guys with fuddle
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The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
I had a HP Series ($570) and it was very nice, locked it up a few times on WOT without issue, 4000/2.4.
We had one upgraded from Street to Race and that badboy didnt flinch when locked, just took what we threw at it and ran. 3400/1.9 I do believe.
i only dropped .1 off my 60ft (1.9) and E/T (12.9) though. but, seeing as though it was a hot day (hotter than when i went before), and the track prep wasnt too good, im sure it could have been better drop. also, that was launching it the exact same way as i did the stocker (around 1500 RPMs). if i launched it any higher like i could have (say 2500RPMs), it would spin like crazy through 1st and into 2nd. i need to go back to the track, but its starting to get too hot. im probably gonna have to wait till after summer
model (the middle one). I bought the base one
originally, had it in the box for nigh on a year and
when the HP/S model came out I decided to upgrade
before installing specifically for the much larger clutch
(being as my whole swap was about getting rid of
nagging clutch slip issues with my other converter).
The performance is something I can't quantify yet,
there is less of a "hit" to the tires as I went down in
STR (2.2 -> 2.0) and higher RPM. This was a deliberate
choice as it's a street-tires car. The car will still blow
them off at full pedal but is more controllable in the
mid-throttle area.
I thought I would come out at a wash for efficiency
by upping stall and lowering STR, it came out close
(96% now, 97% before with the lower stall speed
but also across a headers / ORY swap which puts
some more torque across the converter, so should
drop its efficiency when looked at on a pure slip
basis). Efficiency is still climbing when I shift, this
converter was selected based on the planned end
and not the present motor mods. The shift extension
is pretty near on torque peak and it spends a lot of
time sitting at 5000 before rising up.
I found this converter has a little more vibration to
it than my old TCI, TCI spin-balances (per their web
info) and Fuddle only checks tolerances. So I had to
squash misfire detection to address the converter lock
coming and going. But now that the PCM wants to
lock it up, it locks up solid and my slip problems are
gone. The vibe is not enough to be annoying to me,
just the computer; as I recall I had to bump the levels
a little for the TCI, and this time around I didn't want
to fine-fuss with it again so I just said "kill 'em all".
I can still cruise at 30MPH and 1500RPM on the level,
unlocked in 3rd with 3.42 gears. That makes it still a
"streetable" converter in my book; climbing hills at the
same speed takes 2000-2500 depending on the hill.
Again the low STR came out kind of like I had hoped,
giving me more low-end coupling for the street.
All in all I'm satisfied with the piece, and more than
satisfied with the service and that someone finally
offered a noiseless, hard-holding clutch in a custom
converter at a off-the-shelf price. I wish I had the
time to get a locked / unlocked dyno pull to get at
the efficiency and torque multiplication profile more
quantitatively. All I can say about it is, it doesn't
seem to have cost me performance and made the
car act more like I wanted it to given the way I
drive it. I think how I see "tight/loose" is maybe a
bit different than how others use it. I like the
converter to "slide" the RPM up sort of proportional
to my pedal, getting a proportional torque response;
this converter does it, more of a "linear range" than
the more abrupt, lower 3000/2.2 (which is my only
reference point; I have never had anything like a
big stall, big STR underfoot).
If I had it to do over again I would probably have
targeted a slightly lower RPM (maybe 3200) and a
similar STR, and stayed with the same model as the
clutch is just no-worries. But that would be short-
changing the future, some, I guess (leave room for
the cam & heads, and corresponding increase in the
shiftpoints, someday). It's not meant to be a drag
car, it's more after balanced performance that can
still jump out. In that context I think I picked the
right setup pretty much. Another couple years and
20K miles and we'll see about durability. That's the
other reason I figured, go big on the wear parts
(clutch lining).
Just one opinion; 90% of the time I drive it like an
old man, 9.9% romping on surface streets & on-
ramps, 0.1% track / highway WOT. If every red
light is a timing tree, maybe you want bigger. But
daily driver I think this one represents well.





