1st off - a huge thank you to Ricks for giving away this gearset at the Austin S2KDays raffle.
(an equally huge thank you to lady luck for letting me actually win something for once!)

I had the following installed this past Saturday (4/10):
- 4.57 gears
- Comptech reinforced diff
- LE 607 gear oil for the diff
- Yellow box (for speedo calibration)

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Pros:
- No more bogging/bunny hopping at low speeds
- Feels much more powerful on the "butt dyno" (I can actually chirp my tires now)
- No need to downshift on highway to pass people anymore.
- Overall dramatic increase in the fun factor (biggest pro IMO)
- Easier to rev-match. (my own observation)
- The gears were free

Cons:
- Very noticeable gear whine at speeds over 55 mph.
- A little too tall for constant highway driving. In 6th gear, going 80 mph I was at 5K RPM. (6K RPM for 95 mph)
- I'm sure gas mileage will suffer, but I haven't filled my tank yet to get actual numbers.

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The gear whine doesn't bother me too much. It only occurs when accelerating over speeds of 55. There is no noticeable noise under 55 and it doesn't happen when coasting or decelerating. Turning on the stereo or getting an aftermarket exhaust will cover up the whine easily enough.

Also wanted to give a big shout out to Todd Marcucci, the tech who installed all of this for me. He is incredibly thorough and went way above & beyond for me. Anybody thinking of installing gears near the Dallas/Ft. Worth area should definitely consider him. I just can't recommend him enough.

 

As a side note, since I know the Q will come up, the supplied shims (thanks to Rick's) were used to get the right CD (marked on the pinion) and the backlash was set to .008. I am not certain if it is a function of the backlash or CD or what, but this gearset does whine some. Preload was set within Honda spec as well.

I'm starting to wonder if "domestic" clearances (.012-.015") aren't a better choice for these gears. I unfortunately don't have a set to experiment with.

The contact pattern on this set checked out fine.

Note that Soulstice has a stock exhaust and the car is stock-quiet; anyone with an aftermarket exhaust or intake would probably not be able to notice the noise.

Rick, comments?

 

I have the 4.77 set to factory specs, since I had them installed prior to all the backlash controversy, and have not noticed any whine at all....maybe I am just lucky.
Soulstice, I drive on the hwy all the time with 4.77 and you will get used to engine being in the higer rpms....don't worry about it.

 

wow thats great....im thinking about some 4.44s....but im a bit afraid of the install as i dont trust mechanics here
congrates

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by marcucci
As a side note, since I know the Q will come up, the supplied shims (thanks to Rick's) were used to get the right CD (marked on the pinion) and the backlash was set to .008. I am not certain if it is a function of the backlash or CD or what, but this gearset does whine some. Preload was set within Honda spec as well.

 

rick's recommendation is 0.008.

 

pull you differential and send it to HTG.

 

thanks Brutha Seung... I didn't make that clear.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by tenblade2001

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Soulstice

- A little too tall for constant highway driving.