New member with questions, glad to be here!

Hey all, I have been a reader on this site for many years, but recently got my hands on a 2002 Gold 2.7l sr5 4x4 taco with 150k og miles so I've made an account. I did my due diligence and checked the door code before purchasing, as a requirement for me purchasing the 2.7l was it having the stock 4.30 gear ratio (B07A).

Now for my questions. I have done a lot of sleuthing on this site about re-gearing for bigger wheels, but I have gotten a million different answers. I want to put on 33s (shocker I know) and the biggest lift I can do without needing to do a diff drop (most have said a 2.5 inch lift is the way to go to avoid this). I have read that many people with the stock 4.30 gear ratio throw on 33s and a lift and have no problem minus some minimal rubbing, while others said your truck will become the dog of dogs, and a re-gear is needed.

I'm mostly looking for y'all's thoughts on whether or not I should consider re-gearing when I inevitably get 33s and a lift. Obviously, there are many pros to doing a re-gear when upgrading these things, and I'm also considering adding a steel front bumper, possibly rock sliders, and a canopy on the bed for camping purposes, with that added weight I've heard a re-gear is almost necessary, as well as better springs and sus. for handling the extra weight.

Another thing I'd like to add is that my truck door sticker lists the tire size as 225/75r15, but the tires on it (according to the one and only owner before me) came with the truck stock. They are 31s on stock 16-inch rims. How will all of these things affect driveability of my truck with/without a re-gear? I don't mind having a slow truck, but living in downtown in a very hilly area, I'm mostly concerned about bogging down or not being able to get up hills efficiently, sparing my clutch the extra wear.

Thanks in advance for the help! And apologies if this is an over-asked question, just haven't seen a thread discussing my truck's exact trim and want to get as much knowledge as possible before I consider changing anything.

 

Welcome! Congrats on the truck.

I’m on ~32s (265 75 16), same drivetrain. Steel bumper, canopy, and drawers.

33s will be worse of course but the biggest impact that I felt was not from the increase in tire size, but from adding the extra weight.

She dogs a bit if I’m lazy or the hills are extreme but really it’s not an issue, I just choose a lower gear and accept that I won’t be hauling ass.

Just being in a lower gear doesn’t wear your clutch, unless you’re beating on it so hard that it’s slipping.

Just my opinion but I’d say save the regear for last, so you can see for yourself if you need it

 

33s may require bashing your pinch weld, btw. More than just minor rubbing unless you do so. Which is the main reason I went slightly smaller, wasn’t ready to cut on my truck

 

Welcome from Denver!

 

@oldgreg Thanks for the advice! Did you need to do a lift to fit the 32s to prevent rubbing? If so, how much lift? I was considering going 265/75r16, but I have to say I love the "oversized" tire look where it sticks out from the body a bit, and I'm not sure if I could achieve that with 32s, unless I added a spacer of some kind (which I've read that it is discouraged so you don't impact the integrity of your stud due to length. The look isn't my main priority, as I am using this as my DD, but I want both off-road capability, as well as highway capability and I just love the look of these trucks with a lift and fat tires haha.

 

I do have a lift, about 2”, but you can’t necessarily rely on a lift to fit bigger tires since changing shocks and struts by themselves doesn’t substantially alter the suspension geometry, it more just impacts the “default resting position” of your truck if that makes sense. You’ll rub in the same places if you articulate the suspension enough

@turbodb explains it better than I can here https://adventuretaco.com/guide/what-size-tires-fit-my-lifted-tacoma/

I rub slightly at full lock with 32s but not bad enough that I care to do anything about it

 

Thanks for the link! I will take a look, I suppose I was thinking about it incorrectly. Would a 1/4 or 1/2 inch spacer help with the minimal rubbing? I assume so, since it pushes the wheel out from the body a bit.

 

Also what lift do you have/how much did it run you?

 

Spacers are covered in that link, won’t necessarily help and may hurt. Never had to mess with my backspacing so I’m no expert.

I’ve got Old Man Emu all around, happy enough with the setup for it being relatively entry level. Rides like a truck, spent $2k or so. Plenty of “which lift kit” threads around here with other opinions, I’d spend some time reading. I’d avoid blocks or spacer lifts personally.

 

Thanks for all the advice, will take a gander at other threads.

 

Welcome aboard!