I created this chart in hopes to help myself and others get a good visual on what exactly a final drive upgrade does to the acceleration of the car. This graph was based off a mainly stock ITR.



I'm in the market for an FD right now with a new clutch about to be installed and the main reason I made this up was to see if the ATS was going to be worth it. Looking at the chart that came out, for the extra $300 that the ATS costs, I can't see it being justified in the gains over the JDM.

There is a slight loss in power compared to the JDM from about 7800 to 8500 RPM on the stock ITR power curve, and the gains in the rest of the powerband are relatively small compared to what the JDM does over the USDM. So I think I will go with the JDM FD for a good balance of price and performance.

I think the ATS is borderlining on about as short as you should go with the ITR, while it does offer mostly gains over the JDM, I'd rather spend the $300 elsewhere.

 

if i would do my FD all over again i would of prefer the ATS 4.9 over mine 4.789 FD set up ..

 

Depending on what you use the car for, and how much freeway driving you do, you might want to change to an LS 5th gear. Going to install the 4.785 final drive in the tranny this weekend, along with a Tilton single disc clutch setup. If the car is revving too high at freeway speeds, the LS 5th gear is going into my ride. With the 4.40 FD in the car, the engine is turning at 4300rpm at 81 mph. Good luck finding the 4.785 FD by the way; when I was looking, nobody had one. Back order
Got lucky and found a private party selling a brand new one at a reasonable price

 

At about 80, my RPM's are about 4700 I believe. This is with the JDM FD.

 

Well there are plenty of gear calculators out there if you need to know what your RPM to MPH is going to be, such as this one, http://www.f-body.org/gears/left.htm. That's pretty basic and so I'd think most would be above that by now. I was hoping to further my knowledge of what final drives do rather than the blatently obvious higher RPM to speed ratio.

 

I'll be putting my ATS w/ a CM Clutch/FW in this Sunday. I got the ATS for a very good deal from a friend of mine, so the price itself justifies me getting it over the JDM FD. If there is that big of a difference I will post a review.

 

JDM itr 4.875 would be a great choice.

 

ATS all the way!!
If you are worry about highway driving or gas mileage, just stay stock!!

 

Higher numerical final drives get you out of the hole quicker in drag racing. In road racing and auto-x, you will get more acceleration out of the turns, and better top speed before you get on the brakes for the next turn. It could be the difference between winning and losing in a close race. The LS 5th gear suggestion was just for consideration if you do much freeway driving, because the motor will be wound pretty tight at higher freeway speeds.

 

ahh another ATS final thread. Well I have an ATS final, Toda flywheel, and exedy clutch. Let me tell you I wouldn't have it any other way. The car just RIPS through 1st and 2nd and seems to be in the proper gear through every turn. Anyone whos been in my car says it feels faster than other R's and I love the way it feels. At 83mph I'm at 5000RPM. I know that sounds high but we didn't buy these cars for luxury, for god sake it doens't even have sound deading, and if you complain about a noisey ride or a high RPM on the highway SELL YOUR CAR (none of that GSR 5th gear crap for me). This is one of the best mods I've done to the car period and this is my daily driver. If you have any questions about the Final Drive fire away.

Added note: Gas milage has suffered though, I haven't seen over 200 miles per tank in awhile (since the install). But hey you gotta pay if you wanna have that advantage over others.

 

I'm running the JDM 4.7 FD and I think it's a perfect balance between drivability and performance.

Not sure if you got to ride in Jeff's wife's yellow ITR at the track... but I believe she has the JDM FD as well.

 

OT:What is the purpose of running the ATS 3.077 1st gear with the ATS final drive?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rolow &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">OT:What is the purpose of running the ATS 3.077 1st gear with the ATS final drive?</TD></TR></TABLE>

better traction

btw, that was a very nice graph surferx...good work

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by b19coupe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Depending on what you use the car for, and how much freeway driving you do, you might want to change to an LS 5th gear. </TD></TR></TABLE>

"D" will be here soon to jump on this, lol. Anyway, I enjoy my JDM fd and think that the 4.9 is a little costly and a little annoying considering the amount of highway driving I do. To each their own though.

 

I was extremely happy with the ATS f.d. Best mod I did to the car, I did not do alot of freeway driving though.

 

ATS rips, but it does kind stink on those FL to NC trips.

 

What programs did you use to create this chart? It looks great, although you shouldn't see the absolute torque of the ATS Unit fall below the JDM unit at any particular speed. Final Drive is a torque multiplier that should be seen equally from beginning to end.

If you used Excel can you email me the file so I can take a look at how you set everything up?

Thanks,

Cruzer

 

JDM gets my vote here....I'm a little partial though cuz it's in my tranny....

Here's another thing...the 4.929 of the ATS was designed primarily for the JDM 98Spec tranny with the longer 3-4-5 of the GS-R.

Works great when it was in my 98spec trans. Shoulda done some testing before I sold it to owenthesoyboy!

But then everybody has their own prefs, setups and there's no such thing as it being locked down for 98spec/GS-R use exclusively....

 

Raging: 3-4-5? You mean 4-5?

 

Find some one that has the JDM and some one that has ATS and drive them both. I think you'll pick the ATS. D has the JDM and I have an ATS (so does Marc now) and everybody that has driven both cars picks the ATS over the JDM, even D

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AssPenny &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Find some one that has the JDM and some one that has ATS and drive them both. I think you'll pick the ATS. D has the JDM and I have an ATS (so does Marc now) and everybody that has driven both cars picks the ATS over the JDM, even D </TD></TR></TABLE>

Preach on my ATS equipped brotha But seriously people who have the ATS want the Cusco 5.00 cause they are THAT satisfied with the performance of a 4.9. The only real advice was given by asspenny, drive both make your own decision

 

The one thing i hate about the ats... Every time some one is in my car with me on the highway, they keep asking me if I'm every going to shift

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AssPenny &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Find some one that has the JDM and some one that has ATS and drive them both. I think you'll pick the ATS. D has the JDM and I have an ATS (so does Marc now) and everybody that has driven both cars picks the ATS over the JDM, even D </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yup, I've driven D's car many times as he has driven mine....both prefer ATS

 

What about this. JDM final drive + 195/50R15 tires= 4.9 final drive

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ActiveAero &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What about this. JDM final drive + 195/50R15 tires= 4.9 final drive </TD></TR></TABLE>

huh, I feel stupid from reading that