Hey guys.. Bought my first truck today!! 2002 Mazda b4000, im gonna put a 3inch performance accessories body lift in it with 33's. But I was talking to someone today and they were telling me that putting bigger tires on a manual truck is a bad idea because it's burns your clutch faster? Is this true? I could see how because it takes more power to start spinning the tires... But not 100% sure
Thanks guys!

 

I had a manual and went from stock 255/70's to the 31x10's I rode for 5 years. No problems and I replaced my clutch and slave at 100k kms cuz the slave went bad first. I also do mostly city driving

 

It depends on which differential gears you have in it. If they are 4.10 you can get by with 33" tires with the 4.0 SOHC engine if you just use it on the street. The acceleration will be reduced though. If you go off-road or tow with that combination, you will use up the clutch faster.

If the differential gears are taller than 4.10, you should either change the gears or not go to 33" tires. Of course, that is just my opinion but I think in the long run you won't like it either.

I run 4.46 gears with 33" tires and drove it a while with the 4.10 gears around town before changing differential gears. It worked but I was not happy with it.

 

The tires diameter is part of the gearing.
When you change the tire diameter you change the gearing.

There are transmission gears and differential(axle) gears
Transmission gears are fairly standard
Rear axle gears are what are changed to suit a vehicles purpose.
3.08 is a popular axle gear ratio for highway driving, you can travel at 70mph with lower engine RPMs, but if you tried to pull a trailer..........forget it, no low end power at all

3.73 is popular compromise axle ratio, MPG at highway speeds is not bad and you can tow medium loads fairly well.

4.10 is for towing or generally heavier vehicles, but with higher RPMs on the highway MPG suffers.

The gear ratio the Factory puts in is based on the stock tire size, and vehicle purpose.

Lets say Ranger comes with 27" tires and a 3.73 rear axle
Changing to 33" tires would change the "actual" rear axle ratio to 3.05

So good highway MPG but with the extra weight of the wheels, probably not noticeable.

It would only be hard on your clutch if you didn't left out the clutch all the way, starting off you do need to increase the RPM more to get more torque with the 3.05 axle ratio.

But once you are moving shifting should be normal, just at different speeds because of lower axle ratio.

If you were to swap out the 3.73 ratio axle for a 4.56 ratio then with 33" tires "actual" ratio would be back to 3.73
So all would be back to normal, even speedometer would be back to normal, which would be off quite a bit with 33" tire change

And with a 4x4 you do need to change both front and rear differential gears

 

I have a 2.5L (with 4.10 gears in the rear - 8.8 diff) with a 5 speed on 33's.

My clutch is doing fine. It was on 31's since I've owned it.

You will be fine.

 

Gear Ratio Guide For Larger Tires

 

Is it an easy job changing the gears? Also how much does it usually cost?

 

It is not any easy job and if you are asking about it, you probably don't have the equipment or skills to do it correctly. I had front and rear gears changed last year and it cost me around $2,000. The shop that did it insists on replacing all the bearings, including the wheel bearings. Replacing all seals is a given. I bought most of the parts to help keep cost down.

You could go out an buy used front and rear differentials and housings with the gears you want. That could make the install easier, at least it takes less special skills. I don't know if it would save any money but could if you found a good deal. You would have to make sure they are in good condition.

You could also find a buddy that knows how to do it and is willing to help.