Tips on regearing vehicle

[wanderlosh]

Hey Everyone,

I am trying to find a trustworthy shop to regear and install lockers on my 2019 Toyota Tacoma SR5.

I’m going with 5.29 gears to accommodate all of the extra weight that will be on the truck once I finish the build. My truck is an SR5 (No rear locker from factory) so I want to get ARB front and rear air lockers installed when I do the regear.

does anyone know of(or have any tips on finding) good, trustworthy shops in my area to do the work I described? I’m willing to travel 4-5 hours if necessary. I am located near Memphis.

 

[Rath]

What size tires and engine are you running to need that shirt of gears? 4 cyl?

 

[wanderlosh]

What size tires and engine are you running to need that shirt of gears? 4 cyl?

I’m only on 32s (e rated KO2s) with the 3.5 v6 right now. I’m going to be adding some armor and bumpers later this year though so I’m planning to just do the gears on the front end. It seems like the truck can handle 5.29s bone stock because of the 5th and 6th gears being overdrive. Truck very rarely hits 6. I think 4.88s would be better in the short term, but the 5.29s look like they will scale with the truck better over time since I am looking to eventually have 35s in addition to all of the weight.

 

[KonzaLander]

I cannot help you locate a shop in Memphis, but I can caution you to be careful overgearing your vehicle. I jumped from 4.10 to 5.13's in my Jeep and wrecked my long distance drivability. At 75mph the motor is spinning at 3,300rpm, about 800rpm over the sweet spot with 35's. The Jeep would be 100% impractical on the the highway with 33's and 5.13's.

Study the gearing charts and really analyze your needs and don't overshoot.

 

[Rath]

With the V6 and especially only 32's I wouldn't even go over 4.10, honestly. You mention a plan to do 35's so future proofing is good, 4.56 or 4.88 would be as far as I personally would go. Otherwise like mentioned your highway driving will be compromised.

 

[Outlaw Overland]

Hi Wander. I'm a new member and this is my first post (WooHoo). Just my $0.02, but I think (and I'm no expert), that the 5.29 ratio is a good call. You almost never will get to 5th and 6th gear on the highway, which is a total overdrive with the OEM setup. The 5.29 will make good use of 5th and 6th gear without constant downshifting which can be annoying. I say go for it. As for finding someone to do the work, contact Nitro Gears (Nitro-Gear.com). They may have someone on their list near you that can do the transition. P.S. I plan on doing the same setup with my 2016 Taco TRD 4X4 Sport... don't forget to purchase and install differential breathers for the diffs so you don't fill the diffs with water. I think ARB makes good ones.

 

[Rath]

Are the tacos really that underpowered that they need that gearing? Seems really excessive to me, but I also don't own one so I guess I wouldn't know.

I know my ranger with its measly 200 HP would not be happy at all with 5.29 gears even with my 35's.

 

[wanderlosh]

Hi Wander. I'm a new member and this is my first post (WooHoo). Just my $0.02, but I think (and I'm no expert), that the 5.29 ratio is a good call. You almost never will get to 5th and 6th gear on the highway, which is a total overdrive with the OEM setup. The 5.29 will make good use of 5th and 6th gear without constant downshifting which can be annoying. I say go for it. As for finding someone to do the work, contact Nitro Gears (Nitro-Gear.com). They may have someone on their list near you that can do the transition. P.S. I plan on doing the same setup with my 2016 Taco TRD 4X4 Sport... don't forget to purchase and install differential breathers for the diffs so you don't fill the diffs with water. I think ARB makes good ones.

funny you should say that! I have an ARB breather relocation kit in my garage to be installed this weekend. I’m only relocating the rear though since the front is already up pretty high.

I will see if I can find someone through nitros website. That is a good idea.

 

[wanderlosh]

Are the tacos really that underpowered that they need that gearing? Seems really excessive to me, but I also don't own one so I guess I wouldn't know.

I know my ranger with its measly 200 HP would not be happy at all with 5.29 gears even with my 35's.

yeah the general consensus on tacomaworld is 5.29s for pretty much anything that is even remotely built... at least the consensus is 4:88s are enough in a lot of cases but 5.29s are really never too much. Some people are even running them on stock trucks. The gearing on the auto transmission Tacomas is pretty bad from the factory. It pretty much never touches 6th gear unless you are going downhill at high speed. The manuals are a little better with the 3.93(I think) ratio stock.

 

[Rath]

wow thats pretty nuts! I wonder why they geared the trans like that.

 

[Outlaw Overland]

wow thats pretty nuts! I wonder why they geared the trans like that.

I agree. The pickup in general is an awesome vehicle, but the Toyota engineers f’d up on the gearing. IDK why, perhaps ithas some thing to do with EPA?

 

[wanderlosh]

I agree. The pickup in general is an awesome vehicle, but the Toyota engineers f’d up on the gearing. IDK why, perhaps ithas some thing to do with EPA?

I see the EPA reason a lot. I can’t really think of many other reasons that they would do that.

 

[Outlaw Overland]

Good luck with your search, Wander. Let me know how it comes out.