Transfer case re-gearing (1 Viewer)

[smittycrusher]

Picked up my 80 today from @ACC Toyota As usual, they did a killer job with the new T-Case gears from Cruiser Outfitters @cruiseroutfit

I have 315s and stock gears in thirds. I had decided to add the aftermarket low range t case gears. We decided to throw in the new high range t case gears while in there since I had never regeared the diffs.

THESE HIGH RANGE GEARS ARE AWESOME!!! I believe the math works out to it being like 4.56s in the diffs. Feels like a race car now (well, compared to before )! Much cheaper than adding gears to the diffs since I already have lockers and didn’t want to tear into the diffs. I prefer stock R&P and love how it drives now!

Thank you ACC Garage and Cruiser Outfitters!

 

[smittycrusher]

Got in a good bit more seat time today. High range continued to impress. I love being able to hold speed and even accelerate up hills. 70mph cruises along at 2400 RPM on the dot. 2nd gear 4200 RPM, I am at 57 mph. Why did I choose 2nd gear at 4200 RPM...because that is how I always had to drive the passes out West with my stock gears in diffs & t-case and 315s. While my motor never seemed to care one bit (have done it for over an hour straight and water temp never got above 206*), it will be nice testing these gears out on Eisenhauer Pass next month on my way from Atlanta to CruiseMoab.

 

[Nay]

it will be nice testing these gears out on Eisenhauer Pass

2nd gear will still work.

 

[smittycrusher]

2nd gear will still work.

I know it will...but I am excited that I won’t NEED it.

 

[Nay]

I know it will...but I am excited that I won’t NEED it.

Lol.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Glad to hear you're loving it. All rave reviews from customers thus far

 

[smittycrusher]

I posted this update in another thread but thought it belonged here as well. I just stumbled across another HUGE surprise with these gears. I just keep loving them more and more. I keep track of all my MPGs in my notes on my phone each time I fill up. I was very surprised at the MPG difference. I didn't expect any improvement but look at my last four fill ups and see if you can see where the dear change happened (you can ignore the EF, that is just my marker that I filled up with Ethanol Free gas). THAT IS A 15% MPG IMPROVEMENT!!!

Oh, and YES, these numbers are adjusted for speedo differences as my total miles are taken from the GPS, not the odometer.

 

[DanMedeiros]

Planning to go to 35s in a few weeks. I read this entire thread and am still confused about which fearing option to go with.

@orangefj45 i recently rebuilt my axles and birfs. Does this need to redone if I regear at the axles? Why is the price compared to rehearing the transfer case?

Finally, I’m currently running 33s in stock gears. Can I expect fuel economy to go get worse if I upsize tires and regear?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

A t-case can be regeared for $500-$1500 (parts only - parts/labor/rebuild)

Axle gearing can be done for $600-2500 (minimum parts only - parts/labor/rebuild)

You don't have to completely rebuild your axles in order to install a new R&P set, but you have to dismantle them far enough to remove the diff so much of the process is repeated.

 

[DanMedeiros]

@cruiseroutfit thanks! I also really like the idea of a lower low range. My truck is heavy as hell and could use a bit extra climbing steep obstacles and for speed control down hill

 

[iptman]

I have the under-drive high range and lower low range gears installed and just had a set of 315/75/16 KM3s mounted up and the combo is perfect. Also remember, if you do both gear sets your low range drops down to 3.3:1 versus 3.1 if you just do the low range without the high range. I have about 8,000 miles on the gears with no problems.

 

[orangefj45]

We just installed another set of the 3.1:1 Sumo low range gears. And we’ve got two more on the schedule.

Georg @ Valley Hybrids & Cruiser Brothers

 

[mbarela]

I would like to add my experience: I live in NM so the elevation is relatively high to start with.

Initially I was running 285 with stock gears for awhile and it wasn't bad except when I towed a starcraft R14 trailer and especially going to Ouray but alone the 80 did good.

I decided that I wanted 315's, so I put the tires on and it still continued to do well in town but noticed the sluggishness when i would go up hills on the highway, but figured I could live with that. I then decided to go to the t-case crawl gear from Marlin Crawler and with help of some friends we did the install ourselves. We also did all the seals since we were in there, at this point I was unaware of the 10% UD gear or I would of done it at this time. I loved the crawl gear when wheeling, a lot more control.

I went to cruise Moab this year and pulled my Adrenalin Camper. The camper is not that heavy but the 80 did not pull it that well and made me think about how I was going to fix the issue. I was thinking about LS swaps, turbo, diesel swaps. That is another story. On one of the trails the trailer leader talked about the 10% UD gear from cruiser outfitters so when I got back I did some research and decided that I should give this a try, especially since I could do the work myself (with the help of friends) and it would only cost me about $550.00. It had only been about 4 months since I did the 3:1.

