Which converter do you prefer and why?
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12 Second Club
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Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Belle River, Ontario, Canada
Which converter do you prefer and why? The 3 most popular converters for the 4L60E seem to be the PI Vigilante, Yank, and TCI.
What I'd like to know is if one of them is superior to the others or if they all seem to be decent converters. From a cost stand point TCI seems to be my best bet but is the lower cost a result of a lesser quality verter compared to the almost double in price Yank?
I plan to go with a 3500 2.5 STR verter for my 99 TA A4 w/2.73's, Macs, MagnaFlow, ASP, a bunch of suspension stuff and soon to be added cutout. Next year I hope to add a mild cam (220/220 114 LSA), springs and pushrods.
Would the TCI 3500 2.5 STR be the converter for me?
Any input or experiences with these converters would be greatly appreciated.
Brett
What I'd like to know is if one of them is superior to the others or if they all seem to be decent converters. From a cost stand point TCI seems to be my best bet but is the lower cost a result of a lesser quality verter compared to the almost double in price Yank?
I plan to go with a 3500 2.5 STR verter for my 99 TA A4 w/2.73's, Macs, MagnaFlow, ASP, a bunch of suspension stuff and soon to be added cutout. Next year I hope to add a mild cam (220/220 114 LSA), springs and pushrods.
Would the TCI 3500 2.5 STR be the converter for me?
Any input or experiences with these converters would be greatly appreciated.
Brett
all three make good quality stuff tci is the cheapest of the 3 and make a quality product and thats why i bought mine...i just couldnt justify an extra $300-400 for the same performance...yank seems to be the industry leader as far as product with vig right behind.
yeah, i just got mine back together after the cam-converter-shift kit install, and i'd have to say i'm impressed. i love the way it drives now, and really wish i'd have done it sooner. i'm very happy with my vig 3600. and to top it off, i only lost 13hp unlocked vs. locked.
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My choices would be as follows:
TCI SSF 3500 – TCI converters have proven their reliability and performance. The support staff at TCI is very good and the company will stand behind their product. The TCI converter is an excellent choice.
PI Vigilante 3200 – Proven reliability and performance along with a good support staff. PI will stand behind their product. The Vigilante 3200 is a very good choice.
Yank – Supports say the converter is “the best” however you seem to see more posts about Yank converter problems than you do with TCI or PI.
From what I have seen Yank customer service is no where near the level of TCI or PI.
It is very difficult to actually get in contact with anyone at Yank. IMO the premium price of their converter is not justified by better performance or customer support. It has been my experience that Yank will not stand behind their warranty.
I would not buy a Yank converter again.
Good luck
John
TCI SSF 3500 – TCI converters have proven their reliability and performance. The support staff at TCI is very good and the company will stand behind their product. The TCI converter is an excellent choice.
PI Vigilante 3200 – Proven reliability and performance along with a good support staff. PI will stand behind their product. The Vigilante 3200 is a very good choice.
Yank – Supports say the converter is “the best” however you seem to see more posts about Yank converter problems than you do with TCI or PI.
From what I have seen Yank customer service is no where near the level of TCI or PI.
It is very difficult to actually get in contact with anyone at Yank. IMO the premium price of their converter is not justified by better performance or customer support. It has been my experience that Yank will not stand behind their warranty.
I would not buy a Yank converter again.
Good luck
John
Last edited by JNorris; Mar 28, 2004 at 02:42 PM.
Originally Posted by Brett H
The 3 most popular converters for the 4L60E seem to be the PI Vigilante, Yank, and TCI.
What I'd like to know is if one of them is superior to the others or if they all seem to be decent converters. From a cost stand point TCI seems to be my best bet but is the lower cost a result of a lesser quality verter compared to the almost double in price Yank?
I plan to go with a 3500 2.5 STR verter for my 99 TA A4 w/2.73's, Macs, MagnaFlow, ASP, a bunch of suspension stuff and soon to be added cutout. Next year I hope to add a mild cam (220/220 114 LSA), springs and pushrods.
Would the TCI 3500 2.5 STR be the converter for me?
Any input or experiences with these converters would be greatly appreciated.
Brett
What I'd like to know is if one of them is superior to the others or if they all seem to be decent converters. From a cost stand point TCI seems to be my best bet but is the lower cost a result of a lesser quality verter compared to the almost double in price Yank?
I plan to go with a 3500 2.5 STR verter for my 99 TA A4 w/2.73's, Macs, MagnaFlow, ASP, a bunch of suspension stuff and soon to be added cutout. Next year I hope to add a mild cam (220/220 114 LSA), springs and pushrods.
Would the TCI 3500 2.5 STR be the converter for me?
Any input or experiences with these converters would be greatly appreciated.
Brett
Yank fan here. Performance is excellent and it is not a one size fits all philosophy in the way yank designs the driveabililty / performance trade-off.
I've seen a couple vig failures in person, but still think they're a decent product for the money.
i have yet to hear to a vigilante failure.
9 Second Club
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 985
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From: Lake Orion, MI
Everyone has their favorite and a few have their rough stories.
