Re-gearing the pig..

What would you re-gear too?

  • 4.88's, that should be good 'nuff

    Votes: 13 76.5%

  • 5.27's, do it once, dont regret it.

    Votes: 4 23.5%

  • Keep the 4.11's and drive down hills only

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    17

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

SOCALFJ

SOCALFJ

10 Year 15 Year 20 Year
Joined
Aug 17, 2005
Threads
449
Messages
5,644
Location
Forest Falls, CA
Website
www.adventureduo.com
What would you do, given our overweight pig and trailer?

4.88? or 5.27's?

Tire size is 33x11.50.

80 = 7500 lbs
AT = 2000 lbs

After the last trip, im even more serious about regearing our 80. Its so slow its pathedic. Coming up over Lockwood valley rd into Frazier park we hit a new all time low. 18 mph. That's worse than our 35-40mph Cajon Pass runs. Anywhoo, im tired of it.. and i've been wanting to go 4.88's forever. But now im thinking, our rig is not a Daily Driver and i really don't want to do this again... so i might go all the way in with 5.27's. I mean, shoot the rigs are only bound to get heavier right? lol

What do you guys think? I dont go over 55-60mph on the freeway with the trailer anyhow.
 
Last edited:
5.27s? you mean 5.29s?

i think 4.88s with 33s is a good match, as with 5.29s and 35s. just watch the temp gauge when you're going up hills as you will be running at higher rpms with the low gears. 5.29s would be WAY low for 33s. i would go 5.29s if you had plans for 35s or 37s in the future.
 
Keep in mind that you will loose strength as you go lower (numerically higher): 4.10 > 4.88 > 5.29 stronger to weaker. I think the 4.88 will work good for you with 33's. If you are having trouble at highway speeds, you could always keep the OD off.
 
4.88s for sure. I run 4.88s with 35s and im pretty happy. If you plan on running 33s and never moving to 35s 5.29s will give you horrible highway mileage.
 
I agree with the consensus so far from what I've read and learned on this board. 4.88's should be fine for your 33's.

BTW - I was chastized very early on years ago on this board...our 80's are not pigs. It's the 55's that are fondly and affectionately know as pigs.
 
Yes, i meant 5.29's. Ok, you guys are complete opposite of what i've been hearing. The majority of folks say go deep.. w/5.29's. Even though we're only running 33's, we have a ton of weight and a trailer behind us that isn't light.

Mark, the price is the same. Don't have any facts or figures on speed gain, there's too many different variables with our setup vs. a basic setup. I know i'll gain significant mpg. I mean really, my right foot is in it 80% of the trips we go on because i have too. Gears will change that. Also, I'll check into the weakness of how thin a 5.29 is vs. a 4.88. I don't want that to become a weak link as well.

Brent, with my weight.. i think i earned the right to call it a pig lol

Anyone else want to vote?
 
You'd probably get better answers in the 80's tech section Dave. You could also call Christo Slee or Kurt at Cruiseroutfitters for some advice too.

...and no, despite your weight, you can't call an 80 series a pig. Of course you are someone that did stray from cruisers and you do own a heep, so...:whoops: :flipoff2: :cheers:
 
SOCALFJ said:
I've re-geared other vehicles before, so i know the routine..Dont get me wrong, i've envisioned 4.88's forever, but now im second guessing myself is all. Just wanted to hear what others would do.
Click to expand...

Sell the cruiser and trailer and get a Sportsmobile. :whoops: Oh yea, you've already tried that route. :lol::lol::lol:
 
OK now that I have been enlightende I vote for the Tundra 5.8 V8 for your rig! Go BIG or Go HOME....

And those 55 guys are special enough with a kick A$$ classic wagon and can't have it all. I call mine a pig and even have the Iron pig emblem on it. I bought it, I can call it whatever I want. :flipoff2:
 
Short of swapping outy your motor to a V8 or Diesel -Changing your gearing to 4.88's would make a big difference on the hills for sure, but I think another thing you should consider is your transmission temps. I am putting a 3FE with a A440 out of a 89 62 in my 55 project. Been reading a lot about temp issues leading to early failures and poor performance with loaded down rigs.

Found some good info in the 60's section about modified valve kits and torque converters for the auto trannys used in the 60 and 80 series cruisers from an Australian company. West Coast Cruisers is now a distributor for Rodneys Extreme transmissions and I am looking into building my transmission to handle the extra weight my pig will be hauling. Michael at WCC is a cool guy and may have more info.

Bottom line is changing one thing sometimes only results in a partial cure for one thing and may add to others.

Hoping I did not just kill this thread:D. Just waned to add some more thought to the issue.

Tim:steer:
 
there is a guy who just showed up in the 100 section with a similar story about pulling trailers, being too slow etc.
Except that in this case he was even more mortified by being around 100s who were zipping around under similar conditions.
So his solution was to get a 100... :)


(Oh, FWIW, I believe that going with lower gears, i.e. higher rpms, when going uphill will result in lower coolant and ATF temps, not higher, at the same speed)
 
Last edited:
e9999 said:
(Oh, FWIW, I believe that going with lower gears, i.e. higher rpms, when going uphill will result in lower coolant and ATF temps, not higher, at the same speed)
Click to expand...

Yes that may be true for hills- but you got to account for all driving conditions.

A better argument is that automatic transmissions rob lots of power and if you can get better lock up and transfer to the drivetrain you may see better performance.

just my .02

Tim:steer:
 
Not that I am an expert, but I am planning to go to 4.88's for my rig. DD will be 315s. When I do get the adventure trailer down the road and drive out west with muy son for an expedition style trek (to visit all you clowns of course), I will have 285 or 295 all terrains. From my research, the 4.88s will be perfect for DD/trails with 35's and for a loaded down expedition type rig (e.g. YOUR RIG DAVE) on 33's.

My $.02,

Smitty
 
when making this decision I would write down what you want your rpm's to be at certain speeds and use this equation:

mph x axle ratio x Tranny overdrive x transfercase ratio x 336 /(dividedby) tire diameter = speed/rpm's

For example on an 80: 75mph x 5.29 x .765 x 1 x 336 / 35 = 2913 rpm's @ 75mph

clear as mud?

Noah
 
For what it's worth, I think 5.29s are overkill for an overland built rig, especially with 33" tires. You don't need the crawl ratio and running at 2800 or 2900 rpm just to get down the freeway seems like a lots of revolutions for an old engine that is very comfortable at 2200rpm.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom