Opinions......

[4runnerteq]

We have a 3rd gen 4runner with 225k miles and a 4th gen limited 4runner 4.7 with 180k miles. Had the 3rd for almost 18 years. For the past 7 or 8 years it's been our "fun" rig. Light offroading, camping, & in the past 2 years pulling the teardrop. Needs the valve cover gaskets replaced (standard equipment for a 3.4). Has the Sonoran Steel 1.2a suspension set up (rides great) , cb, on-board air, 285/75s, cheap homemade rear drawers, stock gears. 4th gen is completely stock and is the daily driver for the wife. Obviously has way more power than the 3rd and Kristi (wife) absolutely loves it. Now, we want to do some travels out west at some point, the 3rd I think would definitely need a re-gear especially to get over the mountains with the teardrop. Thinking of a couple options, regear it, fix the vc gaskets, make sure all the maintenance is up to date (recently replaced timing belt). Leave the daily alone. Or, the daily is getting pretty soft in the suspension, so go Old Man Emu and just one aspect ratio over on tires, add air, comms and drawers to it and use it. It would still be the daily and have the 3rd for shorter trips and when trail riding may be in the agenda. Wifey aint going to let hers on no trails. We have no desire to replace either one. The fun rig only gets 5k to 6k miles a year.Thoughts? Opinions?

 

[thezentree]

4.56 gears made my 3rd gen way more fun to drive.

 

[4runnerteq]

Yeah? I was thinking 4.88s. We traded today for a 96 with 314k on it. Original owner. Daylight and dark on power between it with 265/70s and mine with 285/75s

 

[thezentree]

I had the same debate. 4.88s would definitely be even more fun around town but if you plan on spending time on the interstate, I'd go with 4.56s. I'm at ~2400rpm at 70mph on 285s.

 

[bkg]

I had the same debate. 4.88s would definitely be even more fun around town but if you plan on spending time on the interstate, I'd go with 4.56s. I'm at ~2400rpm at 70mph on 285s.

I'll disagree with this. With 285's, I'd do 5.29's in a heartbeat. Both my 02 4Runner and 04 Tacoma have 4.88's with 285's, and their final drive ratio is still numerically lower than their stock, 5-speed counterparts. Add lift, extra weight, trailer and elevation to the mix and 4.56's would be money down the tube.

Personally, for the OP's question, I'd have a hard time not suggesting using the 4th gen for this situation. Would be, IMHO, night and day difference.

 

[thezentree]

I'll disagree with this. With 285's, I'd do 5.29's in a heartbeat. Both my 02 4Runner and 04 Tacoma have 4.88's with 285's, and their final drive ratio is still numerically lower than their stock, 5-speed counterparts. Add lift, extra weight, trailer and elevation to the mix and 4.56's would be money down the tube.

Personally, for the OP's question, I'd have a hard time not suggesting using the 4th gen for this situation. Would be, IMHO, night and day difference.

4.88s maybe, but with 5.29s you're around 2800rpm, which seems awful high to me for just cruising down the interstate. I use mine 99% of the time as a really inefficient commuter car, so 4.56s got me back to around stock numbers. That 1% of the time though, I'd love to have 5.29s. ?

Won't argue with the 4th gen suggestion though. That's probably a better choice, especially for towing.

 

[bkg]

4.88s maybe, but with 5.29s you're around 2800rpm, which seems awful high to me for just cruising down the interstate. I use mine 99% of the time as a really inefficient commuter car, so 4.56s got me back to around stock numbers. That 1% of the time though, I'd love to have 5.29s. ?

Won't argue with the 4th gen suggestion though. That's probably a better choice, especially for towing.

2800 RPM is barely 200 RPM higher than a stock 3.4/5-speed/4.10 combo w/ 31" tires. Add the additional weight, trailer, etc.... let the engine breathe a bit, especially in the mountains.

Gear Ratios

There are a lot of questions about gear ratios that pop up from time to time, especially when people change tire size. There's seems to be a presumption that choosing the ratio that gets the vehicle back to as close to stock as possible is the correct choice, but I think that presumption is...

www.expeditionportal.com

 

[thezentree]

I'm a little surprised there's a factory gearing like that, but it certainly makes me feel a little better about winding mine out.

Last derail - what kind of fuel economy are you getting with 4.88s and 33s?

 

[bkg]

I'm a little surprised there's a factory gearing like that, but it certainly makes me feel a little better about winding mine out.

Last derail - what kind of fuel economy are you getting with 4.88s and 33s?

Neither rig really sees interstate... Tacoma got 16 before, gets 16 now. 4Runner gets about the same. My SAS'd truck gets about the same. My JK gets about that... and my F350 gets that. I can't seem to get away from 16. lol

 

[tacollie]

The 3.4 does well with high RPMs. I would error on the low side for gearing. I wouldn't regear for one or two trips. After market seats and head unit are going to make the trip better. Also, I would just take the 4th gen if you're putting in the highway miles.

 

[SC T100]

Use the 4th gen for towing and use the money saved on the 3rd Gen full regear for the refresh on the 4th gen.

I had a 98 T100 with the 5-speed/3.4/4x4 drivetrain and it wasn't a tow monster. Even empty it struggled with modern speeds in the mountains near Asheville.

If you do go with the 3rd gen regear, go as low as possible for towing with those 285s. My T100 had stock 3.90 gearing, was on oversized 31x10.5R15s (C-load KO2s) (up from what I believe was the stock size of 235/75R15) and would easily run 3K rpm at 70-ish miles per hour. I can't imagine it on stock tires...would have been 3200+. The mpgs will drop due to the revs (i usually ended up near 15 mpgs on long, fast highway trips) but it'll tow much better with low gearing. The 3.4 is more of a spinner than a grunter anyway and you need to have some revs on it to get into the meat of the powerband for towing anyway.