I've seen a ton of people ask, but I figured I'd just make my own thread with my own specs to get the best answer. I want to install a stall converter and gearing this summer as I think its the next thing to do for performance.
The car is an 02 z28 with 2.73 gears and a 17" wheel and Nitto 555 performance tires. Mostly stock other than SLP lid, longtube 1 7/8 headers and a full catback exhaust. Car was tuned and made 345 rwhp/350 torque. 77k miles
My goal is to slowly move away from it being a DD and more into being a street car/fun car. I'm not too concerned about strip performance, though I may take it there once or twice. Eventually I would like to do cam/heads so I want to make sure the mods I do now will all be compatible for maximum performance.
Car will see maybe 70/30 highway/street use and quite a bit of roll racing, and occasionally from a stoplight or something.
Right now I'm looking at a yank ss3600-4000 stall and 3.42-3.73 gears. Having never driven a stalled auto before I am a little unsure of how practical the higher ones are while cruising, and if the shorter gears may be too much for a higher stall. Can someone sway me one way or the other, or perhaps let me know what the best combo would be for performance and what kind of cam I would be looking at in the future?

 

I've had good luck with 3000 stall and 3.73 gears in a couple 2 gen Camaros with LS engines. Buy a good converter. I like Yank and Circle. Run a good external cooler. I like the stacked plate type.

 

Well your 'Right now I'm looking at a yank ss3600-4000 stall and 3.42-3.73 gears' is in a good area.
As far as the converter, the SS3600 would be more for street, the SS4000 would be more for strip, but the SS3600 wouldn't hurt strip performance.
Do the converter with your existing 2.73 gears (along with an adequate tranny fluid cooler) and drive it that way for a while. 2.73s with a SS3600/SS4000 isn't a bad combination. The converter will 'seem' loose because of the 2.73 gearing.
As far as gears, based upon your expected usage, 3.42s. The 3.42s' will make the converter 'tighter' compared to the 2.73s'.
You're probably around 26.5 freeway MPG now, 3.42s would put you about 23.5 freeway MPG.

I'm running Yank SS3600 with 4.56 gears, ultimate 'light to light' street fun and not too bad on the freeway, 21.5 MPG on 4 trips to Florida from Ohio with the 4.56s'.

 

I personally run a Circle-D 3600 (triple-disk) with a 3.42 rear and am very happy with that. I previously had a Yank SS-3600 and liked that just as well; they felt identical on the street.
As you go with higher rear end ratios and/or higher stall speeds, you will have more traction problems with street tires.
I would like to point out that FTI also makes top quality converters as is currently much more involved and helpful on this forum. Please contact Dalton at FTI.

Also, this current thread might help you understand converters better:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/automatic...erter-str.html

 

Yep, forgot to add to my post above.
Tires, tires, tires.
Rear shocks to control wheel hop and LCA relocation brackets.

 

Was your yank 3600 a single disk or triple? Will I need a triple disk if my car hardly sees the track?

 

[QUOTE=FirstYrLS1Z;20336950]
As far as the converter, the SS3600 would be more for street, the SS4000 would be more for strip, but the SS3600 wouldn't hurt strip performance.

In what way is the ss4000 geared more for strip? Is it just driveability? I am mostly looking for performance in roll races and cruising around town so I am not too concerned with gas mileage or "looseness", especially if I go with a 3.73 gear

 

My Yank was a single disk. You do not need a triple disk.

 

I would go with a Pt 4000..... you will have better shift extensions and a bit more efficient for roll racing.....just seen you were in Minnesota. I'm in White Bear.

I run a Pt 4400 myself

 

I have the Yank 4000ss and 4:10’s in my SS. Great on the track and not too bad on the street once in locks up!

 

My converter locked rpm at 60 is 2500 so the 4.10s at 60mph is about 2250 rpm ?

 

I am leaning towards 3.73, so I guess now it's down to a yank pt4000 vs a ss4000. From what I hear you cant go wrong either way, but the PT is a bit looser with more pull up top. Anyone able to explain the difference between these two? I want it to pull up top for roll racing, but I also like to have fun mashing the throttle on the street. Will the PT feel too loose for this?

 

Here is a video of my car. I can give ya a ride when I get my car out of storage if ya want.

Setup is in my sig.

 

That thing sounds great, damn. Well if I can't decide I may take you up on your offer, thanks! I am concerned about how hard the PT hits around town compared to the SS, I hear SS is more fun for low end. But having never driven a stalled car, I'm not sure if I would notice the difference or care too much either way. How does it feel just cruising around?

 

I have ran the ss series and the Pt series. Normal driving there is not a ton of difference. Personally, I would take the Pt series hands down. When I had a Pt4000 I had zero issues pulling 1.55 60's but also pulled better up top compared to the ss.

 

I agree. I wouldn't touch the gears until giving the converter a chance with the stock rear. Lots of folks find that the gear swap is unnecessary for their personal needs once stall speed is optimized. There isn't much measurable (track) performance difference between gear ratios of 2.73 to 3.73 with an LS1 + 4L60E combo once stall speed is in the ~3500+ range, so the primary benefit for the swap at that point is to "tighten up" the feel of the converter on the street. But with a top quality converter, this isn't a huge issue for most folks. There would still be a small ET improvement from a 2.73-3.73 swap as well but it's not going to be better than 1-2 tenths at most with a ~3500 stall speed already in place, so unless you're looking to squeeze out every last bit of performance at the track (and have proper tires/suspension to take advantage) it's likely not worth the cost in this regard.

 

It depends on whether you do a lot of "normal" driving or whether you take it out just occasionally to push it to the max. You don't mention taking it to the strip, so in your case, I don't see the need for a 4000+ converter for a regular street driver.

I have the Yank SS3600/3.42 combo and I think it's perfect for a daily driver. I wouldn't want a converter with any higher stall or lower gears.

I do recommend installation of a Transgo or Sonnax shift kit custom tweaked for your converter while the tranny is out, and and a tune to get it all in sych.

I agree with the above, however. Do the converter first and then decide if you want to mess with the gears.