Fishv12

Like title says I don't have any knowledge of auto tranny's. I owned a 5spd car previously so please enlighten me. This is my new baby 98 Z28 2.73 gears. And that is what is waiting on the table and going in after the car gets out of storage:
-SLP lid w/ K&N
-autometer EGT and AF gauges on dual pod full pillar
-Derale deep trans pan with cooling tubes
-18*9.5 Z06 wheels with 275/35/18 Yoko ES100 rubber
-NOS brand wet kit w/bottle warmer and msd window switch

Bought all of this during the winter. Considering the nitrous what would be the best setup? I know the rear and tranny goes on those cars do to torque and that nitrous will hit hard on it. Hence the reason I need to know how easy I need to go until I upgrade anything on there. For now I am dead broke from university expenses !@#$% So please explain what I need to learn to get into the game !

boomcase

Dont go any lower than a 3500 stall, I like the tci 3500 but you will need some stickey tires to hook it on the nitrous. The torque converter is the best mod of us A4 guys it makes the car alot faster and funner to drive, do the converter next.

Fishv12

How does it work ? How does it make the car faster ? Really just want basic TC info.

heyitsTaJay

well....let me try and explain to the best i can. your stock TC is 1600 with a 1.6 str. now if you go with say a 3500 stall you car is going to stall until you hit 3500rpm's then it will be like a damn rocket. when you are leaving a light you will haveta peddle it more to get the car going seeing that it wont stall till 3500. also a TC is used to keep you in your LS1 powerband which is right around 3400+ so you will have the best performance. also with a TC you will have better shift extension which keeps you in your powerband so you car is always hauling *** and the rpms dont drop way down after a shift. an STR is the torque multiplication, and it gives you a guage of how hard it is going to hit the tires. all TC's act differently, but a TCI3500 with a 2.0str is very very very streetable, and performs awesome at thr track too. if you were to go with a VIG3200 with stalls closer to 3800 and a str of 2.5 then you will definately be hitting the tires alot hard then say a 3500 and a 2.0str.
since your are running N2O then i would do some research, but get sticky tires, and start saving for a 12bolt. just as an idea for tires i have nittos out back 285/35/18 and they were $$$ but hook like mad one there warm.

hope this helps J

99SSragtop

What about the TCI SF 3000 for the street?

Hit Man X

Here's my typical writeup:

Converters are the "black holes" and "voodoo" of cars and trucks. They are strange, complicated, and misunderstood.

First, stall is based on input torque. I.e. an anemic, low compression 350 may be able to stall a converter to about 2000 rpm. A hot, higher compression with good heads 350 may be able to get that stall up to 2600 rpm due to making more torque. That is with the same converter. It really depends on your motor.

Stall also is in different forms. There is flash stall, brake stall, and actual stall.

Flash stall is, with no traction problems, the peak RPM or the quick jump of the engine RPM's on with the converter. This isn't the best way to measure stall. Insane amounts of torque can make a 3000rpm stall to 4200rpm+
Brake stall is, holding down your brake and gassing the ride with the other foot. That doesn't work too well either b/c you will generally begin to light up the rear tires.
Actual stall is if you had a transbrake on your trans (holds R+D together) so you don't move and your RPM's rise to your stall speed. If you have a 3000rpm stall, that is what your engine should rev to with the line lock on. You would launch off of that.

Softness depends on the stall and size you go with. High stall, small converters are "loose" converters if you will. Larger diameter usually help keep the looseness away and keep the factory towing up. These act more stock with higher stall. The softness is more likely to be with the part-throttle shift than the WOT ones.

Looseness is hard to explain. Like you'd have to give the vehicle a bit more gas to get moving and depending on diameter. Generally your part throttle putting around rpms are about 2000-2200rpm.

Finally, with a high stall converter, install a large transmission cooler. Even if the instructions say it is okay to use the factory cooler/heat exchanger get one. They are cheap insurance. $50 cooler or $2000 transmission?

Fishv12

So in other words the stock converter will hit softer and might be better for the tranny and the rear since it's easier on it? When you guys say "stall" what do you mean exactly by it ? I still don't get why and how does it make it better except for being closer to the power band when giving it. How hard is it to install one of those... How long should it take a qualified guy and is it possible for an amateur guy like me to put one in? I hope the rubber I got will be able to hold also traction wise.

A M6 is pretty easy to understand just a clutch but this is my first auto so be easy on me.

Deckhand

iTrader: (1)

like when you push on your brakes and give it gas, the rpms will raise but you still wont move.. thats called stalling, brake stall to be techinical.

with a bigger stall you'll get more RPMs under a load, for instance.. when brake stalling,..

and when you nail it and shift, instead of your RPMS dropping down alot, they will stay up in your powerband.

I dont have a stall, but this is pretty much what ive read and stuff.. im sure others can chime in. hitman explained it pretty good

JoSeY

http://www.converter.cc/frequently_asked_questions.htm

Read....that answers ALL your questions.

