I second that, I ran a 3400 stall in my 02 Z with the 2.73s and it really woke the car up alot. Id really go for the stall first, then grab some 3.42s cause they are really cheap.

 

I'm thinking of doing the gears first. I know a stall would really wake the car up. But, work is getting very slow these days. Not sure how slow it will get over the winter. When things pick back up, I'll def get a big stall. 3600+.

 

WOW!! Can't belive the advice.

You should always get Gears Before a Stall Converter. Technically, a converter is based off of your camshaft duration @.050", as well as, Gear Ratio, Tire Size, etc. The reason many of you get away with a larger stall and high gear ratio-(low numerically)- is the 4L60-70 series has a steep 3.06 first gear ratio and shorter tire size. Combined with the 2.73-3.42, it "feels ok". The heat you are generating is immense. Think of it as a screw driver in place of a 4' breaker bar. The lower gears-(high numerically)-help the stall converter multiply the torque it is designed to make without the generation of heat-(less slipping or "stalling"). Try this test. See if your SAME STALL CONVERTER stalls the same AFTER you install the gears. I'll bet you will think something is wrong. It doesn't stall so high any more. This is the extra slipping you are feeling because your converter IS NOT MATCHED TO YOUR SET-UP. I can't tell you how many people have come into my shop for this very reason. For the trannies sake, DO THE GEARS FIRST!! The heat will kill the trans in short order.

One quick example: When I switched from my 3.23's and 25.5" tires to 3.73's and 28" tires, the speedo was off only 2-3mph, according to the HP Tuners. Not much difference. This is why some of the lower stalls work for a while. If it weren't for the first gear ratio, you would smoke the trans very quickly from the heat.

 

on my old set-up: Hedman 1 1/2 primary LTs (torquey *******), 3200 stall, 3.23 gear. It took to 3k to get moving with traffic

Changed to 3.73 gears and went to 2500 to get moving with traffic.

Changed to 1 3/4 LTs (less torque, more top end) and went to 2k to get moving with traffic.

What did we learn here today: More torque=more stall speed, Easier load to move=Less stall speed.

382ssz28: Thats why we call up the sponsers and they figure out what converter we need based on our car and our goals. No need to be an engineer to buy the correct converter. Also, I never had any excessive temps, not even at the track.

 

I ran a Yank ST2800 for a while (back to the stocker now after the rebuild) and it did very little for either my ET (about a tenth or so) or seat of the pants feel.

 

3600+ Or it is a waste of time/money IMO.

 

When I bought mine I was actually told to go to a 3200. I had 2.73's, it was awesome I loved it. I have no stall and 4.10's now. I can't wait to get a high stall torque converter in it again.

 

Well, I'm not convinced your in the right on the above advice.
Although my 'verter is rather on the small side, I cut pretty consistant 1.76-1.79 60' times with 2.73's.
As for durability, my stall went in at about 22,000 miles and it's at 65,ooo now. Might as well add that I have gone thru 20+ bottle's of nitrous and as of yet no tranny issue's at all.
If my trans blew tomorrow I would have a hard time blaming it on my fuddle.

 

haha...yank 4k....lol. Seriously though I ran that setup for a couple of days lol til I got some gears installed and believe it or not it wasnt as bad as what everyone makes it out to be. But the gears certainly helped get the car moving.

 

Do yourself a favor and get a set of gears first! That way, when you get a stall you can opt for something bigger and see optimal results.

 

I disagree. I'll get gears when I get a rear, but until then I'm fine with the 3.23's. It feels great, not just okay. And this is with a 5000 stall I'm trying out. As far as heat, it doesn't make any more than with the 4400, or the 4000 before that, or come to think of it the 3500 I started with. It's called a good cooling system. As far as performance goes, gears can't touch a converter. I've done every single mod in my sig plus some, and never held back because of my gears.

 

No offense, 1.76 sixty foots are slow. The girlfriends car with 323s and a 3200 VIG converter cut consistent 1.55-1.58 sixty foots.. Bolt on car. Switched to 3.73s and cut consistent 1.53-1.55 sixty foots..

Anybody arguing that gears help more or anywhere NEAR as much OR that you should do gears before a converter because the converter won't act correctly.



There is no single mod that can touch a converter.. The converter size is not affected much at all if any by the gears you have in your car, will it help on pick ups? Yes. Will it matter much at WOT, with a good converter, no.
You are better off matching your converter to the cam/head/etc choice that you have or plan on going with.

 

I agree with the others that you should do the gears first. Having experienced the granny(2.73) gears myself, they SUCK!

Also, agree that the stall should be matched to the cam if you plan to do that down the road. The bigger the cam, the higher your stall should be, since the bigger cams make great power up top but sacrifice down low. Hence the stall will allow the revs to be in the power band of the cam from a dig.

Good Luck

 

I think the next time around I'll get steeper gears first, either 3.23 or 3.42. My rear is making some noise anyway (181k miles), might as well upgrade. I drove my buddy's car with 3.23s and a Yank SS3600 and it felt just fine for driving on the street. Not to mention that he went from 12.8 to 12.2 with just the converter swap (not sure if the weather conditions were the same though).

 

I'm running a 3500 with 2.73s and it's not bad at all. I've got a buddy that has 3.73s with a stock converter and it's not near as fun to drive. Having an auto car, I would opt for the stall first. Honestly, if you were to buy a 3600-4000 stall now, how much different of a stall would you buy with 3.73's? If you play your cards right a lot of them come with a free re-stall anyways. Get what you want now....and later Just my .02

 

4k yank with antibalooning plate, 373s, and when you get the chance a fat cam and spray

I ran 3.42's, 3800 TCI stall, cam and a 150 shot....fun as ****

 

How tall are your tires? I'll bet 25"-26". You did not "read" what I said. The circumfrence of the tire makes a Massive difference. The short tire combined with the modest ratio "may work". If your stall is below 2400, it will work better.

 

I knew this would create a storm of controversy. I only have 33 years of transmission rebuilding experience and have helped more than 17,000 customers in my tenur. I guess some of you don't understand the engineering aspect of what I am trying to explain.

The fact is: the higher the stall is on a given converter, the more heat is created. Combine this with a 3400-3800lb vehicle and a dog set of gears and the oven gets turned on high. Pretty soon, the seals and related parts in the trans will "get cooked" to death. I am trying to help you guys understand this. This is engineering 101. The other guy with the 3.23's probably has short tires-25"-26". Combine this with the 3.06 first gear ratio to get the weight moving and the higher stall will work for a while. This truely helps the 3.23's work. The oven is on simmer. They simulate 3.73's w/28" tires. Why 28" tires and 3.73-4.10's? This combo has worked on moderate street/strip cars for decades as the tires hook far better than the shorter, less side walled tires that spin too easily.

We can debate this forever. I saw a post and thought I would help with proffessional advise. I guess there are far more educated professionals who will hurt a few other innocent people who want just plain correct advice. The fact of the matter is, money dictates the decission making and people just want to be right when they want , how they want, and what they want. If we were all experienced mechanics, we would not be talking right now. Just because your car SEEMS to be working, don't screw the others truely wanting the correct answer. This IS the correct answer.

Good Luck Gentleman.

 

The rear tire circumfrence of most of the guy's on this forum ARE 25"-26".
There are many many of us that are running stall's with said tires.
If what you are saying is true you would think the forum's would be flooded with people warning other's not to stall their ride.
But that's not happening.
Now granted, if I DID have a 28" tire, 2.73's along with a 3600+ stall, well then, hell ya, I'd be cooking my tranny.
But again, most folk's here run the 25-26" tire.

 

I closely monitor my temps because I'm not about to fry my FLT tranny. My temps have never changed between the 3500, 4000, 4400 and now the 5000. If that was the case, I'd be fixing that problem fast. Regardless, the 3.23's work great and the only way I'm changing gears is when I get a 9". "33 years of experience" contradicts what many do on here every day with zero problems. Like I said, a good cooling system makes all the difference. Our sponsors who build the best trannies money can buy have never voiced a concern over running high stalls with factory gears so long as a proper cooler is used.