. There’s the probably with gear ratios. They are very much based on personal opinion.

For me I almost thought 4.88’s where too low for 35’s. Definitely for 33’s. But then some people use 4.88’s stock. Wildly different opinions.

 

Keep in mind the 2.7s come stock with 4.30s, so not as big of a jump as it would be in a V6.

 

Who has re-geared to 4.88s and kept their truck stock??
My truck is a DD I don't see myself adding anything else too it.
But I would like better low end.

 

you've tried ECT mode right?

 

What do you want to do with your truck?

For example: do you tow? Do you drive 85mph all the time?

 

That’s kinda where I’m at. This will be my dd. It’s a 22 dcsb 2wd with 2.7 and I feel like some more low end couldn’t hurt. Nothing to gain from larger tires so I have no plans to get any. I can see 4.88’s making 6th more useful, had just wondered if anyone found lower gears any less useful after changing. I’m hoping to be able to tow 1500 lbs or so after break in but it feels like it’s doing well to pull itself.
Haven’t driven 85 since I moved back east from Utah. Most of my highway trips are 100 miles or less so there isn’t much time to be saved by driving over the limits. I’m usually at 65-70 these days as it’s quieter smoother and just feels safer.
My deviation from stock will be cosmetic if anything. Havnt spent money on looks since I was a teenager but not finding this truck attractive.

 

If you're good with 65mph, you will only benefit from a regear. Even 32in tires with 5.29 gears isn't gonna be too much at that speed. All your gears will be shorter, so you'll use them much more efficiently from 0-65

 

You can also just limit it to 5th or 4th gear. 4th gear is 1:1/direct drive (not an overdrive) and has the revs about where an old 5-speed truck would be in 5th gear (3000-3500 RPM on the highway in 5th). Limiting it to 5th really helps with cruise control and keeps it from going 5-6-5-6-5-6 all day.

If I am driving around town on surface streets, I limit mine to 4th so it doesn't have to do a 6>4 kickdown every time I need it to move out a little. The double overdrives make it feel slower than it is since the gears are so tall.

 

This. I found it to drive better around town limited to 4th gear. Played with it a bit today on highway and cruise seemed to be most stable at 70 mph. Maybe at 65 mph the reduced torque at lower rpm made it wanna 6–5-6-5-6-5 and again at 75:and above the increased drag load made it worse again ? Who knows.
Going from 4.3 to 4.88 would make 6th closer to what 5th is now. Most comments I have read have been about highway speed rpm’s. No reason to re gear if that’s all that mattered. I’m curious about lower gear performance. The 4.88 would put 4th gear closer to 2500 at 45 mph with stock tires. If the cruise control still jumped to 4th occasionally at 70, this would be quite annoying .
Thinking about it, I guess I’m looking for opinions from those that have put in new gears with stock size tires rather than those that have went larger tires and used gears to bring it back to stock driving.

 

Getting the truck tuned (I've tried KDMax and now am on OTT) made a much more noticeable change for me than getting re-geared to 5.29s did. Off-road, 5.29s show off, but the other 98.5% of the time I'm on paved roads, the tunes make the biggest difference. I'd get a tune first (low cost and low risk, easily reversible if you change your mind). If that doesn't do the job, you can always get re-geared.

 

If you're planning on staying close to stock then I'd recommend getting a tune before dropping the cash on a regear. Much cheaper and will make a significant improvement over stock.

 

Thought there wasn’t a tune for the 4 cylinders. Tell me more

 

Oh you may be right. Not sure about every tune but the ones I've used didn't offer 4cyl.