All I can say is my SY-3500 still cuts 1.48s on juice after 30K miles in the car. Sounds like some pretty solid hardware. I can't confirm the difficulty in getting a hold of anyone at Yank for the simple reason that after I ordered my converter, I never needed to talk to them again.
Rick
All I can say is my SY-3500 still cuts 1.48s on juice after 30K miles in the car. Sounds like some pretty solid hardware. I can't confirm the difficulty in getting a hold of anyone at Yank for the simple reason that after I ordered my converter, I never needed to talk to them again.
Rick
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 366
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From: IL Western Burbs of Chicago
Personally i am a Yank Fan and am on my Second Yank Converter a ST3500 and Now a SS3800E i have yet to wreck a converter or see a Wrecked Yank at the Track but have seen 2 Wrecked Vigilantes. I can't talk bad about PI though my bud has a PI Stallion in his Mustang that he got used with 3K miles on it. Since he has gotten it he has but over 20K on it and run it behind a Turbo motor Making 450+ rwhp. Not bad for a Converter with so many miles taking so much abuse.
I do not doubt that your shop sells many more Yank converters than other brands. This is probably because that is the converter you push the most.
However I seriously doubt that Yank sell more LS1 converters than TCI and PI does countrywide. This board and your shop represent a very small percentage of ALL the converters sold for the LS1.
I think that the main reason you see most of the “fast” LS1 cars running Yanks on this board is because that is the converter that was pushed the most in the past and it is a good performer as long as you get one of the good ones.
Now it seems like TCI is the most recommended converter on this and other similar boards at the current time.
I think that TCI is making a good name for themselves on this board and the LS1 community as a provider of high quality and great performing converters that are sold for a fair price AND are backed by GREAT customer support. You will not find those qualities at Yank.
Just because your product costs the most does not mean it is the best and like wise just because your product is not the most expensive does not mean it is inferior.
John
However I seriously doubt that Yank sell more LS1 converters than TCI and PI does countrywide. This board and your shop represent a very small percentage of ALL the converters sold for the LS1.
I think that the main reason you see most of the “fast” LS1 cars running Yanks on this board is because that is the converter that was pushed the most in the past and it is a good performer as long as you get one of the good ones.
Now it seems like TCI is the most recommended converter on this and other similar boards at the current time.
I think that TCI is making a good name for themselves on this board and the LS1 community as a provider of high quality and great performing converters that are sold for a fair price AND are backed by GREAT customer support. You will not find those qualities at Yank.
Just because your product costs the most does not mean it is the best and like wise just because your product is not the most expensive does not mean it is inferior.
John
Originally Posted by GueSS Who
I have installed hundreds of converters.
90% of them are yanks. The rest are PI's. I have installed only a few TCIs. I haven't heard anything bad about a TCI. I have seen multiple vigs break. I am a fan of Yank because if you look at most of the fast a$$ cars out there they have a Yank in them. Even the 8 sec vet has a Yank. They are an expensive peice but well worth the money if you ask me. I have seen plenty of 1.3 60ft with Yank coverters.
JNorris, the reason you see more problems with Yanks on the board is because they sell more converters then their competitors hands down. Well are a dealer for all three converter companies and we sell 10 times more Yanks then anything else and they are more expensive then both. I think the reason down that is, is because here in Texas there are alot of people at the track pulling damn good numbers with a Yank converter. That is a good selling point if you ask me. I was an owner of a PT4200 and I loved it. I now have a GT billet 3500 converter in my 4L60E and I go mid to high 1.3 on a consistant basis.
90% of them are yanks. The rest are PI's. I have installed only a few TCIs. I haven't heard anything bad about a TCI. I have seen multiple vigs break. I am a fan of Yank because if you look at most of the fast a$$ cars out there they have a Yank in them. Even the 8 sec vet has a Yank. They are an expensive peice but well worth the money if you ask me. I have seen plenty of 1.3 60ft with Yank coverters.
JNorris, the reason you see more problems with Yanks on the board is because they sell more converters then their competitors hands down. Well are a dealer for all three converter companies and we sell 10 times more Yanks then anything else and they are more expensive then both. I think the reason down that is, is because here in Texas there are alot of people at the track pulling damn good numbers with a Yank converter. That is a good selling point if you ask me. I was an owner of a PT4200 and I loved it. I now have a GT billet 3500 converter in my 4L60E and I go mid to high 1.3 on a consistant basis.
Launching!
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 245
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I just installed a TCI SSF 3500 2 weeks ago and I LOVE IT! Best Mod I have done so far. This is my first aftermarket converter so I have nothing to compare it to, but I have heard good things and I am happy with it.
your best bet is to do some searches on the three. Personally I have had 2 Vig converters, never had any mechanical problems with either of them, of course, I never have one converter in the car long enough to have problems perhaps. I then ran a TCS for a while and decided to go to a Yank which I have had in the car for 5 months now and of all the converters I have had this one is my favorite, espeially for off the line performance. I have never dealt with or ran a TCI converter so can't really comment on them, but have read some good post. Like I said, do a search, you will have a lot of good info to read 
