Bigger tires mean re-gearing?

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My son's '86 4Runner has 35's and 4.88 gears, it works but still a little sluggish. 4.88's would be perfect with 33's. On another note, a 4" body lift seems a little excessive. Most people don't recommend going more than 3". You will need to address your steering shaft, brake/clutch linkages, gas filler neck, possibly wiring, bumper mounts, and the spaces created in your inner wheel wells. Also, the side of your frame will be exposed. I personally prefer suspension lifts. not a flame, just offering an opinion.:)
 
there are lots of gear/tire size calculators on the internet just google such. 4.88s with 33s would not be my choice I would prefer 4.56s but thats just my personal opinion. If you were to ask why I think that I would say the 4.88s most likely would take me past my stock gear/tire combo increasing my RPMs in 5th gear most likely reducing MPG. Would provide more power or the feeling of such. 4.56s should be a good gear I would think.
 
I just looked it up and I have no idea what size your pickup came with but assuming they are about 29" then going to a 33" from a 4.10 gear ratio you would need a 4.67 to be back where you were at final drive. So 4.56s or 4.88s. What size do they come with stock that is what would make my end decision. If this was a wheeler I would totally say 4.88s but I do not think that is the case
 
I have 4.88's and have run both 33's and 35's. IMO they are perfect with 33's, my speedo is dead-on according to GPS.
 
I run 5.29s on my 4runner with 33s. I think it runs better than it did with 4.88s but I wished I swaped out the 22re for the 3rz instead. There are a lot of hills in my area on the freeways and the 5.29s keep me going. With 4.88s I could never seem to find the right gear it would be screaming loud in one gear and totally gutless in the next. 4.56 gears with 33s and a 22re is a waste of money IMO.
 
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4.56 gears with 33s and a 22re is a waste of money IMO.
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I do agree that 4.88s are the perfect gear for 35s if you want your speedo to be back on and 5.29s are more comfortable to me with 35s than 4.88s regardless of where the speedo ends up.

Thats all opinion though and lets face it there is only one fact and that is what the gear ratio does for you. The rest is personal opinion and or what you want to do with it. It obviously is not a hard core wheeler with only 4 inches of lift which is all body lift. So I am guessing it spends most of its life on the pavement. If that is correct and you want to pull up the steepest hill and never shift down then go 5.29s with 33s - If you want to put it back to where you were before the tire upgrade then go 4.56s or even 4.88s for a slight upgrade. If you want fuel mileage I would not go 5.29s and 33s though
 
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If you are going from 29" with 4.10 (assuming a 22re with manual trans.) then 4.88 for 33's and 5.29 for 36" tires.

I run run 4.88 and 33's and spedo is dead on and power is back to stock.

It depends on how you like the trucks power band to be but as long as you are re-gearing I would go with the 4.88's. Then you are dead on for 33's and could still pull off 35's wit a bit less power, or 31's with more power.

You might want to consider another lift or combo of lifts. I got 2+" with a torsion bar cranked up and ball joint spacers. Then you could add a leaf / leafs to the rear, shackles, blocks, or a combo to get the back to match.

You could also throw in a 1-2" body lift if you needed more. A big body lift creates a lot of extra work like longer steering components, raised radiator, raised drive-line, longer shifter levers.

Just keep all those extras in mind when comparing budgets and how much work it will be to install.

I am upgrading to a 4" rough country IFS lift from the ball joint spacers.

Here is a good thread I started last year when looking at the same kind of build. https://forum.ih8mud.com/79-95-toyota-truck-tech/462634-body-lift-not-body-lift-question.html

Lots of good info in it.
 
[URL="https://public.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pjzXTsHn2cKvtTWfEd-hFTOsDroWp4a_5pzbFGk9ZKNU9ffoX2J6oMGBKZ6GmubjterhZpc_SuTCXDz2EHBi7GA/tire%20size2.png?psid=1"][/URL]

this is from the NWOR website.( i would never use 5.71 ratio) this diagram clearly shows a 33" tire is at the max of the 4.88 ratio so it's up to you. i like the option of going to a 35 in the future. for now i will enjoy being able to use 5th gear with my 33" tires and 5.29 gears. i know this is their opinion but they've been in the toyota regearing business far longer than most. my gas milage has not decreased since going from 4.88 to 5.29. instead i have 5 usable gears instead of 4.
 
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It cracks me up becuase this poor guy is probably more confused now than before he started!!! THE GOOD NEWS is no matter what gear you choose between a 4.56 and a 5.29 you will notice a big difference and wont be sorry. But remember a 4.56 only puts you back to just under stock scenario. A stock toyota cruises down the freeway in a great rpm range but yes absolutely you will shift down going over hills. Keep in mind 4.56s would be a touch worse than stock PLUS you have a bit more weight and rolling resistance so a 4.56 would NOT be my preference and a lot of people seem to be very happy with 4.88s or 5.29s. I am not bias towards 5.29s I meen come on I set two of them up this week... ofcourse they were for 38s though :D None of my friends have been as fortunate to not loose MPG with 5.29s when they run 33s. Might be because they drive a lot of freeway back and forth to work. I bet around town it doesnt matter if not helps.

since going from 4.88 to 5.29. instead i have 5 usable gears instead of 4.
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This is with 33s right?? :hhmm: Might be time for a rebuild...... Sorry my bad I couldnt resist this was all in fun
 
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I'm not offended. I do have a 4runner which is quite a bit heavier add to that bumpers and sliders and I live in an area with a lot of hills so I do need a little more power. Unfortunately it has been rebuilt which is why I should have gone to the 3rz. 4.88s would have been great with that motor.
 
Another thing to keep in mind is that if your truck is an automatic then you should go with deeper gears. Fore example a manual truck may have 4.10, but an auto will have a 4.30 or 4.56 gears. This helps regain some power lost by the automatic. This may account, or at least be partly why autos often get lower gas mileage than manuals.

So if you have an auto tranny and want 33's then at least 4.88 and maybe 5.29 gears. If you think you may ever go to larger tires then defiantly go 5.29.

I bought my 4.88 gears (lightly used third members/axle for a good fair price) last year and now that I have a larger lift to install on my truck I have 35"+ dreams. Wish I had just gone 5.29 the first time. Oh well one step at a time.

I do have to say I am not keen on the 4" body lift.

You should put up a picture of your truck so we can see what you are working with.
 
Alright I'll post one when I'm done working. It's a manual and I think it might be a 3 inch body lift. I got the truck a year ago and the tires had like 0 tread then so they lasted me about a year. And it pretty much hasnt seen dirt just cuz I didn't want to pop a tire.
 
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