1. Is it possible to change the gearing to achieve better highway/ mileage performance? I occasionally drive as far as Utah.
Check the above link for contact info.
If you just simply want better gas mileage to get from point A to point B I'd suggest getting a used Geo Metro, Subaru Justy, Honda Civic CRX, or Suzuki Swift. I've bought two Metros for dirt cheap and they're extremely miserly on gas and easy and cheap to maintain. It would be cheaper to pick up a car like one of these than to get the gears mentioned above and have them installed.
That being said, I love my 5.29 differential gears. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> Despite having a 2.6 and 33s, I get about 17-ish MPG on the highway (I never really narrowed that down because I don't drive it to work often), spend most of my time in the fast lane, and hills are no problem. Bear in mind that unless you don't
ever plan on using 4WD, you'd need to swap out the ring and pinion gears in
both the front and rear diffs.
If you did decide to go that route, I'd also suggest swapping out the front diff with one from a Gen I V6. Doing so does two things: it positions you for the option of installing a front ARB locker down the road if you so choose, and it also gives you a stronger gearset. Your current front diff is 7.25" while the Gen I V6 front diff is 8". Much stronger.
If you swapped out the front diff and then want the 5.29 gears you'd order two sets of the MB241981 ring and pinion set since both front and rear diffs would then be 8" diffs.