I am glad I did the 10% UD has it has made a big difference in my driving around town. I am not sure how it will be towing the camper but I will find out on my trip to Ouray this weekend. I believe the the 3:1 and 10% UD gear should be a no brainier and worth every penny. I also plan on adding a turbo and believe this would be a perfect set up for the turbo. I agree with other peoples assessments on here that it does make a little noise with UD gear but it is not bad at all.

I am not mechanic by any stretch but I enjoy working on my own stuff has much has possible. I believe that if I can do this job, anyone can and would recommend cruiser outfitters to anyone.

 

[lumbee1]

For those concerned about fuel economy (I'm that guy), I just completed regearing my axles to 4.88's. For years we drove to the beach and back in one day. It's approximately 140 miles there, drive around on the beach, and 140 miles back. With 4.10 gears, my gas light would come on solid as we exited the highway during the return trip after 125 miles. However on Sunday, with 4.88 gears we did the same trip but went 4 miles further (different beach), drove around on the beach, and drove back. My gas light came on in the exact same location but when I started moving again the gas light went off indicating we had more in the tank.

140 miles + 1 mile of beach driving + 125 miles = 266 miles with 4.10 gears
144 miles + 1 mile of beach driving + 129 miles = 274 miles with 4.88 gears and a little extra in the tank.

 

[Dragos80]

Are you saying higher revs save gas?

You are not the only one reporting the same thing.
That's why I am against a super long top gear, or way too much overdrive.

 

[Ronny Grady]

@orangefj45 - my low range transfer case & 4.88 diff gears are bad ass! I’m hitting trails with much more control. My truck is in beast mode now with low range!

 

[lumbee1]

Are you saying higher revs save gas?

You are not the only one reporting the same thing.
That's why I am against a super long top gear, or way too much overdrive.

I'm saying that fuel economy is a bonus on top of acceleration, driveability, and power delivery

 

[DanMedeiros]

@lumbee1 thats mind blowing! I allways held back on bigger tires due to fuel economy concerns. It’s not the money but the range. Lots of the trips I do and want to do fuel is the limiting factor. Top mod on my list right now is a aux tank.

So 4.88s are better than transfer case gears range wise???

 

[Dragos80]

@lumbee1

So 4.88s are better than transfer case gears range wise???

If they accomplish the same gear ratio then it does not matter if you choose transfer case UD or axle regear.

Larger tires will put you in overdrive. But there are other things to consider. Rolling resistance, less aerodynamic (more drag resistance). Yeah, I know 80 series and aerodynamic factors don't belong in the same sentence.

The bigger issue here we all tend to miss initially is the torque curve and peak numbers.
The engine, transmission and axle gears are all designed to work within a certain parameter (optimal).
When the car is being driven at a speed which gets the engine at the peak of the torque curve then the fuel economy is at it's best.
The engine, in street talk, does not struggle to keep pushing the car on the road. It works in a relaxed state.
Lugging the engine (ie low revs at a given speed) is very inefficient, but we instinctively think it's better since the engine will not use as much gas at a lower RPM count than at a higher RPM count..

Also RPM fluctuations are bad to your fuel economy. A steady speed at a constant RPM will give better results too.
Again, not just one magic factor to look at for a better fuel economy.


With larger tires, it's also a good idea to regear the rig not only to "give it more power" (no gear will give the engine more power), but to also bring the engine RPM at the speed you like to travel back in the designed curve where the engineers had it calculated.

 

[BILT4ME]

If they accomplish the same gear ratio then it does not matter if you choose transfer case UD or axle regear.

Larger tires will put you in overdrive. But there are other things to consider. Rolling resistance, less aerodynamic (more drag resistance). Yeah, I know 80 series and aerodynamic factors don't belong in the same sentence.

The bigger issue here we all tend to miss initially is the torque curve and peak numbers.
The engine, transmission and axle gears are all designed to work within a certain parameter (optimal).
When the car is being driven at a speed which gets the engine at the peak of the torque curve then the fuel economy is at it's best.
The engine, in street talk, does not struggle to keep pushing the car on the road. It works in a relaxed state.
Lugging the engine (ie low revs at a given speed) is very inefficient, but we instinctively think it's better since the engine will not use as much gas at a lower RPM count than at a higher RPM count..

Also RPM fluctuations are bad to your fuel economy. A steady speed at a constant RPM will give better results too.
Again, not just one magic factor to look at for a better fuel economy.


With larger tires, it's also a good idea to regear the rig not only to "give it more power" (no gear will give the engine more power), but to also bring the engine RPM at the speed you like to travel back in the designed curve where the engineers had it calculated.

I'm glad you brought this up.

Does ANYONE have a HP/Torque curve for the 1FZ-FE? Even a cam chart?

If one can design their gearing / tire combo appropriately, this is excellent information to have to design it with.