Those of you that were around about a year ago may be a bit surprised this is coming from me, but please have a look at this thread on the other site:

http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread...hreadid=196456

Moderators, I hope I'm not breaking any rules of etiquette here by posting that link. If I am, please let me know and I'll make some adjustments <img border="0" title="" alt="[Cool]" src="gr_images/icons/cool.gif" />

 

For those of you who don't want to flip flop between threads, here's a little bit of it:

TR:
Preface: I will be making comparisons to several models of stock and aftermarket torque converters, but please keep in mind that headers and 3.73 gears were installed on the car at the same time the SS3800 converter went in.

I would have very much liked to have compared SS3800 to the ST3500, Vig3200, and GM1800 converters on an otherwise unchanged / modified car, but several outside circumstances completely prevented that from happening in this case.

Note: I still have to stay out of full throttle and away from the drag strip for another 350 miles or so to get my gears broken in.

First, the question many people have asked first is “does it feel like driving a stock converter?”

No, it does not feel stock. You will definitely feel that you have installed a higher-stall converter in the car. To be perfectly honest (and those of you that have been around for a while will remember), when I had the ST3500 installed I didn’t like it right off the bat. For my use, it was way too loose and I felt the drivability was poor. When I replaced the ST3500 with a Vig3200 I was much happier with the drivability, but I did miss the STR and high-end punch of the ST3500.

So far, the SS3800 feels like a combination of the best of both converters. The SS3800 feels maybe just a hair looser than the Vig3200, but the drivability is vastly improved over the street manners of the ST3500.

What does the 2.7 STR feel like / how does it act on street tires?

If you plan on launching your car on the street with this converter, you’re going to need tires… big, sticky tires. This converter will blow regular street tires (I use F1’s) away from a launch on the street when you hit the gas. When just rolling away from a light under part throttle (about 2000 – 2200RPM for my driving style) it pulls just fine.

Does the converter lock-up OK?

Every time I have hit 38mph (where I have my PCM set to lock the converter) at part throttle, it pops right into lock every time without a problem.

Do you have to drive in "D" around town and shift into "OD" on the highway?

Nope, the around-town manners of this converter have been just fine since I drove the car home from the shop, I've had the shifter in "OD" every time and have had no problems at all.

Do you have any SES lights / trouble codes?

Nope, not a one. Zero...

Any track ET or MPH increases?

Like I wrote above, I still have to get my gears to 500 miles, so it’s going to be another week or so before I hit the track, but I really think this converter is going to be a winner!!!

Many thanks go out to Mike at Yank for all his support and input when I was considering this converter. I had reservations about using this converter in a "finicky" 2001 car, but he explained many things to me a put my fears to rest. Some SERIOUS engineering work has gone into these converters!!!

That’s it for the moment. If you have any questions or comments, please post them here and I, or our resident experts, will try to answer as best as possible!

Question from kca2000:
Any problems with the install? How is the converter from a 30mph, 40mph 70mph punch? Those seem to be the 3 speeds i race from the most, especially 40!! I am considering this converter, but i think 3800 might be too much stall for an 02 with bolt ons. Maybe the 3600? Do you have any opinons on this vs. the Vig 3200? Thats the other one i was considering?

Answer from TR:
From what I was told, the installation was very straightforward, any mechanic experienced in converter installs on 4th-Gen F-Bodies should be able to handle it easily.

To be honest, I really haven't really gotten on the gas hard at any speed yet since I'm still breaking in a new set of gears. When the gears are fully seated, I will be posting about that too .

I had a Vig3200 in my car and it served me very well, they are solid converters. But I wanted a little more top-end efficiency and more STR. When Yank released the SS-Series converter, it looked like exactly the converter I was looking for.

I doubt the SS3800 would be too loose for a 3.23-geared car. The Vig3200 is well know for actually stalling at about 3800RPM and I thought it drove great in all kinds of traffic conditions when I had 3.23's in the car. The SS3800 with 3.73 gears drives at least as well, if not better.

Give Mike at Yank a call to get more detailed info on the specific differences between the SS3600 and the 3800 model converters. Mike outlined the differences between the two when I was on the phone with him, but the details escape me at the moment.

Question posted by PANRMA:
Well, I truly love the feel of my SY3500 (which replaced my 2600), and the looseness of the STR 1.61 doesn't bother me at all. I don't know if I could handle that much STR (2.7... yowzah!) and traction loss. I am really curious to see what it's like WOT compared to the other convertors (and ETS), factroing out the header gains.

Answer by TR:
My understanding is that the SY3500 is aimed more at pure-street cars (please correct me if I'm mistaken), while the SS converters are more for street-strip applications, hence the big 2.7 STR that gives track-tire (ET Streets or full slicks) cars a lot of punch at the starting line. I think my ET Streets will be challenged by this converter! For you street racers, this converter would probably be challenging to hook up.

Originally posted by MRZ28HO:
Troy, congrats on (so far) a good converter. Excellent write-up! I hope that when you go to Carlsbad, I can join you. Maybe we can run each other as a comparison of converters, since we're similarly mod'ed (except I don't LS1-Edit nor 3.73s)? Although I am seriously considering getting the YTP4400 (and selling my Vig3200), especially since my trans is being rebuilt by Don L.

Answer by TR:
Thanks George, I'll be glad to line up with you! I'm hoping to make my track return on Saturday, 11/23 - you going to have that trans fixed by then? I'm sure I'll have some tuning issues to deal with, but I'm game!

A YTP4400?!?!?! Ok, now you do know that EVERYONE knows and says they are very loose converters for daily drivers, right? On the other hand, that converter will make your car FLY! I just wouldn't want to deal with that much freewheeling in the traffic we get to deal with...

Originally posted by 99SSragtop
How much ( $ ) is this converter and how does it pull at highway speeds?

Answer by TR:
I believe retail is $895. No hard highway pulls yet, still breaking in some other parts.

Great Job TR!!

 

Thanks for coming over and posting. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="gr_stretch.gif" />

I was surprised when I learned that Mike was actually selling you a converter. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Razz]" src="gr_tounge.gif" />

FWIW, I found that when I changed gears to 3.73s, my converter tighten-up by 200 - 300 rpm and it was much harder to launch on the street. Had to relearn street driving <img border="0" title="" alt="[Embarrassed]" src="gr_emb.gif" /> I like them now, but 3.23s were good gears from a dead stop on the street.

 

D'oh!

Cut - and - paste... that should have been simple enough even for me. Oh well, it was late and I was tired.

Yeah... that's it!

<img border="0" alt="[chug]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_chug.gif" />