Wanting to re-gear my 2023 TRD OR (Bay Area)

Hey folks, recently got the truck out on a proper road trip and was really disappointed with the performance thru the hills. I'm on 32" tires (really 31.64" IIRC) and ultimately will end up on 33" but don't see myself going to 35" cause I don't want to deal with CMC and all that crap. Thinking 4.88's are perfect for me but the shop I contacted is like, "why u no" 5.29. Feels over-geared on paper for 33" tires (ultimately) with maybe 800 lbs of shit at full load out. I'd also probably still be on these 32" tires for a bit...

I'm looking for a good Bay Area shop. I know about Schaffers, contacted them and they're talking $2420 labor alone for regear which feels really hot. Furthermore they say if I bring my own gears they won't warranty the work. They said REM'd gears from Nitro are, "noisy" etc. I dunno if that's true or not, don't see why they would be tho. Not saying I won't go there but I've also heard of people getting regears for $1200~1500 an axle INCLUDING parts. Was quoted $1900~2000 to install shocks, leaf springs, and UCA's as well.

I'm struggling to square how it's $2400 labor to regear (4~6 hour job) and $2000 for suspension also probably a 6 hour job...is shop rate really $400~600 an hour? That's well over even Audi/BMW dealership type rates. Frankly I could do the suspension myself, but the regear I can't and really want it done right. Just cause it's expensive doesn't even mean it's done right...any advice? Also willing to drive a bit if I could show up in the morning and drive out later in the day or something. Thanks!

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/regions.36/

 

That's what happens in the Bay Area now. Everybody tries to take advantage of you.

 

This is just what I will be doing when I get around to it:
5.29 gears using somebody like ECGS (I believe that is East Coast Gear Supply) who ship you already assembled third members and you simply install them. If you say you can do suspensions, you can probably do this without the gear setup that ECGS handles.

There is a MEGA 5:29 thread on here someplace.

 

Right Gear & Axle in Salinas took care of my ECGS assembled 3rd member 4:88 gear swap (with lockers).

 

Yeah I'm starting to think this may be the way. ECGS has a good rep and you can get whatever you want Yukon, Nitro, whatever. I just have to get past the fact you're getting reman'd cases. My truck only has 11,000 miles on it...everything is still crispy and clean LOL. It's not super critical to get this done, I should probably get the suspension crap I have laying around thrown on first.

You happy with your 4.88? I'm on the fence 4.88 Vs 5.29. I bought the SPC UCA's because they should be able to push the tire forward. Thinking the end of the rainbow for me is 33" tires without CMC and honestly you can still pull 35" tires with 4.88's albeit not as well. I'm probably +750 over stock with the full camping load out...a big chunk of it 500 lbs at least stay on the truck 24/7

 

Don't forget the extra 150lbs in tires once you go from the stock passenger highway tires to heavy 10-ply 33's. The increased tire weight will reduce power, reduce braking performance/increase stopping distances, as well as affect how the suspension feels.

 

Yeah I'm on 265/75/R16 E-Load BF K02's currently...the wheel and tire are close to 90 lbs a corner I'd venture to guess. Also have one mounted to the spare. Another reason to stop at 33" tires is I don't think you're getting a 35" in the spare tire well...seems like 33" is tight but doable. The 265/75/R16 fits just fine.

I'm going for a modest lift, shooting for 1.75" trying to claw back any weight related sag. Had Deaver make a custom spring pack for me to limit lift while also being able to support added weight as they said none of their catalog stuff is really setup/meant to do that. I've got a Retrax Pro, UpTop Overland bed rack with an Ikamper that never come off. That's like 125+125+50, then there's some traction boards and rotopax call it another 40, a pelican box and some bracketry in the bed for another 40 or so...so call it 380 lbs that never leaves the bed...ever.

 

Go with skinnies and avoid all the CMC drama. 255's are only 1/2" narrower than a 285 and are pretty much a bolt on affair. 285's are sweet, but 255's are as well.

 

What's the proposed setup there? I'm on 265/75/R16 and so far fine on stock suspension. I've rubbed twice barreling into a driveway when the suspension compressed with the wheel near lock, I can't quite tell where it rubbed to be honest must be somewhere up inside the liner up top on the outboard side of the wheel.

Actually who makes a tire that goes to 33" that fits a 16" wheel that's so narrow? First thing that comes to mind is 285/75/R16 to get to 33" but honestly that's gonna be pretty wide on my zero offset wheels. As it is 265 is basically perfectly flush to the outside of the wheel well.

 

Plenty of 255/85/16s out there. I’m currently on my third set, all different manufacturers. A well worn spare also fits below the truck too.
Put the size into tirerack.com and I see three MT tires, all I’ve had and I’m going back to the BFG KM3. All on the stock OR rims. Just move the lower control arms forward on an alignment. At least this is what works on my truck - like you I also have the SPC UCAS.