2002 Trans Am

You could read all this http://auto.howstuffworks.com/torque-converter.htm
or you can read this "It makes your car real ******* fast, and don't go below a 3200, a lot of people like vigilante, yank, and tci"

2002 Trans Am

Install can probably be done on your own, but I myself prefer a professional to do it. I usually work on my car myself, but anything involving going inside the transmission or going inside the motor I leave to the pros. Everything else i'll handle myself.

It should take a qualified person about 3-4 hours I guess, its costing me $300 and I am going to one of the best shops in the area (I figure $75-$100 hour labor rate)

Unless the rubber you have is an ET street or drag radial, it probably won't hold when you mash the gas. Drag radial might not even be good enough depending on which you choose.

jeffyvette

My question is is worth put a high stall converter in a car with a 2:73 rear end. Even in my 3:15 I question the value. I have heard that they will be real "loose" end have a less then pleasing proformace. I don't have first hand experience just what I heard.
Jeffy'

2002 Trans Am

2.73s

I've got 2.73s also, I bought an SS3800 converter because I knew I wanted a high stalling converter, but I also didn't want it to be too loose. The SS line of converter is supposed to be a very tight feeling converter, so thats why I went with it. It also doesn't hurt that Yank makes it, which is a very reputable vendor.

Also I believe its been said that 2.73s stand to gain the most from a converter. Not sure why, maybe its because its such a dog, but I love my 2.73s

Fishv12

I also got another question as far as aftermarket tc's. Are they stronger then stock ? Other then the et dropping benefit is there anything wrong with the stock unit not being up to the task ? Dumb questions I know....

So having the 273 gears which would cause more looseness as I understand with a stall compared to the 323 gears since the engine would have to rev even higher is it a good idea to upgrade to 3.23 instead as a first thing ?

In one big apple what I got from it is that the higher stall TC let's the engine spin more freely until it gets into the powerband at the selected rpm where peak torque is made and then locks up there. The stock stall is too low and locks up when the engine is not at it's peak. This results in better shifts when at full throttle. But when at part throttle it's where the looseness really hits and affects driveability.

Since my car is a daily driver that will see no ET street tires but only good rubber altough what should be my best bet? I was looking at the PRO YANK 3400 EXTREME for nitrous applications but this is kind of high. With that all said how does the stock tc handle nitrous ?

2002 Trans Am

Converters lock up when your cruising. But when your making a 1/4 run it doesn't lock up.

I don't think you'll have any problems with a stock converter breaking, in fact I have never heard about 1 breaking. Aftermarket converters on the other hand have in the past taken a crap, and taken the transmission with it. At least thats what was said, lately though I haven't read many complaints of TCs taking trannies out. Yanks ST3500 was known as a tranny killer, but that line was dropped from Yank. and i'm sure the other brands have killed a tranny as well.

On the gears, I would suggest installing the converter and driving around with it for about a month and then make your decision. If you can't stand it, change gears, but more than likely you'll get used to it. Also since you have 2.73s (like myself) look for a converter with a higher STR, that will tighten it up a little (My SS3800 has a 2.55 str) You wouldn't want to go with a converter like SY3500 because it has a 1.73 STR, that would be loose as hell with 2.73 gears.

My suggestion to you would be to look at Yanks SS line of converters, but get the "E" as it is built for nitrous, if Yank is too expensive for you then look at a Vig 3200 which actually stalls to 3600-3800, if Vig is too expensive for you then I would look at TCI SSF3500. All 3 of these converters will yield you incredible performance, and all will probably net you the same amount of performance.

The only reason I went with a Yank converter is because I like how the SS line is a tight converter, and its efficient. Thats all, whether or not that was worth the extra $200-$400 is debatable. I probably should have went with TCI just because its such a bang for the buck mod

Fishv12

Thx for answering all my questions on this subject !!! I now understand woohoo !!!

The SS line of converters looks really interesting especially this one:
Super Stock 3800 Extreme (245mm, 21 blade stator, Posi lock-up clutch w/kevlar lining, 6 bolt mounting lugsm lightweight billet cover, 3800 stall, 2.60 STR)

Gotta save up now !!!!

2002 Trans Am

Sure do, its an expensive as hell converter. I'll be putting it in next week but I didn't get the E series, I don't plan on Nitrous. With the E series, I believe you need a new flex plate, TCI makes a good one, I believe it is like $60

If you need anymore answers, I would suggest doing a search and paying careful attention to what the moderators say, they really know their ****. (Ragtop 99, Colonel, etc.)

piecesparts

Now that all of you gents have covered the basics of a TC and the amount of stall that is available. I have a question that I want to ask of you. I purchased a 2000 LS-1 and A4 tranny out of an F body. This motor is going into a 1968 Chevy truck streetrod project, with a 3:73 set of rear gears. I have heard that the 1999 and later 4l60Es are a little different than the earlier trannys and that they don't like changes to well. I want to do a stall converter and change the insides to a Transgo setup, as well as install hardened seperator plates for a longer life. Have ANY of you guys done anything like this with a later tranny? Are you aware of anything that would get in my way to do the changes that I want to do? I want this truck to have a good kick butt attitude when it is running. Thanks for any help...