Regear- does the gear brand name really matter? My experience with Nitro and Motive gears

When it comes to putting in aftermarket gears (new ring & pinion) for larger tires/ weight do you think the brand name really matters? There's Nitro, Revolution, Yukon, Motive, and Sierra gear and axle are some of the ones I have heard of. All of these companies appear to make quality products and it seems like proper installation and break in is what is most important when it comes to performance and longevity?

 

They sure do, there is alot of engineering and machining put into a set of gears. That being said, I’d go with a reputable brand, that you see people beating on and surviving. A company that warranties their work also can explain a lot about their confidence in their product. I’ve been using nitro in my Tacoma with no issues for almost 10 years, my older 4runner has a set of Richmond gears in it. No complaints there either for me.

 

Nitro or Yukon for me.

Summit Racing has only good brands it seems, and lots of choices, not all in stock mind you.

 

Improper install and break in will cause problems with any gears, true, but perfect installation and break in won't save low quality components. Best to start with known quality parts to eliminate that part of the equation.

 

I have 4.10's for sale if you're interested.

Ideal ratio can depend on a lot of things.
-tire size, and load C or E
-towing
-altitude
-manual vs auto trans (different ratios, different amount of speeds)
-intended RPM and commute speed (there are charts/calculators that give an idea of this)
-addition of things that add weight and drag, including armor
-off road torque; higher ratio is more torque, but likely only does so much to combat the factory shitty tcase ratio (2.57:1) that is less than purpose-build offroad vehicles like a Rubicon with 4:1, without adding a crawlbox

there is many to pick from: 4.10, 4.30 (rare OEM FJ), 4.56, 4.88, etc.

I've heard good things about Nitro and Yukon
I've also heard that the best and often go-to for many pro shops is Revolution Gear & Axle

 

Here on TW Nitro and Yukon seems to be used the most but what I can't seem to find is if they are actually superior to another brand and that is what makes them so popular. Some threads here indicate they may be manufactured in the same place as other brands but that may be just rumor. There is also debate on whether one brand has more gear whine than another but no one seems to be arguing that one brand lasts longer and or performs better than another with evidence to support it. I am sure like many products there is always examples of product failure but companies do not tell you how many valid warranty claims they do. I think a company who has a good warranty policy is a good thing. Stellar Built in Sacramento installs Nitro almost exclusively and does so because they have had good results but they told me they have had some issues with gears over the years but Nitro almost always denies the claim due to misuse.
The fact that certain shops install certain brands can be why those brands gain popularity. Often times you get what you pay for but I can't seem to find examples of the brands I mentioned above having defects or problems that would warrant choosing one over another or choosing the most expensive one because the higher price means an overall better product. All of the products I listed have been around many years, all have a warranty, all are being used in high performance off road and racing applications. The major differences I see are price, availability and name recognition.

 

ProGear in SD warranties up to 33” or 35”

ECGS has a good warranty. I’ve heard of them even hooking a Tacoma customer up with a Dana 44 or something because his axle kept breaking and it’s probably cheaper to put a stronger unit than keep replacing the stock one.

whereas DIY there is no warranty.

I’ve heard there’s extra services offered like REM polishing to avoid need for break in.
That may be another factor in how well the diff performs; if the owner is diligent and follows the break in procedure.

which I believe is no hard acceleration, frequent gear oil replacement, and varying the RPM’s similar to an engine break in.

 

I've got Yukon gears in a custom built Ford 9" axle that is on my Camaro . The Yukon ring and pinion gears have have survived numerous 4k rpm Transbrake launches with no issues

 

Hey going through this right now. Hope this helps.
https://youtu.be/FiHDwNLJH5g?si=PHFrQqyQmqtzWHMe

 

Interesting video. This is an old thread so my decision is done but now over 2 years later I can share my experience when it comes to regearing my truck and having the gears damaged as well.

I regeared my truck with Nitro 4.88 gears and these were installed by Stellar Built in Sacramento Ca. They were working great until I pushed it really hard. I had the rear locked and was trying to get up this hill that took many tries. Eventually got up but on the way home under certain speeds I heard a noise coming from the rear end. It was not major and I kept driving it like this for a couple months. The noise got more noticeable and irritating.

Eventually I took it back to the people that originally installed it and he said he wasn't sure that it was the rear end and that it could be many things but for a fee they would take my rear end apart and check it. I would have to wait a couple months and so instead I took it to a place called West Coast Differential and this guy took it apart and said he did not see anything wrong but that maybe it was the pinion bearing. He replaced pinion bearing but this did not fix the noise. He was adamant that the gears were fine and so I moved on.
I then called my local Toyota dealership and they said they would take on the task of figuring out the noise. They confirmed that 100% it was coming from the rear diff. The only thing they could do would be to replace it with stok gears so then they actually sent it to West Coast Differential only for him to tell them the same thing that he didn't think there was anything wrong.

So at this point I decided to do some more searching and I found a place called Jaws Gear and Axle in Sacramento CA. My rear diff was already taken apart and so I just dropped it off to them. They took it on and said upon inspection we can't see anything physically wrong with it but that doesn't mean there isn't something that can't be seen with the naked eye. They told me that there was a more significant test where they were fairly confident they would be able to prove that there was something wrong with the gears. Some type of hairline crack that would cause this noise. This would cost additional money and rather than do that I had them put in new Motive ring and pinion gears.

New gears solved the problem and the noise was gone completely. My gears were actually now even quieter than they were before all of this. I had a small whining noise. Whether that's related to any of this I don't know. There's much opinion that some gears have some type of natural wine but some of that can be reduced with expert installation.

So currently my front diff has Nitro and my rear diff has Motive. I've had zero issue with the Motive and no increase noise wines or complaints. I have been Wheeling the truck harder than ever with the rear end locked no issues. My front does not have a locker so it does not experience the same strain as the rear in my opinion.

Jaws Gear & Axle tells me that my Motive gears are made in Korea. The box has no indication of where it's made pictured below. Also pictured below are my old Nitro gears that I've just held onto.

So in conclusion it does seem like there are certain manufacturers that have better quality gears with that said I still believe that having proper installation when setting up the gears is very important. I'm not sure what caused my issue. Was it simply that I abused them harder than they could handle? Perhaps. Was it the Nitro brand itself? I have no evidence of this and don't really think so. Could it have been the install of setting up the gear originally? Perhaps.



Brand new before install


Brand new before install


Used gears

 

Good to hear it worked out for you. My issue is i had a shop install a rear ARB locker witch is a drop in. I emmediatly noticed a droning sound @ 40 to 50 mhr. I just pulled it out to send for warranty. I reported to o the shop and East Coast the droning was gone, confirming it was the drop in. Now i realized there is still the same droning sound only much more mute.