Oh, 5.29s over 4.88. The Tacoma gets lousy gas mileage as it is and the percentage difference in the two gears is minimal.

 

You think I'm gonna be miserable on 5.29's with the 265/75/R16 tho? Damned tires are only 10,000 miles old LOL. That said long term, even in terms of selling it later I think 5.29 gears might be a better selling point for someone who does wanna hack it up and run 35's hell maybe that someone will be me. I'm already kinda leery of the lift cause I don't wanna look like I skipped leg day. At stock height the 265/75/R16 are...adequate.

 

So far, I too have not done a lift except a 3/4” spacer in the front which gives a 1-3/8” lift. This was done to give me room to get under and do oil changes more easily. Plus, I just wanted to do something such as a viper cut which is now gone since I removed the bumper and installed a winch. Keep your tires until they wear out, no need to waste money. Take things slow, you don’t need to do everything at once, or even figure out everything at once.

 

Yeah I went pretty nuts for a year into owing it. Money was less a limiting factor than is the time to work on it. I generally hate letting people touch my stuff so I try to do as much work as I can but not having a garage (it's too full of shit, it's basically a workshop) and a sloped driveway makes tackling bigger projects less appealing. I did rotate my tires myself the other day in the street, wasn't so bad so I could probably do the suspension but it's the leaf spring aspect I don't like as you kinda gotta jack stuff around while supporting the axle. But doing the gears myself feels like too much with the current situation. I always feel like everyone else is gonna do hack work, I see guys on Youtube that do everything with an impact, like they never saw a torque wrench in their lives.

Maybe I can find an Toyota tech who wants to make some side money. I still have my UpTop cab rack to install, Garmin power switch thing, full suspension (6112's 5160's, UCA's custom leaves, Accutune bumps and flip kit). I will do the electrical myself (I'm an EE, I really don't trust other peoples electrical work LOL) and the cab rack for sure.

This trip really showed me how sub-par the gears are tho. That said it's not an emergency, we got there and back and averaged pretty good mileage all things considered. In fact the tire is 4% taller than stock so I'm getting better mileage than I probably realize. I'd say 18.8 MPG on the highway and that's with full armor (albeit aluminum) rock rails, the retrax, the bed rack, the RTT etc.

 

That’s pretty crazy. I have 32.X” tires: 42lb 255/75R17 Load Range C tires, and 21lb 17x8” wheels.

IIRC, your tires are 31.x”.

 

Another option than regearing is to get a supercharger if a you truly plan to go no larger than a 33. The truck will be more fun overall. If you or a friend installs, it’s not much more than your outrageous quote for gears.

 

Labor is just really expensive everywhere in the Bay Area. I had to pay 700 for labor for a Truetrac install, I got quotes as high as 2000 which is ridiculous for a Truetrac install. Op call around as much as possible but unfortunately us Bay Area folks just have to deal with this

May I also suggest trying out a tune first. A lot cheaper than gears and you may just find yourself not needing the gears after all. You’re in the Bay Area so I’d hit up Chan @ CVC Tuning he’s in San Jose. I love his 91 octane tune and I’m on 32s. Extra cost of gas is worth it imo and I only fill up at Costco so it’s not really that expensive. Even the regular 87 tune is much better than stock so it’s up to you

 

The irony is the SC install is more driveway friendly than even suspension or gears *groan*. I've done full engine out work on my Audi's so I'm pretty sure an SC kit is doable. That said truck is under warranty and extended warranty...gears seem like they'd be a bit under the radar the SC not so much. I thought a good SC kit for the Taco is like $8000 or more?

I kinda feel like an SC doesn't really fix the gearing issue tho. The engine is IMHO adequate, it's just badly geared as part of some bullshit to try and increase overall fleet milage for the brand. I mean the manual truck is geared 10% higher right out of the box...they just f'd us with the automatic trans. Looking back I should have haggled the dealer down on the TRD Pro they had on the lot, it was a manual. What stopped me bothering was that it was black...gorgeous but gonna get chewed up quickly.

 

Yeah I'm gonna inquire inland a bit. I could see making a trip of something and try and get it done somewhere with more reasonable rates. I have money, typical tech bro situation but I dunno I still cringe at some numbers cause I remember a time when if someone said $2400 labor for some BS I'd be like guess I'm buying an engine hoist and stand, I've gotten soft :-/

I have trouble believing a tune is gonna fix this. Do you have anything quantitative on the tune? I assume Toyota is like most other brands if you touch any tuning it's warranty over? IMHO you can argue gears didn't blow your motor up, a tune is a little harder to defend. In Audi land if you update your ECU you'd get flagged TD1 and they'd tell you to pound sand if something went sideways. I've got an RS3 and I waited till it was out of warranty to tune it because of that.

 

Paging @JustDSM to the chat. The Overland Tailor Tune (OTT) has many happy customers on automatic transmissions. Also, the latest tune is CARB approved.