gun5l1ng3r

I have an M6 and only visit the A4 forum to keep up on the workings and dealings of 'slushboxes'

I thought I used to see a lot of posts about how great the Fuddle converters were.
What happened?
It sounded like he knew what he was talking about...

Yank

iTrader: (181)

Yank goes thru many tests on all brands of converters like this one that shows the time it takes to make a WOT run on the Dyno in 3th gear from a dead stop so we can deliver a great product that gets the job done.
test takes into account converter weight, and stall speed
you can see the lighter and smaller converters get there quicker

Note: low converter efficency will also help to quicken the spool up time so other test data is needed help round out all findings

https://ls1tech.com/forums/attachmen...chmentid=35191

darrensls1

You say that now but when you get beat by one at the track you say,

"damn that was a quick slushbox!"

You did. Fuddle was the king of the budget converters here for awhile. But then John got sick, orders got backed up, converters started having problems and customer service went south.

My understanding now is that John is better, the orders have been and are being filled again and customer service is back on the rise. But the quality of the converters is still being debated.

But you got an M6 so you can just

J/K

ls1pwrdss

iTrader: (74)

looks like a fuddel due to the way the mounts are welded on the converter.im still debating on this new car i have what to go with. it will be yank or vig.
my last car i had problems with a vig so i dont know. the fuddel i had was crap. so i guess it only leaves me on real option. yank. i have only know of one problem with yanks. my buddy had one that had a pin hole in the paremiter weld around the hub. it would spray fluid but i belive mike at yank took care of it and it was flawless

GMRACER13

iTrader: (1)

And??? The point I'm trying to make is that the front covers of quality stall convertors are custom made in order to provide enough flat apply surface area for a wider lock-up clutch. They are not factory 4-cyl front covers which only have enough flat surface area for a tiny 4-cyl lock-up clutch. ALL quality stall convertors with lock up use a "billet" front cover so I'm not exactly sure what the point is that you are trying to make.

The1N_only

iTrader: (7)

You cant go wrong with a Yank converter


you are correct, Ive own a Yank, Art Carr, and the brand X ... the first 2 had a billet front cover

firebirdls1us

I guess there's good and bad in all........ but the tank I have in my car has been in since early 2000 with no problems whats so ever..........the tranny now has been gone but the last time I put a new tranny in I went with the bandwagon on a budget tc........one week later it came out and the refurbished yank went back in and will stay in.But my yank does have the six bolt lugs on it and I do belive that does help when you spray the car not near as much flex...........

The1N_only

iTrader: (7)

here is what the fluid looked like

RagnZ

iTrader: (2)

all this talk about fuddle has got me worried......i just got a 3400 fuddle hp street converter and i'm about to put it in tomorrow and on top of all that i'm sprayin a 125 shot.....i'll keep everyone posted on how things go with it.....i got it used out of a wrecked t/a with 500 miles on it...

koolaid_kid

iTrader: (21)

Sigh. I'm so sad. I guess when my Fuddle self-destructs and takes the tranny with it then I will have the opportunity to put a built trans in, along with a quality converter. Sigh again.

RoysTransAm

owww pretty!! Nice and sparkly, definitly sparkly.

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

If you have been on this forum long enough, you will know that catastrophic failures have happened with every popular brand of aftermarket LSx converter. To the guy it happens to, that converter line becomes the worst in the world, and if he has no problems with his replacement, it is the best. The more money he pays for the replacement, the more confidence he has in it - "you get what you pay for."

There is always some risk in installing an aftermarket TC. Knowing well how a particular converter is built - as GMracer points out - allows one to assess that risk and make an informed decision by balancing risk vs. price.

My reading of this forum would indicate that Vig has the lowest incidence of problems, followed by Yank, then TCI (especially lock-up clutch failures) and then Fuddle, Midwest, etc.

cablebandit

iTrader: (37)

see thats funny to me...my 3 precision converters...i would blow right thru them....midwest converter is what Mike Brown has and he is running mid 8s in a turbo DR car....my fuddle is the only converter i have had that would hold my car. I agree, the converter pictured is junk. The first converter I ever had was a yank TT3000...came on a used built tranny i bought for my 00TA. Before installing, i had it cut open locally to make sure it was clean and the guy said it was junk and that it cost way too much for what was in it. Do i think all yanks are junk? Obviously not but i do think they have all had their moments

trigger1

iTrader: (28)

My point was in your useage you used the term billet as if to imply added strength which is incrorrect. Strength is derived from material / processing / treatment.

Matt D

iTrader: (49)

THANK YOU! I am tired of everyone bad mouthing companies just because they had bad luck on one particular product, or even in some cases, just bad mouthing a company because someone else did and they have no knowledge of the product. I have heard so many people lately say TCI is junk. I ran a TCI SSF4000 in my car for two years, never freshened it up, and the car ran 11.0s, cam only, N/A, all day long, . I also had a Fuddle 4600 after that, for about 6 months, ran 10.80s, and never had a problem either. For my new car I went with TCI's top of line converter for my 4l60e. It was a hair under $1,000, but I'm sure it will be worth it. TCI builds converters for many single digit cars. Can you say the same for Howard (Fuddle)?

cablebandit

iTrader: (37)

Jnorris runs a tci in his car i believe....runs great times and has been very reliable...but you couldnt give ME one because of all the old l/u clutch issues they had..sometimes we make choices for no rational reason.....thats the way women think all the time fwiw

Yank

iTrader: (181)

Billet parts built by YANK are much stronger than the stock reworked stamped parts

The single plate clutch we use is made of BILLET steel and extra thick to stop any flex of the clutch surfaces
a flat surface will give the max holding power that is also why we use a billet cover in addition.
the structure of the mating surface must meet many demands

It must stay flat under load (engine torque twisting the mounting lugs on the cover)
it must stay flat as the internal pressure changes
it must handle heat with out warping
and it must have the correct friction specs for the need.
other items are, it must not deform during the welding process and have ability to trap and absorb some debris without damaging the clutch surface.

also other internal parts like turbine hub and stator parts & impeller hub ar billet

Billet is better (the truth)

trigger1

iTrader: (28)

That wasn't my point, I'm sure your parts are stronger than a stock piece. My point was simply the misuse of the term Billet. Billet is not a grade of material nor does it signifiy a specific strength level. That was my point. Grade / process / treatment is where you get your strength/ physical characteristics from. Your parts are made from A billet of a specific grade material. Billet is just a BIG CHUNK of material ..from that chunk of billet you machine your parts. That billet can be of any different grade material which could possess many different physical characteristics.

trigger1

iTrader: (28)

These parts are made out of what grade billet steel? Please if we are going to get into a discussion regarding materials at least list a specific material and treatment. A billet is just a semi finished chunk. It's like me having a beautiful wood table and someone asking me what wood it's made out of and me saying "it's made of logs."

JNorris

iTrader: (4)

Everybody has their own personal preferences on products and some of these decisions are made based on facts and some on feelings.
When it comes to converters or other parts I really think you should only post what you have FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE of, not things you have heard.

With that being said, I can tell (listed in order from first owned) you that the Precisions Industries Vigilante (2800 and 3200), Yank 4000, and TCI 4000 have all been outstanding performers. Did I have problems with any of them? Yes I did, but they were all taken of.

John