D
Deleted member 643
possibly a ghost :(
Hey guys, making this thread primarily because of a lack of available information regarding 4.88 gears for the 3rd gens. Hopefully you guys find this thread useful.
I made the change a bit over a year ago and wanted to gather as much data as possible in order to determine the true benefits. Part of that data collection meant running the truck in multiple configurations, i.e. with RTT, fully loaded with bikes, gear and RTT, no RTT, long road trips, low elevation, high elevation etc, you get the point..
Please note, fuel economy will vary based on your location, elevation, setup etc. But, my goal was to try and eliminate some of the guess work as this upgrade is most definitely a bit of a financial commitment.
Now, on to my setup; Truck as it stands today.... 2017 TRD OR 4x4, DCSB. I am running an Icon stage 9 lift with stage 3 S2 in the front and Icon stage 2 RXT in the rear. Tires are E rated 285/75 R17 Toyo MT. I have sliders, aluminum skids and a winch as well as a host of lights. While I have tried to keep the weight of the add ons low, it is added weight nonetheless. When I put the Toy MT's on, I knew that I had to get gears. Just wasn't an option anymore. Truck hunted for gears, had horrible fuel economy and generally was a bit of a chore to drive. So, knowing that gears need to be setup properly, there was only one shop near me that I trusted enough to tackle the project, SDHQ Offroad. These guys are a premier shop with an unmatched commitment to quality, so they were the obvious choice for me.
In the early stages of doing my research, Serena at SDHQ mentioned that they have all of the gear sets that they install REM polished prior to installation. So, I dug a little deeper into the process. Find out more here; https://weddleindustries.com/services/house-rem-polishing-process-weddle-industries
In a nutshell, REM polishing strengthens the gear-sets while also effectively eliminating the standard break in procedure, which was a huge bonus for me considering I didn't necessarily have the time to work the the proper heat cycles, oil changes and the like. If you do gears, I would highly recommend having this done. As an added note, SDHQ has Nitro 4.88's in stock, already REM Polished and ready to ship for both the e-locker and non e-locker differentials.
Onto my observations; Overall, the truck is vastly improved, accelerates easily from a stop, keeps RPM's low and more importantly, doesn't hunt for gears anymore, like at all.. Cruising on the freeway at 80 mph, my RPM's hover just above 2k while the truck is parked in sixth gear. And when I stomp on the skinny pedal, the truck moves. Just has a lot more get up and go than it ever did in stock form.
Next up, MPG's. Here I am going to post multiple scenarios to give somewhat of a cross section as to what to expect.
I live in Scottsdale AZ. at an elevation under 2k feet and on average I see 18 to 19 mpg with mixed highway and around town driving. That's without the tent because I do not keep in on all of the time. With the tent on, driving around town I see about a half a mile per gallon drop.
I do travel to higher ground to go camping or mountain biking etc. Take for example Flagstaff, AZ. Sits a bit of 6k in elevation so it's a bit of a climb getting up there. With just bikes, I see about 17 mpg going up the hill and about 16 with tent, bikes and a few hundred pounds in camping gear.
Now onto even higher elevations. I took two road trips to Colorado this summer, Crested Butte, Ouray, Durango, Telluride, Aspen and Winter Park. Up there, I was seeing approximately 20 to 22 mpg which was awesome, and another indicator that I need to move to CO!! Ha ha.. That was just bikes, no tent.
Truck has no problem hitting 90 plus mph, even loaded down and again, revs stay low unless I am really on it trying to pass someone.
So highway driving is cool and all, but what about offroad..... Well, on my most recent trip I really got to put it to the test tackling Pearl Pass from Crested Butte to Aspen. Definitely not an easy trail and there are a few sections where 4lo and the locker got a workout. With the 4.88's in 4 low, wow, truck has torque and can easily get itself up and over rocks with very little driver input, similarly, on steep, long hillclimbs, the truck walks right up without having to put your foot to the floor. So from a trail perspective, gears really were a HUGE improvement in the trucks performance.
If you couldn't tell by now, I am more than happy with my decision to take the leap and go to 4.88's. I use my truck and use it often so I wanted it to be comfortable and enjoyable both around town and on long road trips and the gears definitely achieved that goal.
One thing is for certain, if you go this route, choose a shop that KNOW's WHAT THEY ARE DOING and does gears frequently, I cannot stress that enough. Further, if I were to do this again, I would again choose to go with the REM polishing for that added piece of mind. As I stated previously, if you want to eliminate the guesswork, you can order pre REM Polished 4.88's directly from SDHQ. They are on the shelf and ready to ship..
** Another thing to note is that you will need to recalibrate your speedometer. Mine was WAY off, so I quickly picked up the Hypertech In Line Speedo Recalibration devise and that solved the problem. Speedo is dead accurate now**
Now I guess we can open this up to discussion. Other that have gears, @JTS2014TACO @Lord Humongous please feel free to weigh in and share your experiences. I would have loved to have had an in depth opinion on gears when I made the jump, but that info just wasn't really out there. Hopefully this helps anyone that is on the fence. I cannot thank @SDHQ OFFROAD enough for their impeccable work, guidance and service through this whole thing. I am very picky with who I let work on my truck but I trust them 200% to do anything to it...
