Final drive upgrade

[JDM FACTOR]

Wanted to get some opinions on which final drive gear I should purchase. So many options to choose from and considerable price margins between them.

I was looking at the M Factory set. I was originally looking at the ATS FD but it's a bit too pricey.

Also heard great things about KIWI's GEAR X FD or the PIC version.

Any info would be appreciated. Also what's the labor like with install?

Thanks.

[Dave_B]

Going from a 4.4 to a 4.9 is a night and day difference. it's like the car is always ready to go, from any RPM and always on a caffene high.

I can only speak of the ATS unit, but it has not let me down and come as a complete kit with the FD, JDM 1st and the counter shaft.

[CivicBeater]

The ATS 4.9 in mine kicks serious ass. I purchased the caR already with it on, but I have to say it has to be night and day from the 4.4. Dave is right on, the car is always ready to go. You really don't get the sense that your car only has 73lbs of Tq. The go pedal is definitely similar to an off/on switch

[itrsteez]

Eric, may I drive yours this weekend? I have a feeling that would be a vital modification for my 168whp oil burner. Alot of the times I short shift to save the beating on el' motor, and this would help big time getting back into vtec-land.


Tran, do you sell these?

[CivicBeater]

Eric, may I drive yours this weekend? I have a feeling that would be a vital modification for my 168whp oil burner.

Tran, do you sell these?

Certainly, however only under the agreement as to if it comes back burning oil you have to pay for a rebuild. You obviously know, however having owned and driven a lot of hondas, there is certainly something to be said with having some aggressive gearing. I really can't wait to see how it all plays out on a track like CMP. You, especially, having owned several R's will really be able to tell the difference. Look forward to hearing your thoughts/feedback on it.

[Erik95LS]

I drove 442 right before and after the 4.9 went in. It really is a night and day difference. I want a 4.9 like crazy, but need to setup some sort of partial throttle cruise mode so I can still drive 85-90 in 5th and be out of vtec.

[BlueR]

Tran, do you sell these?

yes i can

[Dave_B]

I may have a used ATS 4.9 FD for sale soon too guys. Working on a selling the car/deal now.

[Erik95LS]

I may have a used ATS 4.9 FD for sale soon too guys. Working on a selling the car/deal now.

how much might you be wanting davus?

[Dave_B]

Haven't even thought about that yet, he's trying to figure out if he wants the whole car or not.

[Erik95LS]

let me know

[coolhandluke]

I may have a used ATS 4.9 FD for sale soon too guys. Working on a selling the car/deal now.

how much might you be wanting davus?

<- Will help with the install.

[JDM FACTOR]

I know the car is night and day difference but I want to know which one I should buy. It's definitely going to be the 4.9 but which out of the 4 I've listed should I go with

ATS
GEAR X
PIC
M Factory

Thanks

[Comp97GSR]

Tran, do you sell these?

yes i can

I just did a 4.78 in my tranny. It is a night and day difference as well. Just throwing that out there.

[bluebomber]

I drove 442 right before and after the 4.9 went in. It really is a night and day difference. I want a 4.9 like crazy, but need to setup some sort of partial throttle cruise mode so I can still drive 85-90 in 5th and be out of vtec.

I might catch some flak for this, but why not an LS 5th gear instead? Since you're only going to use 5th for cruising anyway, an LS 5th will help bring the RPMs down and out of VTEC at higher speeds.

[Erik95LS]

with the 4.9 you'd actually get into and use 5th quite a bit. LS 5th would likely be too much of an RPM drop to effectively get around a track

[bluebomber]

Would a JDM 4.7 be a better alternative to the 4.9 to be able to have 5th as a cruising gear?

[CivicBeater]

Would a JDM 4.7 be a better alternative to the 4.9 to be able to have 5th as a cruising gear?

In theory, yes. However, I think, if you're going to make the change, just go 4.9.

[cheezthis]

I'm happy with the 4.75. It's nice stuff to have a 4.9, but I just try to drive faster

[itrsteez]

Will probably just seek out a 98 spec JDM trans after I trash this current one, not sure if it's worth putting a shiny new FD in.

[CivicBeater]

Will probably just seek out a 98 spec JDM trans after I trash this current one, not sure if it's worth putting a shiny new FD in.

I'd just refresh your current one and throw in a new FD. That's of course if your tranny case isn't warped.

[itrsteez]

What's the point? when you can just pick up a low mile 98+ spec jdm trans with the 4.7 for around 1500-1600 and have all of the extra replacement parts on hand.

[cheezthis]

I've had mixed luck with used transmissions, both in and out of cars. I was close to buying a new one from ICB though.

I rebuilt mine instead, so I know it's fresh. Gearspeed has rebuild kits for a good price. Now that my trans has roughly 100 km on it, it's shifting nice and smooth.

[CivicBeater]

What's the point? when you can just pick up a low mile 98+ spec jdm trans with the 4.7 for around 1500-1600 and have all of the extra replacement parts on hand.

I've had mixed luck with used transmissions, both in and out of cars. I was close to buying a new one from ICB though.

I rebuilt mine instead, so I know it's fresh. Gearspeed has rebuild kits for a good price. Now that my trans has roughly 100 km on it, it's shifting nice and smooth.

^^ X1000

I've been down the road of purchasing used tranny's. Never again.

Rebuild your transmission with fresh parts. A 12 year old transmission whether it be low mileage or not is not going to hold up as well as you think. I believe you can drop the tranny yourself, have someone knowledgable replace the internals, throw in a new FD, and have a much better solution (IMO) for the same price if not less. In addition, a rebuilt one (depending on who does it) will also give you a warranty.

[Erik95LS]

I've been down the road of purchasing used tranny's. Never again.

Do I even have to say anything?

Yeah, used transmission is always a crap shoot unless you can actually test it in the car it's coming out of before you buy it and even then you never really know without getting quite a few miles on it