Ok, so how much has converter technology changed. I have an LS swamped C4 with a 4L60E and a 3500 converter.

I was reluctant to go with a stall that high because I had a 3000 stall in my 81 PU with a TH350 and it was almost unbearable to drive at low speeds/RPMs.

The difference is amazing the only time I notice the stall at all is backing up or idling though a parking lot.

What gives?

Also, I have been advised not to manually shift my 4L60 because it can cause damage but when I shift it manually the Veh has way more power and is a lot quicker.

 

Manually shifting isn't really harmful when upshifting to a higher gear, it is harmful when manually downshifting the car from what I've been told and have read.

I have a few threads saved at home I think that have good info and I'll try to post them when I get home.

 

It all depends on the core chosen for the torque converter, and what parts are achieved to reach the stall speed. Converter technology has also come a long way in the last 10 years!

 

That it what I was asking.. what has changed to make them so much better?

 

Lock up and overdrive transmissions. Thats wat makes them better in my opinion.

 

I dont know the inner workings and what has changed, but I know where you are coming from. I had a few 2500-3000+ converters built locally out of old gm cores that I ran in a few sbc applications and one bbc build quite a few years a go. They all pretty much sucked in comparison to my tci 3800 in my SS. I think thats why so many people are afraid to put one in their car. The newer ones are much tighter, and hit way harder. Having lockup is huge too.

 

Computer aided design and "affordable" CNC manufacturing. By affordable I mean a $50K machine versus a $1M 15 years ago.

 

As far as converters go, this has probably helped make billet covers cheaper, as well as competition on the market, but hasn't made leaps and bounds as far as converter function.

The GM 245mm core has had a lot to do with the improvements in converters available to the average consumer. When it became popular (more than 10 yrs ago) it gave converter builders a lot more options to work with over older designs. There are quite a few different stator designs alone that come in these converters from GM, before you start modifying them. Pumps come in all different fin angles, etc. It's a nice "modular" converter that you can buy a boxload of cores, cut them all apart, and have a selection of parts to build just about any converter from ranging from a 300 HP street cruiser to a 1000+ HP strip converter.

 

Thank you for the correction and excellent explanation.

 

Thanks Jake's

 

jake, what leaps & bounds are missing from todays converters? what should a converter do that it cant ? thx orig poster you should search for an old thread called " converter education".

 

My opinion on 2 of the major advancements are CNC machines and data logging. With CNCs we are capable of making converters hold 1000+ HP even with lock up. And with data gathering we have learned a lot on how the converter works going down the track and as a DD. Letting us really fine tune exactly how you want to converter to work.

Chris