I made the change a bit over a year ago and wanted to gather as much data as possible in order to determine the true benefits. Part of that data collection meant running the truck in multiple configurations, i.e. with RTT, fully loaded with bikes, gear and RTT, no RTT, long road trips, low elevation, high elevation etc, you get the point..
Please note, fuel economy will vary based on your location, elevation, setup etc. But, my goal was to try and eliminate some of the guess work as this upgrade is most definitely a bit of a financial commitment.
Now, on to my setup; Truck as it stands today.... 2017 TRD OR 4x4, DCSB. I am running an Icon stage 9 lift with stage 3 S2 in the front and Icon stage 2 RXT in the rear. Tires are E rated 285/75 R17 Toyo MT. I have sliders, aluminum skids and a winch as well as a host of lights. While I have tried to keep the weight of the add ons low, it is added weight nonetheless. When I put the Toy MT's on, I knew that I had to get gears. Just wasn't an option anymore. Truck hunted for gears, had horrible fuel economy and generally was a bit of a chore to drive. So, knowing that gears need to be setup properly, there was only one shop near me that I trusted enough to tackle the project, SDHQ Offroad. These guys are a premier shop with an unmatched commitment to quality, so they were the obvious choice for me.
In the early stages of doing my research, Serena at SDHQ mentioned that they have all of the gear sets that they install REM polished prior to installation. So, I dug a little deeper into the process. Find out more here; https://weddleindustries.com/services/house-rem-polishing-process-weddle-industries
In a nutshell, REM polishing strengthens the gear-sets while also effectively eliminating the standard break in procedure, which was a huge bonus for me considering I didn't necessarily have the time to work the the proper heat cycles, oil changes and the like. If you do gears, I would highly recommend having this done. As an added note, SDHQ has Nitro 4.88's in stock, already REM Polished and ready to ship for both the e-locker and non e-locker differentials.
Onto my observations; Overall, the truck is vastly improved, accelerates easily from a stop, keeps RPM's low and more importantly, doesn't hunt for gears anymore, like at all.. Cruising on the freeway at 80 mph, my RPM's hover just above 2k while the truck is parked in sixth gear. And when I stomp on the skinny pedal, the truck moves. Just has a lot more get up and go than it ever did in stock form.
Next up, MPG's. Here I am going to post multiple scenarios to give somewhat of a cross section as to what to expect.
I live in Scottsdale AZ. at an elevation under 2k feet and on average I see 18 to 19 mpg with mixed highway and around town driving. That's without the tent because I do not keep in on all of the time. With the tent on, driving around town I see about a half a mile per gallon drop.
I do travel to higher ground to go camping or mountain biking etc. Take for example Flagstaff, AZ. Sits a bit of 6k in elevation so it's a bit of a climb getting up there. With just bikes, I see about 17 mpg going up the hill and about 16 with tent, bikes and a few hundred pounds in camping gear.
Now onto even higher elevations. I took two road trips to Colorado this summer, Crested Butte, Ouray, Durango, Telluride, Aspen and Winter Park. Up there, I was seeing approximately 20 to 22 mpg which was awesome, and another indicator that I need to move to CO!! Ha ha.. That was just bikes, no tent.
Truck has no problem hitting 90 plus mph, even loaded down and again, revs stay low unless I am really on it trying to pass someone.
So highway driving is cool and all, but what about offroad..... Well, on my most recent trip I really got to put it to the test tackling Pearl Pass from Crested Butte to Aspen. Definitely not an easy trail and there are a few sections where 4lo and the locker got a workout. With the 4.88's in 4 low, wow, truck has torque and can easily get itself up and over rocks with very little driver input, similarly, on steep, long hillclimbs, the truck walks right up without having to put your foot to the floor. So from a trail perspective, gears really were a HUGE improvement in the trucks performance.
If you couldn't tell by now, I am more than happy with my decision to take the leap and go to 4.88's. I use my truck and use it often so I wanted it to be comfortable and enjoyable both around town and on long road trips and the gears definitely achieved that goal.
One thing is for certain, if you go this route, choose a shop that KNOW's WHAT THEY ARE DOING and does gears frequently, I cannot stress that enough. Further, if I were to do this again, I would again choose to go with the REM polishing for that added piece of mind. As I stated previously, if you want to eliminate the guesswork, you can order pre REM Polished 4.88's directly from SDHQ. They are on the shelf and ready to ship..
** Another thing to note is that you will need to recalibrate your speedometer. Mine was WAY off, so I quickly picked up the Hypertech In Line Speedo Recalibration devise and that solved the problem. Speedo is dead accurate now**
Now I guess we can open this up to discussion. Other that have gears, @JTS2014TACO @Lord Humongous please feel free to weigh in and share your experiences. I would have loved to have had an in depth opinion on gears when I made the jump, but that info just wasn't really out there. Hopefully this helps anyone that is on the fence. I cannot thank @SDHQ OFFROAD enough for their impeccable work, guidance and service through this whole thing. I am very picky with who I let work on my truck but I trust them 200% to do anything to it...
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