They don't want to have to shift into 5th at the drag strip. Yeah..slower everywhere else, but makes it up at the end.
I'm bummed because every built trans I find has a damned 4.11

 

Auto-Xr's like it because they can hold 2nd to 70 + mph. I had 4.11's in my 2.4L stroker and never missed the stock set. Made freeway cruising more relaxing too.

 

It works great in big turbo cars with 650wtq+

 

i have a big turbo car.... 2.4L...
i love my 4.11

 

The 4.11 is a double edged sword.

On a high HP car it calms the factory gearing down and has less chance of wheelspin or hop. The "Racing channel" Grey evo is a good example. Its been extremely competitive on the street for years at 800+ with a 4.11FD and now a Drenth sequential and 4.31FD. Its had stock BBS wheels and a 245-255 street tire and doesn't spin on a 2nd gear roll. It just hooks up and heads out. Its beaten a number of faster cars because its been able to put the power down on a street tire. Its not on a tall 26" slick. However, even at 800whp it was struggling to run in the low tens because of the tall gearing out of the hole. On the same 245-255 street tire. Recently it went to the 1/2 mile around 1000+ and went 190+ on the same tire on a less then ideal surface. Impressive in my book.

The Evo was originally a rally car that made its way to the hands of the common man. It needs the factory short gearing to be competitive and to spin the tires easily at the rally course at lower hp levels.

A taller gear will slow a lower hp/tq car down .

In my experience I wanted to change to the 4.11 for the road course to deal with shifting less and focus more on driving. Before changing it my 350whp evo 9 went 12.4@113 with a short 235-40-17. Two weeks after changing to the evo 8 gearing AND the 4.11 FD I went 12.9@107 at the same power level and weather. It takes alot of the snap out when you are on a 2.0 and lower power. Its a 10% change so its going to have an effect. It improves highway cruising and mileage somewhat.

Now, years later I've still got the same gearing and 2.2 that makes a football field of torque. I've got 450-500lb ft at 4000 and that carries well thru the powerband. The 4.11FD still slows the car down compared to stock FD for drag racing but the extra stroke and power make it ok. FWIW ,I don't get much wheelspin/hop on the street in the lower gears unless I'm purposely asking for it around a corner.

To sum it up, I would leave the 4.11 for a stroker, roadcourse or making over 450-500tq most of the time.
A 4.31 or a 26" tall tire would be a nice setup for most street cars on a 2.0.

 

The 4.11 is great for 600wtq+...

I've driven two 6466 cars, on with a 4.08 FD, and one with stock. The taller final calms down the wheel spin, but the car is definitely not slower. Especially in 4th Gear, the 4.11 actually feels faster..

 

Who sells 4.3 FD?

 

MFactory makes it. TRE put one in my trans this go around. Can't wait to try it.

 

I feel a 4.3:1 FD is a really good step up from stock when our engines make 400+tq. I'm thinking about this too when I upgrade my bottom. Looking forward to your updates.

 

I wouldn't think about changing final drive until over 450wtq. 500+ would def benefit from the 4.31, and I would say 600+ would benefit from the 4.11, and 650+ should def have a 4.11. Just based on my experiences.

 

450ftlbs in an AX car means no course made could keep me off the rev limiter. It was super frustrating to constantly be on that limiter but we also logged > 1.0g of acceleration. Now we can get upwards of 0.9g. You'd think that top speed doesnt matter that much, but there were course Id just have to run in 3rd cause the gearing was just right in the wrong range. I also had one year at nats where I had to upshift 5 times to 3rd. That was so unsettling I couldn't ever get myself to fully drive the car.

So 4.31 might be enough, but 4.11 isn't feeling like a hindrance at this point.

 

My thought process was more from a street/road course/drag car perspective. And a car that's closer to full weight, not <2800lbs. For clarification..

You start taking away a lot of weight and it changes things. And so does autocross. Having to shift 3rd makes autocross really hard.

 

We all have our opinions. It really depends on what your goals are. I personally wanted a well rounded street car with a broad powerband, and didn't like the semi truck like ratios of the stock evo 9/4.53 combo. 5th gear at 42mph

Incase I wasn't clear when I mentioned that TRC car but with enough power you can overcome the taller final drive change and actually put the power down. This equates to a faster car .

This is what changed my mind on going to the 4.11 gearing knowing that I would have a broad power band with 450ft lbs on tap whenever. (Until recently the 4.31 wasn't available) This car won the time attack for years with a simple combination. 2.3 Fp red 4.11 final drive. It spools up instantly and can still power slide out of corners. On the road course its nice to have long gearing to focus on driving when you have a wide power band.
Filmed with a potato cam.

I am interested in the 4.31 final drive with your combination and a man sized tire. It should be about perfect though.

FWIW, if someone moves to a 4.11/4.31 its important IMO to go with the short evo 8 first gear over the evo 9 ratio. It can be harder to get the car moving or 60ft well.

Here are some examples of first gear , final drive and effective ratio for the EVO.
evo 8 first 2.928 x 4.53 = 13.263 STOCK
evo 8 first 2.928 x 4.31 =12.619
evo 8 first 2.928 x 4.11 =12.03

evo 9 2.785 x 4.53 =12.616 STOCK
evo 9 2.785 x 4.31 =12.00
evo 9 2.785 x 4.11 =11.44

Tire size can also play a role on effective ratio.
This is also an nice link to use for ratios/rpm/speed
https://www.jackstransmissions.com/p...on-gear-ratios

 

dang i just rebuilt my 6mt for my 2.4/73htz. ii wish that evo8 first with 4.31 combo would have worked in mine. i have always wanted longer high gears but was worried first gear would get too steep.