The 4.88 mega thread!!

Really? Man I was hoping for 5.29s but those might not work with the carrier

 

I'm with you, Joe!

 

Many always seem to mention the torque climbing a hill etc, but no one talks about crawl speed now.

So I wonder how is it? Does it still crawl as slow as 1st gear 4lo or even slower?
I'm considering gears for the added pep and the lower crawl speed. I haven't really found a problem climbing hills that much, but feel a slightly slower crawl speed would be nicer.

 

Oh it absolutely crawls better too, more controlled as well

 

Man, I had 5.29s on a truck once and I'd never have them on a daily

 

are the 4.88 still good for daily? I feel like 4.56 would be a better upgrade for a 33 but no one makes them so have to go 4.88

 

They are for me, but I'm running a 34 inch tire. I honestly don't think 4.56 would have made a big enough difference for me to justify doing the gears

 

4.88! You will not be disappointed. I think 4.56 would be fine for one or two size over stock, but with a 285 70 or bigger and a few add ons with some added weight. 4.88's are a necessity, I believe.

 

I ordered my 4.88's for my 3rd gen AT and can't wait to install them and feel the difference. I have a DCLB with a CVT Mt Ranier Summit series (+240 lbs) on 285/70/17's and average a measly (sp?) 12-13 mpg. I did the TSB and even have the Shift sense pro. Will post results post installation.

 

My commute is only 3 miles so my truck is 90% of the time offroad.

 

Wondering if anyone with 4.88's also has the shift sense pro, and does it work together well? Also a reminder if you get the Hypertech calibrator, only enter tire size. Do not enter gear size. Tacoma's speed is only through the wheels, gears and gear size have no effect on the speedometer.

 

Gochya. The 5.29s for me were in an 85 solid axle extra cab Toyota pickup. Truck had 37s, dual t cases and was primarily used for off-road. It also had the trusty ol 22re, but lemme tell yeah, that thing wasn't going anywhere fast. As a crawler, it was outstanding but on road and around town, less so. Fun truck though and if I still lived near Tahoe I'd definitely still have it.

 

Ya I guess I still would want to retain some highway drivability as we pretty much have to drive long distance to get to the trails we want.

 

When you say tire size are you referring to the metric number is 285/75/17 or the tire size in inches like 32.5"

 

Inches. Gotta be in inches otherwise it won't work properly

 

Yes, inches will be more accurate. Set up an app on your phone that shows your driving speed. Have laptop hooked to the Hypertech calibrator. The phone app should be showing you your correct speed, if your speedometer shows less or more just adjust the tire size on your laptop accordingly up or down a little bit at a time until your speedometer matches the app on your phone. For accuracy should try to get it reading correctly at 60 miles per hour. Also for your safety make sure you either stop and readjust on your laptop or have somebody else with you to do it. Do not do it while you are driving.

 

I have the 4.88's on order not to offset tire size so much but to improve torque applied to the ground. Now I do have one size up tire 30.61 (265/70R16) to 31.65 (265/75R16). This tire size difference is just .15 when figuring the diff gear numbers. Another way to look at is I am going from stock 3.909 to an effective 4.73 gear. I see this as an option offered for many trucks that might be set up for heavy load or towing. Take away the heavy load and the result should be big when it comes to immediate torque and I am hoping the ECT or Gear Sense Pro will hold up the RPM's so the engine can derive the HP.

A few days ago I drove a F250 up the same hill I drive regularly, It was amazing, no gear hunting not even downshifting one gear. It just moved the way you would expect. Yes more power but more weight too. I am hoping to see some better performance with the gear change.

 

It will definitely notice a difference. Especially with the tires you have. These trucks are not geared right from the factory even without upsizing tires as far as I am concerned.

 

My '16 TRDOR AT is my daily driver - some highway (flat and mountainous) , some local street, and in the summer my (1500 lb) camp trailer hauler. I am fine with my stock tire size. I'd like better towing and shifting response but don't want to limit my daily driver, especially the highway use. Are 4.88's the solution?

 

@Lord Humongous tows a camp trailer with his and from what I have seen, loves what gears did for him. He is running some larger tires however so you have to factor that in. But he tows his camper a lot, and did so prior to the gear upgrade as well. He's got some write ups in his build thread if you care to look in there for further detail

Also, the team at SDHQ is extremely knowledgable and are always happy to answer questions.