torque converters??
10-11-2007, 09:47 AM
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torque converters?? this is a pretty newbish question but im confused on what a torque converter does i kno it lets you hold the brake and gas so you can launch harder but is that all it does for you performance wise? also i heard they hurt drivabilty and gas mileage is this because they slip a lot more than a stock one? what differnces will there be from stock at low rpm city driving? thanks any responses will be help full
10-11-2007, 10:21 AM
#2
Do a search in the automatic section....you'll get more info than you could possibly want. Here's a short take on it though:
Aftermarket converters are the single best mod for an automatic IMO. The stock stall is somewhere around 1800. With the addition of an aftermarket converter, everything changes as far as your driving experience. Yes, it will take more gas pedal to get moving. If you have a really loud exhaust, this will be more noticeable. Quieter exhausts and you will hardly notice it after a week or so of getting used to it. Gas mileage is affected somewhat in town, but once on the highway, the converter will lock up and your car will act exactly as it did before.....as well as getting the same gas mileage as it did before.
Where a converter really shines is acceleration from a complete stop. When you mash the gas pedal, your RPM's immediately jump to whatever your stall speed is. From a roll, the effects are not as noticeable, but still greatly improved. All the dead spots that the A4's suffer from are gone. There is also shift extension....when WOT and your tranny shifts, the RPM's won't fall near as much as they do now. With my SS4000, the RPM's only fell to 5200 between shifts. That means that once I took off from a stop and reached 5200 in 1st gear, the RPM's never dropped below that as long as I was WOT.
There's a lot more info out there....but this covers the basics. And no, a 4000 stall will not take 4000 RPM's to accelerate. My SS4000 took about 2200-2500 to accelerate with traffic. Better gears in the rear-end will help tighten things up. The positives far outweigh the negatives with getting an aftermarket converter. Just make sure to get a good tranny cooler as aftermarket converters produce a lot more heat. I run two with a temp gauge just to make sure.
FWIW, I started with a Yank ST3500 then moved on to a Yank SS4000. I'm getting a new tranny next week and sent my converter in to have it cleaned and re-stalled. When I get it back, it will be a Yank PT4400 (I obviously recommend Yank
). My point is, don't be afraid of bigger converters. They aren't for everyone, but my car is 95% street driven and the SS4000 just wasn't enough. Once you experience one for the first time, you'll likely want more. Try to find someone local with one so you can ride in their car and see what it's all about. Good luck.
Aftermarket converters are the single best mod for an automatic IMO. The stock stall is somewhere around 1800. With the addition of an aftermarket converter, everything changes as far as your driving experience. Yes, it will take more gas pedal to get moving. If you have a really loud exhaust, this will be more noticeable. Quieter exhausts and you will hardly notice it after a week or so of getting used to it. Gas mileage is affected somewhat in town, but once on the highway, the converter will lock up and your car will act exactly as it did before.....as well as getting the same gas mileage as it did before.
Where a converter really shines is acceleration from a complete stop. When you mash the gas pedal, your RPM's immediately jump to whatever your stall speed is. From a roll, the effects are not as noticeable, but still greatly improved. All the dead spots that the A4's suffer from are gone. There is also shift extension....when WOT and your tranny shifts, the RPM's won't fall near as much as they do now. With my SS4000, the RPM's only fell to 5200 between shifts. That means that once I took off from a stop and reached 5200 in 1st gear, the RPM's never dropped below that as long as I was WOT.
There's a lot more info out there....but this covers the basics. And no, a 4000 stall will not take 4000 RPM's to accelerate. My SS4000 took about 2200-2500 to accelerate with traffic. Better gears in the rear-end will help tighten things up. The positives far outweigh the negatives with getting an aftermarket converter. Just make sure to get a good tranny cooler as aftermarket converters produce a lot more heat. I run two with a temp gauge just to make sure.
FWIW, I started with a Yank ST3500 then moved on to a Yank SS4000. I'm getting a new tranny next week and sent my converter in to have it cleaned and re-stalled. When I get it back, it will be a Yank PT4400 (I obviously recommend Yank
). My point is, don't be afraid of bigger converters. They aren't for everyone, but my car is 95% street driven and the SS4000 just wasn't enough. Once you experience one for the first time, you'll likely want more. Try to find someone local with one so you can ride in their car and see what it's all about. Good luck. 
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10-12-2007, 05:28 PM
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Do a search in the automatic section....you'll get more info than you could possibly want. Here's a short take on it though:
Aftermarket converters are the single best mod for an automatic IMO. The stock stall is somewhere around 1800. With the addition of an aftermarket converter, everything changes as far as your driving experience. Yes, it will take more gas pedal to get moving. If you have a really loud exhaust, this will be more noticeable. Quieter exhausts and you will hardly notice it after a week or so of getting used to it. Gas mileage is affected somewhat in town, but once on the highway, the converter will lock up and your car will act exactly as it did before.....as well as getting the same gas mileage as it did before.
