GT's Ultimate PepBoys chrome isle collection with considerable BS

I ran the FlipPac with the stock gears and tires for a couple years and only lost a mile and a half per gallon. I reckon that the Hutchinsons have had more of an effect on mileage and performance than the FlipPac ever has.

 

You are going to have to expound upon that. Are you recommending 4.56s and 35s? What sucks about the 35s and 4.88 combination?

 

Thank you for the feedback. I intend to tow a trailer much like you do so your feedback is that much more valuable to me. I too will always be mid-travel, have an auto, and prefer to be more capable than the terrain demands versus struggling.

Did you fabricate the fender liners for the McNeils? Or did your fabricator do that?

 

4.88's are way too aggressive for a daily driver particularly if you drive a lot of highway miles.

Even 4.56's are tall for 35's , technically speaking around a 4.20 gear set gets you back to stock revs but they are not available for both diffs but 4.10's are available.

Just depends on how you use your truck...

 

BTW GT, I was bitterly dissapointed at the lack of Pep Boys accessories your thread title lured me in with

 

We did, I ordered some HDPE sheeting and we made a cardboard template and cut to match. It's a bit of a joke because we used aircraft grade titanium fasteners to attach them where a simple nut, washer, bolt arrangement would have sufficed. Just one of the perks of having friends in the military aircraft manufacturing trade.

 

Ashamed to admit that my favorite retailer of nonsensical stick on crap doesn't have a store anywhere near here having surrendered the region to O'Really and Vato Zone. Reckon I'm due for a title change soon anyway.

 

I too would like to know this.

 

Good to get caught up in here. @G.T. your truck looks awesome! Love the new rear bumper. I've always enjoyed thread title, especially when there are lots of amusing adjectives. Always brings a smile.

Well done! This is something I still need to do. Thanks for the pics and motivation to finish.

Love this!

My daughter will be seven next month, recently asked if she could drive and eventually own the Tacoma later in life! So sweet!

 

Like @Evenflow said, it's just aggressive/low for normal use. I took a trip not too long ago thinking 35s and 488 would be easier on the drive line and maybe better fuel mileage, I was wrong in so many ways that I was absolutely miserable with my truck and wished I never took the 37s off.

I bought 488 for 37s not 35s, which is near what 456/35s would be. If I had planned on staying with 35s I would have bought 456.

So many variables when choosing gears so I know the decision can be hard. Personally I think 488/35s/auto is wrong unless your truck is being wheeled often and have the need for low gears. I think it comes down to power or just being overloaded if your having issue with the proper gearing imo

 

That last sentence is why I would be going with 4.56 as I do a lot more street and highway driving that wheeling. If I did a lot more wheeling and though I would go to 35s or 37s then 4.88 would have been the choice.

But also have a beefier rear end going in the truck that should complement the new gears as well.

 

Yup, and that difficult decision is what I'm facing at the moment. Chances are pretty high that I'll end up with a 33-34" tire which I'm reading are a bit overgeared with 4.56s. But I'll be towing a 2K trailer for an extended period of time, so perhaps that grunt would be appreciated. I just don't want to be screaming down the highway getting dog sh*t MPGs without the trailer if that is unnecessary.

 

So 4.56 with 35's and auto? I'm running the 295/75/16 right now with essentially a 33.4/11.6 and want to go 315/75/16 which essentially would be a 34.6/12.4. Do you think the 1.2 inch increase in height and .8 increase in width would warranty 4.56?

 

or dont regear

 

I've been running stock gears on 35's for 10 years, 2200 rpm at 80 mph on the highway...just sayin'

 

ive been running mine for 1.5 year now with no complaints.

 

How's the power though?

Climbing up hills with the 33.4's I have right now causes way too much downshifting for my liking.

 

it honestly just depends on what speed you are traveling at, traffic flows stupid fast here in socal on the highway so you are generally approaching hills at a faster rate. It does down shift on extended grades but it is honestly not bad, I would choose it over driving at 500 - 800 higher rpm's any day...

 

How does it do off-road?

 

I've never had any probs honestly but I don't " crawl " 90% of my offroading is running dirt roads and beaches down in Baja on surf trips. Some of the places we travel to are 4-6 hrs on dirt at moderate speeds cruising. Once I'm unloaded I do " play " a bit IE: go back and hit some whoops etc. Obviously if rocky trails are the thing where you live then gears make a ton of sense.