Definitive Ring and Pinion Brand Options

[Bludozer]

The next large upgrade on my truck will be updating the ring and pinion to 4.88. It seems there are quite a few brands out there to choose from and the cost differences between them are negligible. Here is some baseline research I’ve done on the companies I’ve found. Any personal experiences with these brands would be appreciated. If there are any other brands I have forgotten, let me know!

Precision Gears – Don’t see a lot of info on them, at least from people running them in cruisers. Based on the little research I have done, they were owned originally by “Alloy USA” and have since been bought and sold by a few different companies and are currently owned b “Omix-ADA,” whatever that is. The reviews I’ve seen have been positive, but haven’t been able to tell quite yet where they are produced…stay tuned.

Yukon – Ran them in my last truck without issue, were quiet, great off and on road, no issues and seemed high quality.

Nitro – The most commonly used R&P manufacturer around here. The R&P parts themselves seem to get pretty positive reviews, but many other Nitro products do not.

Ninja – Marlin Crawlers own house brand of gears.

SOR – Spector advertises gears on their site but I’m not sure if they’re proprietary or what…any experiences?

Trail Gear – Make inexpensive, but Chinese made gears. I have little interest in these but may be a good budget option for someone.

 

[baldilocks]

Sierra Gear, G2, Revolution, US. gear, Motive, Richmond ....

I’ve run Nitro, Sierra gear, and Yukon with nary a problem.

 

[Railwelder93]

I put nitro 4.88s in my truck no problems so far.

 

[nukegoat]

OE Toyota

 

[I Lean]

I've set up a lot of different brands, and the only problem children I've had were a set of Richmond Gear that ran noisy, and a set of Genuine Gear that I was never able to get a decent pattern on. (both still worked, and still do today AFAIK)

 

[Railwelder93]

To be honest I didn’t do any research like this before I bought my gears I just got nitro bc, 1.- it was a brand I had heard of.
2.- they have a re-gear kit for the 80 series that came with everything, so I didn’t have to order all the install kits/ small parts separately.

However that kit will not come with the oil retainer for the front diff. So be sure to get one from Toyota, or marlin crawler. It’s like $6.00 I think.

 

[Bludozer]

Worth sending the gears out to get cryo'd? Anyone have experience with this?

 

[Railwelder93]

Worth sending the gears out to get cryo'd? Anyone have experience with this?

I do not have any experience with cryo treated auto parts. But if it’s anything like cryo treatments on rifle barrels, then in my unhelpful opinion it is a massive load of crap.

 

[lcwizard]

X2 with @I Lean . Richmond were the worst I've ever set up. Precision were my favorites. They set up the easiest.
I've installed Sierra, Yukon, and they seem to be OK. Obviously OEM is great but you don't get the ratio options.

 

[Woofythewolf]

In my materials testing at school Cryo treatment made a very noticeable effect on carburized and heat treated 8620, but honestly I'd save it for actual racing considering how expensive it is. Maybe if you're boosting serious hp then I'd consider it.

At the same time, an aftermarket finned diff cover could have a better effect than cryo treating the gears, and probably be cheaper too.

 

[Saito]

In my materials testing at school Cryo treatment made a very noticeable effect on carburized and heat treated 8620, but honestly I'd save it for actual racing considering how expensive it is. Maybe if you're boosting serious hp then I'd consider it.

At the same time, an aftermarket finned diff cover could have a better effect than cryo treating the gears, and probably be cheaper too.

Except 80 axles are 3rd member setups with no diff cover like you’re referring to.

 

[SHREDwagon]

Terrain Tamer are OE Made in Japan. Decent steel comes out of Taiwan as well. Best practice would be to avoid COO China for anything that rotates

 

[Woofythewolf]

Except 80 axles are 3rd member setups with no diff cover like you’re referring to.

Forgot about that. Yeah if you're at high power levels for long durations (towing with a supercharger or turbo) then I guess cryo or some external cooler is the only option.

I 2nd the no chinese steel.
I got fooled by Sear's parts department saying they had "OEM toyota" ujoints, but no, they were chinese OE garbage that got loose in about 5,000 miles of mostly freeway/around town driving.