So my plans for my ap1 are to get the 4.44 gears and the Vortech SC. I have read for about a week now on this topic of Final Drives and Supercharges but, I can only find people saying: If you plan on staying n/a don't mess with the stock final drive. That's only when the 4.56 4.57 4.77 are in the mix. So my question is can 4.44's be installed and still go F/I?

 

You can do anything you want, just realize there are pros and cons. On a base 6psi/300whp car 4.44 can be reasonable on an ap1. Beyond this I would strongly advise against gears. They are really just a band aid for lack of power, and when you are making power, they quickly become a hindrance. Mating the right gear ratio to engine output to maximize its performance for the intended application is purely what it’s about in any car or piece of machinery. Understanding what that is for proper gear/power combination is what you’re trying to do. Considering that you may want more power in the future, when already making the FI investment, I would steer you away from any numerically higher final drive. Typically a lower 3.90 is beneficial when you get around the 450-500whp mark in this car.

The 4.10 really is a decent ratio on the car in stock NA trim, the problem is in the tune, more precisely the vtec engagement point. When you perfect this lower engagement, plus the addition of FI, lower/mid range power isnt the issue it once was, but the final drive will rob you of performance in the upper end where the meat of the power band is and where you spend much of your time in performance driving scenarios.

 

You weren't looking very hard or you're not understanding what they were trying to say. There are lots of S2000s out there that are "blown", running different FD gears and lots of N/A S2000s with different gears. I've had 4.44s in my Vortech high boost S for over 10 years. A good friend has 4.77s in his S with a Comptech blower. Then there are S2000s that are blown and kept the stock gears.
My first mod was the 4.44s. I put on the blower a year later. It all depends on what you want and what you're trying to do.

 

Very informative, I read some more last night and I'm going to stick with the 4.10. In any case the 4.44's would be nice but like you guys mentioned it will only cause a problem down the road with the high whp. So thanks again.