Re-Gear

I'm sorry, I'm actually running 265/75/16 All_terrains. Does it make a difference now?

 

This is was my experience also.

My 2003 was supercharged with fuel and tranny mods. The truck was fun but bogged down easily below 3k rpms. If I had any weight in the bed or 4 adult passengers the truck struggled to maintain highway speeds. It was constantly shifting so I would have to turn off the overdrive. Total cost $6,000

For my 2011 I decided to re-gear instead. The truck now feels super torque and will plant you in the seat from the bottom of the rpm range. With the new gears the truck is not constantly shifting and the low rpm/high gear ping went away. Total cost $2400.

Obviously the supercharger has the coolness factor but dollar for dollar the gears were a better option for me. I saved $3K and the truck has plenty of get up and go.


RJM

 

Even less reason to regear. My mileage actually went down when I regeared... My interstate mileage stayed the same. I can set my cruise for 75mph and average 17-18mpg same as before I did the gears, but my city mileage dropped from about 15mpg to 12 mpg, because I love the feel of the gears so much that I tend to give it more throttle all the time.


When it comes to MPG the best bang for your buck is to just keep the truck as stock as possible. Toyota spent some $4+ million designing the 2nd gen Tacoma and with all the strict laws nowadays, getting every bit of MPG out of it they can is a very high priority. Because of this there are virtually no mods that will noticably improve your MPG without you spending a lot of money and in the end you will be lucky to see a return in the money 200,000 miles down the road.

 

Do you always divide by 18 gallons or by the actual pump volume?

Larger than stock tires throw off your odometer so the "mileage" you went is incorrect and low. To adjust for the bigger tires you have to compare the stock tire to the actual tire.

Comparing stock 245/75-16 to 275/85-16 is a different of 12.9%. Use any one of many tire size comparison programs found on the interweb.

So you should multiple your results by 1.129. So if you calculate 14 mpg you actually got 15.8 mpg.

If you want to change your oil every 5000 you should actually change every 5000/1.129 or 4429.

Typed all that and then see you changed your mind and have 265/75-16, no where near as big a change at 3.9%.

14 mpg is 14.5 mpg

5000 miles is at 4812.

What's your highway speed?, 6-speeds don't like 75-80 mph.

 

Nitro makes a damn good gear set...I highly recommend it.

They also offer the Heavy Duty front pinion for Tacoma's.




RJM

 

I try to stay 65-75 but occasionally hit 75-80 but not too often. Sorry about the tire difference. The weird thing is, my speedometer matches my navigation now and was off when I had the regular tires. Thanks for all the info. Do you think regearing is not an option?

 

Thanks, so no regearing for mileage gains. Got it. My next choice was maybe going to rugged trails instead of all terrains???

 

Sorry, I'm actually running 265/75/16's. What is your opinion now?

 

That is the common Toyota choice. Speedometer is a significantly higher than actual while the odometer is very close to accurate with the stock tires.

My odometer is maybe 1% off while the speedometer is 6% off.

Don't regear for mpg.

 

Got it. So everybody agrees to not regear for mileage? Any other ideas to improve mpg's?

 

Put a block of wood behind your throttle and never drive over 45 mph...

 

If you are serious about improving mpg's then you have to remove the following:


- K&N CAI, AFE TBS, Gibson exhaust, JBA headers


These are killing your gas mileage. Other than that make sure your tires are inflated properly and try coasting more in neutral.


RJM

 

Really?!? I was under the impression that these help your mileage.

 

Am I wrong?

 

Basically. Like I said before, Toyota spent millions of dollars engineering the Tacoma to be fuel efficient. Almost any change you make from stock just hurts the mileage, but so few people check mileage that it is pretty easy for companies to claim that "said part" does improve mileage and they get away with it because they can typically show just the right conditions to make it look like mileage improved. When the EPA tests mileage they use a test that tries to mimic the average American driver not a hyper-miler or anything. (hyper-milers are guys that drive in the most fuel efficient manner possible and typically get 50-60mpg out of a car that is EPA rated at 30mpg). So then when K&N does their testing they drive more like a hyper-miler and it is easy for them to show mileage "improvements" compared to the EPA test.

Most bolt on mods like that are designed to make a noise that leads you to believe it made an improvement to the way your vehicle performs.

Throttle body spacers are a perfect example. They got popular because they actually make improvements on a carbureted engine, but they do nothing for a fuel injected vehicle but make a noise to let you know they are there.

The bolt on mods that are actually worth something typically improve air flow and improved airflow means you get more air and in turn now need more fuel to hit the correct AFR and you burn more fuel now than before. Superchargers are much more efficient (in terms of function) than an N/A motor but all that efficiency is in sucking down air which needs more fuel and you typically see a dip in mileage.

 

Thanks. I didn't know all that but it makes sense. I don't have my stock stuff anymore so I guess I'm stuck with poor gas mileage.

 

Looks like 4.56 is in my future.
I'm hating the loss of power with my 33s

 

I have an 02 4cyl 2.4L do I have to regear if I want to lift it six inches and put 35's under it?

 

what he said... ^^^

 

It took about an hour and six shot shots of espresso but this thread was really informational. I think its gonna save me about $3500

Maxamillion...nice fu**ing work with all your experience/knowledge on this sh*t and sharing with us

My rig...2012 Tacoma V6 TRD DC 6" Fabtech lift, 285/75/R17 tires, rear airbags

So I was reading this trying to decide if I should S/C or regear for towing my 17 ft Camp Lite Trailer 2650 lbs dry...our recent trip to Front Sight Firearms Training we caught the NASTIEST headwind ever coming north up 95 past the Amargosa Valley, 7 mpg with no power in 5th gear and floored...sucked HUGE balls (and gas) I tow about 4-5 times a year averaging about 1500-2000 miles per trip

My decision...going to regear with 4.56 Nitro gears, BF Goodrich AT's 10 plys (with proper air pressure), maybe put a cat back exhaust, I know I wont get better gas mileage but I'll at least get some power back for the gas I'm wasting...Correct?? We have a long trip through British Columbia, Canada in August and I need to do SOMETHING!!

Many here are also saying to put in lockers?? I'm really ignorant to what lockers do...is that the same as the rear diff locker that comes on my rig already?? Do I have to do it?? We will do some mild off roading which comprises of fast driving on some washboard and mild crawling up some short stuff

Thanks for all replies guys...I just want to hear somefeedback on what I'm understanding and going to do to my rig