Where a converter really shines is acceleration from a complete stop. When you mash the gas pedal, your RPM's immediately jump to whatever your stall speed is. From a roll, the effects are not as noticeable, but still greatly improved. All the dead spots that the A4's suffer from are gone. There is also shift extension....when WOT and your tranny shifts, the RPM's won't fall near as much as they do now. With my SS4000, the RPM's only fell to 5200 between shifts. That means that once I took off from a stop and reached 5200 in 1st gear, the RPM's never dropped below that as long as I was WOT.
There's a lot more info out there....but this covers the basics. And no, a 4000 stall will not take 4000 RPM's to accelerate. My SS4000 took about 2200-2500 to accelerate with traffic. Better gears in the rear-end will help tighten things up. The positives far outweigh the negatives with getting an aftermarket converter. Just make sure to get a good tranny cooler as aftermarket converters produce a lot more heat. I run two with a temp gauge just to make sure.
FWIW, I started with a Yank ST3500 then moved on to a Yank SS4000. I'm getting a new tranny next week and sent my converter in to have it cleaned and re-stalled. When I get it back, it will be a Yank PT4400 (I obviously recommend Yank). My point is, don't be afraid of bigger converters. They aren't for everyone, but my car is 95% street driven and the SS4000 just wasn't enough. Once you experience one for the first time, you'll likely want more. Try to find someone local with one so you can ride in their car and see what it's all about. Good luck.
Aftermarket converters are the single best mod for an automatic IMO. The stock stall is somewhere around 1800. With the addition of an aftermarket converter, everything changes as far as your driving experience. Yes, it will take more gas pedal to get moving. If you have a really loud exhaust, this will be more noticeable. Quieter exhausts and you will hardly notice it after a week or so of getting used to it. Gas mileage is affected somewhat in town, but once on the highway, the converter will lock up and your car will act exactly as it did before.....as well as getting the same gas mileage as it did before.
Where a converter really shines is acceleration from a complete stop. When you mash the gas pedal, your RPM's immediately jump to whatever your stall speed is. From a roll, the effects are not as noticeable, but still greatly improved. All the dead spots that the A4's suffer from are gone. There is also shift extension....when WOT and your tranny shifts, the RPM's won't fall near as much as they do now. With my SS4000, the RPM's only fell to 5200 between shifts. That means that once I took off from a stop and reached 5200 in 1st gear, the RPM's never dropped below that as long as I was WOT.
There's a lot more info out there....but this covers the basics. And no, a 4000 stall will not take 4000 RPM's to accelerate. My SS4000 took about 2200-2500 to accelerate with traffic. Better gears in the rear-end will help tighten things up. The positives far outweigh the negatives with getting an aftermarket converter. Just make sure to get a good tranny cooler as aftermarket converters produce a lot more heat. I run two with a temp gauge just to make sure.
FWIW, I started with a Yank ST3500 then moved on to a Yank SS4000. I'm getting a new tranny next week and sent my converter in to have it cleaned and re-stalled. When I get it back, it will be a Yank PT4400 (I obviously recommend Yank
). My point is, don't be afraid of bigger converters. They aren't for everyone, but my car is 95% street driven and the SS4000 just wasn't enough. Once you experience one for the first time, you'll likely want more. Try to find someone local with one so you can ride in their car and see what it's all about. Good luck.
10-14-2007, 12:29 AM
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o ok well thanks again for the help but another question from like a 10 mile an hour roll or when trying to burn out will it be sluggish because of the converter or will it just get up in the rpms and lock the converter. lol thats kind of worded weird but im jus rly curious to learn about them they sound like a lot of fun almost like havin a clutch from a stop by being able to use the brake
10-14-2007, 12:26 PM
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converters dont lock untill they get up to cruising speed under light throttle. at wide open throttle it shouldnt ever lock.
and from a 10mph roll with street tires, you wont have any traction
the converter allows the engine to get into it's powerband better than the factory converter, so you have more torque going to the wheels at all speeds. you know how when your car shifts to 2nd and kinda falls on it's face? a nice torque converter will allow the engine to maintain higher rpm through the shifts. so say when you shift from 1st to 2nd, engine speed goes down to 4000 rpm with the stock converter, a 3600 stall will probably let the engine fall to about 4500 or so, and tighten up from there.
if you dont know how they operate, it's a difficult concept to grasp. check out http://auto.howstuffworks.com/torque-converter.htm. for more insight.
and from a 10mph roll with street tires, you wont have any traction
the converter allows the engine to get into it's powerband better than the factory converter, so you have more torque going to the wheels at all speeds. you know how when your car shifts to 2nd and kinda falls on it's face? a nice torque converter will allow the engine to maintain higher rpm through the shifts. so say when you shift from 1st to 2nd, engine speed goes down to 4000 rpm with the stock converter, a 3600 stall will probably let the engine fall to about 4500 or so, and tighten up from there.
if you dont know how they operate, it's a difficult concept to grasp. check out http://auto.howstuffworks.com/torque-converter.htm. for more insight.
10-14-2007, 05:40 PM
#13
Get some Nitto 555R's and you'll hook at 10 MPH. I was able to hook from 5 MPH and up with mine. It'll a put a smile on your face every time. And yes, going WOT at any speed will immediately flash to your stall speed or higher depending on what speed you are at.
