4.56 or 4.88?

cooper4x4 said:

Here is my predicament...I hoped to have 33s by now. My goodyear wrangler mtrs have lasted me 45,000 miles and still have half the tread left. They are 32s. I need gears but not sure whcih ones. I dont want to buy new tires until these are worn. I do alot of highway driving and with gas prices these days, I dont want to suffer a huge decrease in that department. What are some of your suggestions and reasons for those suggestions?

2002 Doublecab TRD v6 4x4

Click to expand...

there are several members with the same rig you have who run 33s with 4.88s and do very well. Mike in Socal (inspectorgadget) averages 20mpg with his truck but he's keeps his foot out of it
Peter parks in norcal...same thing.
with the v6 AT the rpms are not really an issue and the motor doesn't have to work nearly as hard to push the truck so overall mileage (city/hwy) actually goes up. the difference on the trail between 4.56s and 4.88s is a lot bigger than you'd expect...it blew me away.