Has anyone re-geared a 200-series yet?

[JBHorne]

Looking for advise on re-gearing. I've heard mixed things. Running 34" tires (275/70R17) and lots of added weight. I've seen a few 35" trucks with 4.88 Nitro gears on here (one being @justdifferentials very own 200-series), but not many before/after comparisons from people who has stock gears and then upgraded. So, if you have gone from stock to 4.88's, what was your experience?

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

The best thing I've done to my 200, and I run a 33". I've wrote a ton of stuff about 4.88s on here, one of those being on my build thread, you can click on ii in my signature block.

Super long story short, manually limit your transmission to 5th, that's exactly what 4.88s feel like on a 2008-2015 when in 6th gear with the T/C locked.

 

[Willy beamin]

It's fun. You should do it

 

[NYC570]

Isn't 275/70R17 closer to 32"?

 

[Willy beamin]

I know my previous comment holds no good info however if you do go for it you will not regret the upgrade and i suggest you consider adding a front locker while the shop or you have the diffs apart.
Its not a cheap or inexpensive venture.
I have noticed my mpg is a bit better and its really nice that the truck holds gears so well on up hill climbs. I have noticed that my power button is render useless (etc), meaning the extra get up and go that i did experience when that was selected on has really no to impact on performance now - thats my impression. Overall its my most favorite mod next to the suspension. You just cant go wrong going that route. I hope youve crunched the numbers and have a bit extra to address the front locker. It will be one of the baddest 4x4's on the planet once completed. Good luck deciding.

 

[RS6tofj80]

Yes - much improved performance if you're running a 34' or larger..... worth doing lockers at the same time....

E

 

[indycole]

I also run 33s and have done gears (and lockers). I did so because most the of the time we're in the truck it's heavily loaded. It's not really a daily driver so it just stays stocked and ready for camping. Everyone's right that it's worth doing the gears and lockers at the same time but it's a very expensive upgrade.

 

[fireball]

I would be curious if anyone else running 33s has regeared and found it super beneficial and worth the cost.

I am deciding b/w running the popular 285/70/17 (32.7") or 34x10.5x17 (33.5") and figuring out if a regear is desirable. As Indy noted above, our truck do will be decently loaded with rear bumper, fridge, drawer system, etc.

Thanks!

 

[indycole]

Some additional thoughts:

Benefits

• Due to the weight of the truck the transmission was not utilizing the full range of gears. Now it does. I believe this results in the truck driving smoother and slightly better fuel economy.
• The truck drives with more pep. Even more when ETC Power is turned (whereas @Willy beamin doesn't notice... ? could be the difference between the 6sp and 8sp transmissions).
• 4-Lo 2nd gear now feels like 1st used to rendering 4-Lo 1st gear almost like a "new gear" on the truck when crawling offroad.
• The truck is better controlled on steep highways. With the automatic transmission alone I find that I don't need to use the break as often.
• To summarize, the truck just drives much better than it did pre-4.88s. At 7500 lb+ (most recent weigh in was 7800lb) the truck felt very sluggish and the shift points were off. The truck would search for gears more often. Now everything feels just right though I do find it switching into ETC Power on steep interstates to be helpful especially when using Cruise Control.

Worth the cost? You'd have to drive a lot of miles to see a return on the fuel economy side. There were some complications related to my install that made it cost about 30% more than I'd budgeted (to no fault of the service providers, vendors, equipment, etc.) so I'd be a little more gung-ho on the whole upgrade if it had gone as expected in terms of time and money.

Now that I have gears and lockers, though, my gut reaction is that I love the gears and like the lockers. The lockers are more of a combination of "peace of mind" and not holding others up on the trail for non-locker-recovery. I probably would not have done them yet if I didn't do the gears. The gears were the first priority.

 

[Willy beamin]

Ill try the ETC on the interstaste. Thanks for the reply concerning that.

 

[linuxgod]

I am deciding b/w running the popular 285/70/17 (32.7") or 34x10.5x17 (33.5") and figuring out if a regear is desirable. As Indy noted above, our truck do will be decently loaded with rear bumper, fridge, drawer system, etc.

I have 285/75R17s (33.8"). If you're towing a trailer on 34s, it's definitely worth it. If you crawl offroad on 34s then it'll help your low range gear ratio particularly for steep downhill descents. If you don't do either then you should try 34s on the stock gearing and then make your decision.

IMO gas mileage aside the LC runs fine on stock gears, even with 34s and fully laden, provided you're willing to exercise the gears a bit. Granted I'm probably closer to 7000# when fully laden and the whole family in the truck. Not sayin' you won't appreciate the additional power, crawl ratio, and possibly even mpg that you get out of taller gears, but the LC is no slouch and when if you're asking whether the upgrade is super beneficial and worth the cost, you have to take your intended usage into account.

 

[linuxgod]

Side question for you guys with taller gears. Anyone concerned about the additional load introduced by taller gears and taller tires on the drivetrain?

 

[Willy beamin]

Nope thats bad juju thinking

 

[TonyP]

Good info in this thread. I'm hoping to have my gears and lockers done next month.

 

[Markuson]

Not a question of if...but when for me. Basically as soon as the wallet can take it. Truck does surprisingly well considering 35's and serious weight...but I want my zippy throttle back...plus lockers are a no brainer in my book if gears are going in.

 

[TonyP]

Not a question of if...but when for me. Basically as soon as the wallet can take it. Truck does surprisingly well considering 35's and serious weight...but I want my zippy throttle back...plus lockers are a no brainer in my book if gears are going in.

Oh absolutely. The 200 NEEDS gears like it needs a suspension lift. It'll be fine without it but it adds to the total package. As I've said, and I'm sure many Breck attendees can attest, you can have tons of fun and go great places with just simple mods in these 200s.

 

[Narkhelek]

So what's the ball park for gears and gears+lockers?

 

[Swampmonger]

So what's the ball park for gears and gears+lockers?

I've heard about $2000/axle for lockers. Not sure how much gears would add to that.

 

[TonyP]

So what's the ball park for gears and gears+lockers?

Like @indycole said, if you decide to do gears it would be silly not to do lockers at the same time and vice versa.

That being said, ATRAC is absolutely not a replacement for lockers.

 

[TexAZ]

The nitro gear kit for front and rear is 1400/ give or take depending on where you can find it. Installation is a couple hundred per axle.
Coat of lockers 1000-1500 per axle depending on what route you take.
Electric or air.
I am excited that the harrop locker vendor has ordered a 18 cruiser through the dealer here in phoenix and plans on fully stuffing the axles with gears and lockers. Hoping they bring it out to a local club event for us to drool over.