Well obviously its in ur top end where ur losing it. Is there any rattling that could maybe cause KR?

 

No. But here is a new devolopment that might shed some light on this subject. First of all I found the best run I had from 2 weeks ago before the Verter and Nittos. I compared those numbers which had a 2.1 60' to the last run 2 days ago where I had the 2.0 60' to see how they stack up. Here they are:

Stock Verter/Tires______________TCI 3500/Nittos

60’……2.121___________________2.077
330’…..5.802___________________5.766
1/8 ……8.760___________________8.808
MPH….83.83___________________80.73
1000’…11.296__________________11.434
¼ …….13.440__________________13.647
MPH…105.27__________________101.24
Stock Verter___________________TCI 3500

I look good at the 330 mark but notice that even with a better launch I hit the 1/8 slower and at a lessor mph. I think I may no why but again I could certainly be wrong.

I went out early this morning and did several test runs from a dig to 80 so I could see both the 1-2 shift and 2-3 shift closely. On the 1-2 shift I seem to shift at about 5700 rpm's which seems a tad low to me. But what also concerns me is the car feels kind of sluggish while it goes through second gear. Then it shifts real nice at 6000-6100 rpm's as it hits 3rd and felt good and strong after the shift.

So I think the 1-2 shift and some hesitation right after the shift is causing this situation. But with my limited knowledge and lack of proper diagnostic devices I can't go any further then this speculation.

 

After I installed my converter, I noticed that the 1-2 shift occurred about 200rpm earlier. So I autotapped it and it showed it shifting right where it should. So it seems like the factory tach is lagging behind as the converter spins the engine up faster. Acceleration is slower in 2nd and so there is less lag and the factory tach is closer to the mark. Just my theory ...

 

i like mine but coulda used a slightly lower str and higher stall

 

data log your runs that's the only way to know for sure what's going on.

with my tci 3800, a lid, underdrive pulley and nittos i went 12.4. I did have a transgo shift kit put in, tm deleted and do run a cooler.

 

I dropped well over a second with the TCI SSF3500 and tuning by myself.

It really sounds like torque management was not fully deleted. When you goto a converter, the computer has to be tuned perfectly or else it will freak out and pull a ton of timing. Also, remove your front sway bar if it isn't already, this will help your 60 foot.

I feel your pain man...

 

Hey Darren dont give up on the verter. I had the same problem even though I havent got it tuned yet. My first time out to the track I was dissapointed. I was hot lapping the car and didnt find the right rpm to take off on. But so far same setup and have gotten a 1.78 on the 60' and ran 12.6 at like 108. But my first time out with that converter I was like what the hell, just like you are. Just get used to it and only because its a 3500 doesnt mean that, that's your rpm you should take off on. Just my 2 cents!!

 

Thanks for the kind words. Here is a little update. First of all, when I launched that day at the track I did several types of launching. I floored it off straight idle, I reved to 1800 and floored it, I reved to 2000 and floored it and I reved to 2500 and floored it. I even did my first launch as a feather into WoT because I didn't think I could dead hook even on heated Nittos. My 60' were all 1.8-2.0 and every run I trapped 101. I was just down on top end power.

I have been back to New Era and Mike showed me on the laptop my cars program where TM was turned off, line preasure was raised a little and the rev limiter was raised so I wouldn't hit it in the 1-2 shift.

Now It's my belief that I was pulling timing but it's going to be impossible to prove since the last 2 TNT days were rained out and only one remains (this Sunday). I have decided to get a tune-up and dyno-tune to try and get my power back. Other then the horrible trap speed, everything else converter related seems to be right on the money. I flash good, shift extension is good, lockup is right on time, ect.

But since a dyno-tune is such a waste right before I planned on LT headers I have decided to get the headers now. I'm going to have Pacesetter LT's & ORY installed tomarrow with new plugs and wires. Then Friday is a dyno-tune. Hopefully weather will allow me to get the last track day in on Sunday and with alot of luck I can trap around 107 and hit my mid to upper 12. If I trap less then 106 I will know I'm still not right and the stall will get replaced. Unfortunately if that happens I got about 6 months to wait before I can check the results via trap speed.

As of right now the weather is supposed to be 50 degrees and partly sunny so I will keep my fingers crossed.

 

great converter to have. i ran the time in my sig. i hit consistent 12's . now for more power.

