4.44 where does it come from?
 

I hear people talk about the 4.44 swap .What is so great about it and where is it coming from ?

Re: 4.44 where does it come from?
 

Well stock gears are 3.54 so 4.44's make it much more responsive around town. The shorter gearing means it spends less time with the torque converter unlocked which means less heat built up in normal driving.

Re: 4.44 where does it come from?
 

Well, my 4.44 is a transmission and rear diff from a 1998 Forester. I have an SVX diff to swap in there soon, swapping the ring and pinion to maintain the 4.44 while getting back the limited slip diff. An SVX without a limited slip diff is a handful in fast corners :)

The advantages? Well, much quicker off-the-line acceleration. Plus, the Forester transmission seems to be able to handle a lot more punishment than the tranny that was stock. It's pretty much a bolt-up replacement for the stock tranny and gives the car a very different character.

Like everything though, there's a trade-off. At the top end the car runs at higher RPMs on the highway. That means that the SVX loses some gas mileage. So far my best has been around 22mpg, and I average about 19-20mpg in mixed driving (90% highway). Whether this is a bad thing or not is really a personal thing, but the increase in RPM also means an increase in highway noise. If you like your SVX being a calm, quiet highway cruiser then the 4.44 is probably not for you.

I've been thinking of taking the 4.44 out of my SVX and going to a 4.11 possibly 5-speed. While I like the extra off-the-line punch, I think the 4.44 may be a bit too much for me. Then again, maybe not :)

Re: 4.44 where does it come from?
 

I have 4.44's in my 99 Outback 2.5 DOHC and at 75MPH tach is at 3000 RPM, and still relatively quiet, so I dont see how in a 3.3 it would make any noticeable noise. Everyone who has the 4.44's swears by them. Im currently waiting for svxfiles to find me a nice low mileage one to put in my 97 ebony.:D

Re: 4.44 where does it come from?
 

Just for the record, does anybody with a stock SVX transaxle in an SVX with stock size SVX tires got any input on engine speed at 75mph with 4.44s?

Re: 4.44 where does it come from?
 

Yes.
3000 RPM with 4.44s with stock tires is about 72 MPH.
However the speedometer will read abour 5.5% higher.
Tghe SVX is about 1/2 second faster in the 1/4 mile, and in my LONG experiance, for most people the gas milage does not change.

Re: 4.44 where does it come from?
 

Hmmmm, a lil confused on speedo miscalculation Because of my actually seeing the front diff, it appears to take speed reading off axle which if there is no tire change, irregardless of gear ratio, it should read correctly. I know on mine with 4.11s the speedo is spot on with stock tires. Just my inquisitive 2cents. Also thinking bout returning to 3.54 ratio, so looking for complete rear diff if ne one has one:eek:

Re: 4.44 where does it come from?
 

The speedo in my 6-speed car also reads correctly and it's a 3.90 ratio.

Maybe the tire size is also an issue. What's the diameter of the tires on the Forester that the 4.44s come from?

Re: 4.44 where does it come from?
 

Wow I just realized DUH! You are going from 3.54 to 4.44 . I guess I was not thinking of it in ratio, I thought it was a Tranny Name .. I went from 3:08 on my 56 Chevy to 3:70 and I saw a MPG drop. ( 20MPG down to about 18MPG) I also saw a huge big improvement in pick up in 1st thu 2nd gear. I also stopped burning out clutches <LOL>.. It is however possible that the boxer 6 likes 3,000 RPM. ( a sweet spot in the torque to Hp ) Guys with the new Triglide Harley Trikes are finding they get better MPG driving in 5th than in 6th or dropping a tooth on the main drive sprocket. When the motor is not laboring as much . I can't see how it would get too much nosier . Heck at 100 it still is not that loud. It would sound like you were doing 75 when you are doing 70. The beast is so quiet I find my self do 80 MPH a lot.

Re: 4.44 where does it come from?
 

It's surprising to me that it'd be that low! My 5MT/4.11 and 6MT/3.90 (both stock combinations) are both ~3400RPM at 75MPH. Putting 4.44s in those combinations would shoot engine speeds through the roof!

Re: 4.44 where does it come from?
 

I'll be the first to admit that I'm probably not the best placed to speak on the noise necessarily, or the gas mileage. I'm simply speaking from my experience with my previous '96 which was almost deathly quiet even at 65-70mph as well as its gas mileage. In roughly the same driving I netted between 21 and 24mpg in that car, only once getting less than 20mpg when I was driving a lot on snow and ice. The only time I've seen my current '96 squeak above 20mpg was when I drove it from Denver to St. Louis... which is by the way one of the most boring drives on Earth :)

I'm not too fussed though. The car runs beautifully apart from noisy wheel bearings on the front (ordered everything except the bearing seals... DUH!) and a slightly imbalanced cooling fan that makes the car shake a little at stop when the A/C is on. And the gas mileage would only be an issue if I still had a car payment... which thankfully I just got rid of :D

Re: 4.44 where does it come from?
 

Just checking if my thinking is right
What is the hypotheical top speed for each ratio? I kinda just want to see how my top end you will be loseing for each different swap

Re: 4.44 where does it come from?
 

Just a comment on the 4.44 setup, my family has 3 SVXi, one w/ 4.44 swap by AWD.
The stock SVX has been complimented and criticized for the "smooth barely felt shifts" or "slush box shifts". The 4.44 shifts, especially 1-2 are not as smooth as stock, changing the character of the car considerably, from luxury compromise to performance compromise. Our 92 with stock gearing rebuilt by Subaru trans and ECUtune TCU chip is my favorite compromise of the 3.
The 4.44 trans has more gear whine/noise than the stock, but that might be our individual unit.

Re: 4.44 where does it come from?
 

I felt that the 4.44 was going to be more reliable than a used stock transmission (unless it was a recent rebuild), and once installed, if it took a dump it would be easier to find a good used one. As far as 3.54 vs 4.44, I really think one is as good as another, they feel a little different, but after a day or two you stop noticing. All in all, I wish I would have waited to buy a SVX until I found one that already had a 5 speed installed. Those really seem to take full advantage of the engine in ways that the auto doesn't.

Re: 4.44 where does it come from?
 

Torque converter lockup helps drop the RPM a few hundred RPM. Also, 4th gear in the auto is a much steeper O/D than the 5th/6th gears in the 5 and 6 speed respecively. My buddy's 96 OB with the 2.2, 5 spd, 4.11 gears sits about 3000 RPM at 70 mph because 5th gear in those is only about a .872 ratio, compared to, the SVX OD/4th gear is .692 if I remember correctly, although I believe the 4.44's auto OD/4th gear is slightly higher than that but still much lower than the 5 and 6 spd's, but can't recall exactly offhand. All that makes a huge difference in cruising speeds in top gear. It's not just the final drive, but also the gear ratios inside the transmissions.:)

Also, just to note, my silver with 4.44 gears reads about 1-2 mph slow at any speeds on the highway-60,70, even 90 mph. Just a hair off.