z28berryhill

iTrader: (26)

is tci a good stall

i can get brand new 3200-3800 stall for 500

and people tell me they arent so good

why?

dlove

iTrader: (23)

a lot of people have had issues with there 4l60 converters.

bad2000z

iTrader: (4)

^^^True, although I have had very good luck with mine so far. I also have two friends who run TCI's in their cars without problems either.

caldercay

Easy - they are basically "mass produced", meaning attention-to-detail is
not where it was way back when. You're best off going with a TC builder,
such as Yank or Vig or Circle D.

bad2000z

iTrader: (4)

I guess if I had to do it all over again I would have spent the extra $300 for a Yank, just for peace of mind.

dlove

iTrader: (23)

what kind of 60' times?

caldercay

My Yank has a 3 year warranty on it - what does the TCI have?

z28berryhill

iTrader: (26)

yank and vig is alot though ,damn i wish they were more reliable,well guess im going with yank 3600

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

Most of the issues involve the lock-up clutch going away, and most of the guys who have had the problem still have PWM.

I had a Transgo shift kit installed with my TCI which eliminates PWM. It has worked perfectly for three years.

TXZ28LS1

iTrader: (5)

i would only run VIG or YANK!!

performabuilt

iTrader: (25)

I have used some TCI converters myself and had no issue , We also have customers running them without issue, While its true you do hear about more failures with them. Take that with a grain of salt. As mentioned they are mass produced and there is a reason for this, Sheer volume. They are likley the biggest aftermarket performance converter company out there. Can you buy a higher end converter? Sure, But also keep in mind one of the big reasons you see alot more post of problems with them is not so much because they have a higher incidence of failure but because there are so many out there, Example company A sells 500 converters and company B sells 100 converters in a 1 month time . 50 people have a failure and post on forums about it from company A . Then in the same time only 10 were to post about problems with company B during the same time. The appearance might be that company B had less problems. But in reality they would be the same. TCI has been around a long time and I sure that would not be true if they sold junk. They were around when I was a kid. But I think its really a matter of your needs and what you want to spend. If I was bucks up I would go with the higher end converter particulary if thats what I needed- IE HEAVY RACING , LOCKING UP AT WOT ETC) But at the same time if I had a car that was close to stock and was going to mostly street race and daily drive with only rare instances to the track if at all. I would likley go to the lower side and spend money on other things for my car.
Note we carry conveters too a little higher than TCI but I am saying this not to interest you in our converters though that would be good. But to advise that appearances can be deceiving numeracally. I would feel safe with the TCI myself. I would suggest however that any time you put a converter in thats less than stock diameter you disable PWM as its programed based on the stock converter clutch area to allow a certain percentage of slip based on that friction area. If you lower that area you will get and increase in that slip which can cause premature converter clutch failure. Again its a matter of numbers, Smaller clutch area all other things equal makes for more slip allowed by the PCM with PWM. Remember it does not know you have a smaller lockup clutch than stock.
Hope this helps some I am sure you will be happy with a converter from any of the sponsors on this forum. I always say get the best you can afford but not more than you need just because everyone says to.

Hennytime

iTrader: (33)

most people who bash anything they haven't tried. my 380ssf stall is nice and tight and flashes right to where it should and locks up when I tell it to. awesome stall but not for 500 bucks, get a vig or yank for that coin. I got my sta use for nothing and sent it in for a free refresh so I costed me about 200 bucks for a brand new stall.

john563

iTrader: (17)

3 years here with mine and no problems..

JScamaro

iTrader: (6)

Just because "a friend used one for a year with no problems" does not make TCI a good converter.

They can't compare to a Yank or Vig.

regblkss

i have had my 3800ssf for two years and no prob with it 1.6 60ft low 1.5 with 100 shot. good bag for the buck.

john563

iTrader: (17)

[QUOTE=JScamaro;8988122]Just because "a friend used one for a year with no problems" does not make TCI a good converter.

They can't compare to a Yank or Vig.[/QUOTE




So how many years runnin them without a problem make them a good converter?
Like I stated Ive been runnin mine for 3,well over 3 years and no problems. Not that I think its better than the others out there,but just would like to know what makes them soo bad.

Hennytime

iTrader: (33)

he says that because he needs to feel better about his high dollar converter for his bolt on car

caldercay

No one is claiming every TCI is inadequate - on the contrary. My personal
point of view is "if I'm going to spend that much money, I'm going to get the
product that has a lower incidence of failure". And sometimes that means I
will spend a little more money than I budgeted for the product. And no, just
because more money is spent on a product doesnt make it better. However,
it's a well-proven fact that a higher quality product will cost more.

Another reason it's preferred to go with a custom builder is just for that
reason - you have discussed your goals with the person that will hand build
that product for your application. I'm spending good money for a product
that is expected to be of higher quality, and it's being built from stage one
to the end stage by one person. The same can be said for camshafts. If
you're going to spend the money, why not talk to the grinder and get one
that is ground for your application?

We aren't talking about purchasing milk at the grocery store. I'd say there
isn't any difference between Borden's and the "grocery store brand name"
cartons of milk - 2% milk is 2% milk that is pasteurized and has a known
expiration date. (unless, of course, you want to get into the argument about
whether organic milk is better than non-organic milk).

The fact remains - we're opening up our engines and replacing parts and
we're splitting the tranny away to install a higher quality tranny and also
replacing the converter. Why not go with the one that is built for your
vehicle, rather than one that is built on an assembly line, most probably,
by minimum wage workers?

As I said in the beginning, no one has claimed that every TCI or B&M TC
is under spec. I think that the percentage of incidence of failure will be
greater. And for me, the fact that the builder has validated his build with
a 3 year warranty (versus 1 year for others) says a lot.

bad2000z

iTrader: (4)

^^^Holy novel batman. I've had mine for over three years without a single problem, so I guess a three year warranty wouldn't have done me any good. I don't really give a crap what converter you use, or what converter the OP gets, I'm just saying I've had good luck with my piece of poop TCI.


1.52 60" btw, 255/50/16 M/T DR's.

performabuilt

iTrader: (25)

Wow guys lets not get bent outta shape here lol, Its just simple as this get the best you can afford that will suit your needs. While I wont concur that TCI actually has a higher failure rate that would require numbers I dont have as I mentioned above, I was only saying that looking only at the number of issues with there converters without knowing how many they sold during the same time frame would not be a fair way to judge TCI I feel is a good converter in its catagory. IMO
I will repeat what I said again though, Get the best you can afford that will suit your needs. For one guy that may be a YANK, PERCISION or CIRCLE D for others it might be TCI.