 

Semi update here. I sent the car back to New Era Perfromance last Tuesday for LT headers, ORY, new plugs, new wires & ported TB. I didn't want to add mods before my HP loss was fixed but I couldn't stand the idea of dyno tuning a car a month before I planned to put headers in. So the car hit the dyno after the headers and other stuff and it only hit about 275 rwhp (don't remember exact number but it was close to that). The car was running rediculously lean. They told me it was the worst they have ever seen. After dyno tuning with 12 pulls, they got my car to 304 rwhp through an unlocked ssf3500. So they gained 29 rwhp from tuning and that was after headers. So that might just be the missing horses right there.

I'm not sure if 304 through a unlocked converter is good or bad but it definately pulls MUCH harder now. The last TnT day is this Sunday so I will have my fingers crossed. I was trapping 104-105 prior to headers, ory, ported TB and TC. If I can trap 107 on Sunday I'll be happy. If it's less then I may indeed still have a torque converter effiency issue to deal with.

Let me just say for the record that dynomouth + LT + ORY =

Sounds great around town at normal acceleration but it sounds god awful at WoT. Definately need to rethink my exhaust setup. I thought it sounded good at first but then after 3 or 4 wot runs I realised how bad it really is. The car sounded WAY better before headers. Oh well. I'll switch to either a traditional catback or maybe I'll add a Borla XR-1 into the pipes somewhere.

I'll post my results after I hit the track and let you guys know how she runs.

 

Sounds like you found your problem. For the record, I had good experiences with that verter too. My shift extension was higher than yours though, @ 4900. I've stepped up to a 4000 recently, and I like it even more.

 

Actually I was wrong on shift extension. It's actually up at 4800. Looked lower to me at first but after several closer looks it's shift extension is 4800 which is definately in the normal range for this converter. It actually feels looser now then it did when I first got the car back.

It's loud, loose and full of juice

I can't wait to hit the track.

 

The final results are in. I spent almost 8 hours at the track today. Unfortunately this being the last day caused an unusual turnout. There were about 300 cars for TnT and that's not counting the MOM's shootout cars and single digit dragsters. So in 8 hours I was only able to run 3 times.

I hate to even mention two of the three runs because they were botched very badly on the launch. It would seem that when your car is having engine problems and only traping 101 that dead hooking on 17 psi nittos is no problem. But apparently when your traping 109.5 you may not get the same launching luxury of dead hooking.

I brake stalled to 2500 and dropped the hammer. Lets just say I'm lucky I didn't hit the wall with how bad my a$$ and swung out. Second run I tried to go 3/4 throttle off straight idle and lets just say that I still found myself getting off the gas and conceiting another blown run.

Third run I brake stalled to just 1500 and rolled into about half throttle and still spun all the way through first and got just a tad sideways. But I didn't have to abort the run and the numbers ended up:

60'-------1.967
330------5.490
1/8------8.342
mph-----86.23
1000----10.791
1/4-----12.852
MPH----109.48

I thought for sure when the temp dropped I would see a 110 trap but I never got a 4th run at the end of the day (when it was coldest). With a few more runs I know I could have pulled off a decent 1.8 60' launch and a 12.5-12.6 ET. I'm very happy with my cars trap now. But a bit disappointed with my lack of traction. First I could dead hook and pin myself back but with a crappy trap speed. Now I have a good trap speed but no more snaping me back launches. I just can't win

But my car runs awesome now thanks to New Era Performance and the great job they did on the headers and more importantly the dyno-tune.

Thanks Mike,

I guess the 245 Nittos are gonna only be my street tires now. I'll be looking for a pair of rims and ET streets between now and April so I can hit some 1.7's.

Time to go celebrate my 12 second slip

 

i had a 1.70 60' with just the mods in sig, no tuning. i think that tqm is nipping my heels at the bottom of 2nd, too. either way, i am happy with my results. the car never was "fast", and doesn't appear it ever will be. i was on 255/50-16 bfg drag radials, dead hooked. only got to run 1/8 mile as the local 1/4 mile track (IRP) is closed for the season. my previous best 1/8 was 8.73 @ 83 with the stock converter. i added LCAs and the 4k stall and went 8.18 @ 81. it will pull like a raped ape out of first, as soon as it hits 2nd uit pretty much falls off. one question: i can only footbrake to 3k in 1st gear before it will start to break the tires loose, is this normal for a 4k stall and my mods?

 

 

BTW, my two botched runs were still 13.1 @ 109 and the other was 13.2 @ 108. So even when I had to let off the gas, wait for traction and drop the hammer from a slow roll I ended up with better ET's then I did two weeks ago

Is it April yet?