When I read the other reviews I was only partially convinced that the ATS FD was the 'only' way to go. Without ever riding or driving a car with this modification, I was slightly skeptical. But now I am convinced. This mod is not a joke. This mod is not a 'small' gain. This mod is CRAZY. It is hard to explain the exact feeling you get while driving with this final drive...it pulls from the low RPM's more than I could have ever fathomed. Then it continues to pull, and when you don't think the car could be moving faster, you hit vtec crossover, and you are propelled forward insanely fast. You climb hills as if there is actually a lot of torque!

For freeway driving, I found it to be tolerable, especially with the stock exhaust. about 3700 RPM's @ 60mph in 5th, and about 4300 RPM's @ 70mph. I was expecting it to be worse, but it is very tolerable.

Today I attended a lapping day at Pacific Raceway and it was a true test for what the ATS FD was meant for. Upshifts dropped Revvs directly into the powerband, and even when shifting early (7500) you are still dropped right below VTEC crossover, perfect for low speed chicanes. I found that the power and torque helps especially on the small uphills, where before the car would struggle slightly in the very high rpm range. I entered 5th only at the very end of the front straight, and I do not think that the lower top speed is at all an issue, considering Pacific has a long straight.

All in all, this mod is DEFINATELY worth the money. I would pay 1grand for this kind of power and feel. If ANYBODY is thinking about this and not sure, take my word and get it, you WILL NOT be dissapointed.

 

 

funny, last time i checked, FD swaps didn't make any more horsepower... damn, i learn something new every day.

D

 

nice to see every forum has their official 'hardc0r3' mascot

 

good review...
thinking it gives you more hp

 

uggg see D and I had an argument about this.. I said it felt like it gave more torque and hp and he came back this some engineering crap... ******* phd bastard

 

do you change out the first gear too??? and is the first gear really short???

 

b00st ownz ats

 

Power may be constant, but the acceleration can be greater/increased!

 

Yeah you have to change out first. Its the same ratio as stock, but the shaft od is thicker on the jdm counter shaft, so u need the jdm first.

And no, 1st gear ratio = nicey nice....

Craig - Who likes to roll on the throtle and burn the tires in 1st :D

 

Can't wait for mine to get here. . . . Great to hear this!

 

Nice review. One thing though, changing your FD does not alter your shift points at all.


[Modified by Ddub, 9:00 PM 9/9/2002]

 

Did you mean that the rpm drop is less between shifts? If that's what you meant, then you had a wrong perception. FD doesn't affect the amount of rpm drop between shifts. It lets you run thru each gear quicker.

Anyway, congrats on the new mods. The money was definitely well spent.

 

The mph you red line at will be lower in every gear.

Craig - Who had to learn new top mph's so that he can down shift with out over reving

 

So gearing being closer does not affect the upshift rpm drop in point? Meaning I shift at 8500 and going from 3rd to 4th I drop in at 6500 rpms (just a made up number) with the ATS it won't be higher with closer gears?

 

With the fd you are not changing the gear ratio for 1st through 5th, so the rpm drop between each gear will be the same

 

it effects what speed your at when shifting...

 

thanks, good way to look at it.

 

Damn I wish I had extra cash to get teh ATS FD.

 

Wow, nice review. I've always wanted to do this mod, but how is the durability of it? Is it good for drag racing as well? And lastly, how much did it cost to put it in?

 

after any given shift, the rpm will be higher than what the rpm would have been on a 4.4 FD. Depending on the area under the torque curve (powerband width) he would indeed have more power at that transient. Unlike drag racing, road racing has interconnected corners. If you are slow out of a corner at the start of a straight , you will be slower at the end of the straight. If that straight happens to be the longest one on the track, your laptime would in turn suffer tremendously. So having the rpms drop into the correct part of the torque curve is crucial and indeed better performing by providing more torque at the start after a shift.....

So we are talking dynamic power changes not static peak numbers which the drag racing people cling to (especially those that like to show off their dyno). If a guy puts up a dyno with a lower peak hp but a huge area under the curve, how many times have you seen him get blitzed here for having a crappy dyno?

your comments are welcome....

 

That's right. Since the ratio between the gears didn't not change, so the rpm drop would not be changed. On the other hand, the ATS 3-4-5 gears would let rpm climbs quicker AND drops less.

Just FYI, ATS FD and 3-4-5 gears are usually not recommended to be used together because the car would run thru each gear way too quickly.

 

again wouldn't that depend upon his torque curve?

the spacing has not changed but the starting point has.

 

BTW another reason to get a shorter FD is that it allows you to go for a larger overall tire/wheel diameter than the stock 23 in. The Realtime guys can use their wheel tire setup without having taller gearing because they went for a shorter FD.

 

Ouch that hurt my head to read Damn graduates