Best postive and a negative from 5.29 gear owners.

Pulling trigger in couple weeks, going to as powertax at same time with 5.29. Curious from real world owners how it helped them? I have a slide in camper plus a boat. Hard to do both with 35’s. Ready to not worry anymore for long distances.

thanks guys

Zach

 

No complaints with 5.29s, though without a tune your top speed is limited. That's the only drawback. Highway cruising at 80 indicated is like 2700rpm. Pulls like a mule, and 6th gear becomes useful. I recommend 5.29s to anyone that asks.

 

We drive trucks not Prius, so I understand. See a mileage regain or back to close?

 

Not really. About the same as before. Though I like to drive fast so maybe at slower speeds it'd be noticeable. I also have other tweaks so not an apples to apples comparison with a stock truck beforehand.

 

My truck is a lot closer to stock, and the 5.29s were a fantastic mod. Gained all the performance back that I’d lost due to heavy and taller tires, plus some.

As mentioned, you’ll need a tune if you want to exceed a newly governed ~92 mph. Top speed is limited by a specific rpm in a gear, and a tune is the only way to adjust that. On a positive, a GOOD tune will do a whole lot more for you…

I drive a lot. 25-30K per year in my Tundra. I consider myself a mild to moderate driver for the most part. Rarely more than 10 mph over the limit, which is 65 here in Oregon. My MPG is the same as before gearing.

It just drives so much better…

 

I have my 5.29 with 37". Its perfect. Im getting 15MPG on the hwy and pick up on the streets is responsive. 15MPG on 37s with a big v8, id call it a win. Looking to maybe tune it for that little bit of extra mpg. For me, this mod will pay for itself.

 

I've had 5.29s for about 1.5 years now and I'm only running a 33.4" tire. Did it for towing reasons and I couldn't be happier.

Pros:
-Tows like a beast and I almost never drop under 4th gear, even in the mountains.
-5th is fully usable while towing 8k lbs
-Calculated engine load is about 10-20% lower on average while towing
-Unloaded, the truck is in overdrive faster and longer in all scenarios
-It's always in the power band, even when it is not

Cons:
-Couldn't imagine this ratio without some sort of traction asist added to the rear (I have the Grip Pro)
-Sometimes during regular driving, it gets a little punchy if you forget you don't needy to mash the pedal
-Still today I need to run a scanning tool and watch the gear shift and torque converter status because unloaded, it can go from 4th almost directly into 5th locked and then right into 6th. It almost feels like it is slipping sometimes because of how quickly it progresses, but it isn't.
-Sometimes, if at the right speed, a downshift is comical and borderline useless. For me, it's around a 40-45mph rolling merge. You can manage it if you remember to
-I'm debating a tune to help with the cons, but that'll be a ways out at $700-1200. I can live with them for now.

Overall, love them, zero regrets, and it's a fun hidden mod with actual performance increase. Enjoy!

 

5.29’s with 34’s here. 4.30’s stock. Gained about 1mpg unloaded and 2mpg towing. Still a dismal 13 unloaded and 9 towing a rzr but better than 12 and 7.

I did mine mainly for towing and it was a major win there. I can actually hold 5th gear on flat ground towing a rzr on a 16’ trailer doing 65mph. Before it would hunt 4-5 between 60-65.

 

Con: The Nitro brand gears (which I have) are known to whine. Mine sounds off right at 65-70.
Pro: Loud ass MT tires negate the whining sound

 

What mods did you have to do to fit your 37’s

 

You pretty much described my exact truck, but my tires are a hair taller at 34”.

If you were closer, I’d have you compare to see if a tune would fix your trans. I know it will, because I did it. Hit me up if you want to chat about some tune parameters for your truck via HP Tuners. I bet I’ve already done a lot of the legwork…

 

I have 2.5 C/O with .25" spacer from coachbuilders. That and a CMR with pinch welds cut.

 

I’m on 34s and just bought a Powertrax. Very much considering doing 5.29 at same time.

 

Old post, but if you never "solved" this, HP Tuners at least lists a 6th to 4th downshift capability where presumably 5th is skipped, so 4th to 6th wouldn't surprise me and may explain what you were/are experiencing.

 

TY! I haven't solved it, but I haven't begun the exploration of the tuning world yet. You're the 2nd person to address this specific bullet, so I think I'll be moving that reading further up the priority list.