4.88’s or 5.29’s

2012 with 35’s, buddy has 4.88’s and I dig the power and lack of noise. But I have heard 5.29’s might also be the way to go.

whichever way has got to be better than the stock gear ratio right? But which one is better for long highway trips with occasional off-roading/towing?

 

5.29s are better for everything. Lots of regearing threads showing people's feedback.

 

How I looked at it was there's little to no price difference between the two and with 5.29s you give yourself the room to go up to 37s or 38s without having to re-gear [again].

No brainer.

 

I havent been able to get a hold om 5.29 gears due to supply chain.

Hope you have better luck.

 

5.29 all day

 

Try Keith at dirty deeds, he was able to get me my Sierra gears with the quickness

 

Just had my 5.29's installed about 2 weeks ago. I didn't even consider 4.88's -- just had my 500 break in fluid flushed and I have no noise with my nitro gears. I had a slight whine during break-in. I'm on 34.5 inch tires.

 

How does one calculate final drive gear ratios? I'd like to compare stock configuration to 4.88, 5.29 with various tire sizes.

 

7.60's & send it. Straight pipes. A little extra gas for lots of glory.

 

Here's a chart. The RPM is calculated at 60 MPH with a 1:1 transmission gear, which is fourth gear in our trucks. But it's helpful for comparisons. 4:88's would be closer to the correct RPM with 35's; 5:29's are pretty deep but would give more acceleration by keeping the RPM's higher, at the expense of fuel economy (if that matters to you). I've thought about 4:88's and 33's, but I drive enough freeway (80MPH speed limit) that I doubt I'll go there.

 

5.29
Never look back

 

I’m on 35s and 5.29s in a 2010. It’s the way.

 

Going 5.29 revolution gear next week looking forward to it.

 

For sure, If you are in the "middle" of gears, go lower. I was between 4.56/4.88 and thank god I went 4.88 on 33-34.

 

I chose 4.88’s with my 35’s because I dont ever plan on going Up to 37’s and it gives me flexibility going down if I ever have to.

I also have a Supercharger that might help too.

 

I went with 4:88’s on 35’s and could not be happier.

 

I have 5.29s on 33s and I don't regret the decision. Never once. Even if I didn't tow, it's where I want to be. 2200 at 65mph is something I can live with since it no longer downshifts or unlocks when cruising. I'm also consistently getting 15.5 mpg on the highway, and load has decreased between 20 and 25% on average.

 

How does altitude factor into this? I'm leaning towards 5.29 and I live at 6,000 feet. I'm on 35's and don't really plan to go bigger but you never know. I'm assuming 5.29s would make up for a little more loss of engine performance at altitude but I'm new to the regearing conversation.

 

It doesn't come into play any more than usual. I also live at 6000ft, and besides the usual ~15% loss of power you have due to elevation everything else will remain the same. With 5.29s you'll spin ~25% more rpm but also have that much more torque at the wheel. So if you're in 6th gear at 2000rpm you'd then be at 2500rpm in the same stretch of road. If you're in 4th gear on a road, good chance you'll be able to maintain 5th gear now, etc. 35s, power loss due to elevation, add in towing or hauling anything, I highly recommend 5.29s. I live in Utah which has the highest speed limits in the nation and I've never "run out" of rpm for the engine on the interstate. You can still hit 100+mph all day with 5.29s, and the rest of the time you're either utilizing a higher gear than you normally would or the engine isn't working as hard because it has less load due to the increased torque at the axles.

 

Per Keith at DirtyDeeds, anything over 33.4" gets 5.29's, 33.4" and smaller, 4.88's.

 

Yeah Keith has always advocated 5.29s with 33s. Something I don't really agree with but I've got 5.29s & 35s and some don't agree with that

 

Give him the full story and he'll serve you well. I tow and have 33.4's. due to the weight, I went 5.29 after speaking with him and I couldn't be more grateful. There's definitely some trade space. A lighter tire probably.would have made daily driving annoying, but a heavier tire tames it very well. Keith gets all of this and won't steer you wrong.

 

I really wish i had the money to get the 5.29s and power trax on, would be a whole different truck with 33's and the amount of added weight I have, i usually roll close to max payload.

 

it saves you gas, so eventually it pays itself off and more.

 

Wondering if the wife would buy that lol

 

Would some of you be willing to share what the shop charged you for the regear? Trying to build up the nerve to do gears and at least a rear locker but I really don't know what to expect for install costs.

 

All that wife needs to know is that shoes and pretty dresses cost as much per year than a single performance mod... works for me

 

I dont know if its good or bad in this context but my wife is definitely not a shoes and dresses person, shes extremely cheap, which works for me most of the time, except when I say itll cost 3k for gears on a brand new truck lolol

 

You better cherish her, high maintenance gets old quite fast