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2.73 gears and a stall.

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Old 03-19-2016, 06:54 PM
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Default 2.73 gears and a stall.

I'm a bit of a noob in this but my 2002 Trans Am suffers 2.73 gears and I want to put a stall on it. I've been looking at one from Texas Speed 3600 Yank stall...is this okay? Or would I need a specific torque converter for my 2.73 gears?
Old 03-20-2016, 05:35 AM
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That converter is an excellent choice for a stock or mild LS1, regardless of gear ratio.

You might be surprised at how little actual performance difference there is between gear ratios ranging from 2.73 to 3.73 with a 4L60E/LS1 combo and a 3500+ stall speed. You may find this thread interesting:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/new-ls1-o...up-2-73-s.html
Old 03-20-2016, 08:36 AM
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you sure your really a noob ? you hit the nail right on the head with the 3600 stall from a quality manufacturer unless the car is more of a toy/strip combo then think 4000 yank.

Most people come in asking about doing gears with stock stall and an army of members have to convince them to do stall first.
Old 03-20-2016, 08:37 AM
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Originally Posted by LS White Dragon
I'm a bit of a noob in this but my 2002 Trans Am suffers 2.73 gears and I want to put a stall on it. I've been looking at one from Texas Speed 3600 Yank stall...is this okay? Or would I need a specific torque converter for my 2.73 gears?
You don't need a specific torque converter. I have the stock 2.73s and I put in a fti 4000 hard hit stall when I replaced my stock 4l60e with a Performabuilt lvl 2. Gained 6 tenths in the quarter in less than ideal conditions, so I'm sure there's more.

But regardless of your goals, you don't need a specific stall.
Old 03-21-2016, 03:43 PM
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im one of the people bothered by the looseness so i will be adding 3.42's shortly. get a yank or circle D 3600 and you'll be happy with the performance. cheers!
Old 03-22-2016, 06:06 PM
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Just more or less replying to everyone here:yeah, I am more of a noob that I would like to admit but my older brother already did most of the trial and errors building his 02 Corvette so I have a great idea of what I'm doing....and I was just asking because I heard my 2.73 gears have more of a chance to grenade due to a lot of power going through it when I install a huge cam lol and lastly, my brother praises Yank for their torque converters..I drove it around a lot and actually didn't mind the looseness of it, it kind of became second nature. But yeah guys thanks for the feed back, I'm just doing some research before I fix my rear main seal....considering it's a lot of work to get down their I might as well do the torque converter.
Old 03-22-2016, 07:53 PM
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2.73's are not weaker than other gears in a 10 bolt - its kind of the opposite. in an automatic car 10 bolts survive well.

Make sure you install a big trans cooler when you ad the stall.
Old 03-22-2016, 07:59 PM
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Originally Posted by murphinator
2.73's are not weaker than other gears in a 10 bolt - its kind of the opposite. in an automatic car 10 bolts survive well.

Make sure you install a big trans cooler when you ad the stall.
Exactly, have you seen the pinion on a 2.73! Remember, heat kills, get a good/big plate type cooler.
Old 03-22-2016, 08:02 PM
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Originally Posted by murphinator
you sure your really a noob ? you hit the nail right on the head with the 3600 stall from a quality manufacturer unless the car is more of a toy/strip combo then think 4000 yank.

Most people come in asking about doing gears with stock stall and an army of members have to convince them to do stall first.
Originally Posted by murphinator
2.73's are not weaker than other gears in a 10 bolt - its kind of the opposite. in an automatic car 10 bolts survive well.

Make sure you install a big trans cooler when you ad the stall.
Originally Posted by ragtopz28
Exactly, have you seen the pinion on a 2.73! Remember, heat kills, get a good/big plate type cooler.
I agree with all of the above. A 3600 with a 2.73 rear gear will feel pretty loose.

Do you plan on spraying? If not I'd look into yanks PT series or Circle D's E series convertors.
Old 03-22-2016, 11:21 PM
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Originally Posted by murphinator
2.73's are not weaker than other gears in a 10 bolt - its kind of the opposite. in an automatic car 10 bolts survive well.

Make sure you install a big trans cooler when you ad the stall.
This is exactly correct. There is nothing "weaker" about the 2.73s that would make them in any way more prone to breakage.

Originally Posted by Kingc8r
I agree with all of the above. A 3600 with a 2.73 rear gear will feel pretty loose.
Depends on personal tolerance. Something high quality like a Yank, and then with the high STR of the SS3600, feels generally like stock to me with 3.23s after a week or so of driving it. With 2.73s it's a bit looser, but nothing bad at all and still perfectly fine for the street IMO.
Old 03-23-2016, 02:29 PM
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Originally Posted by RPM WS6
This is exactly correct. There is nothing "weaker" about the 2.73s that would make them in any way more prone to breakage.



Depends on personal tolerance. Something high quality like a Yank, and then with the high STR of the SS3600, feels generally like stock to me with 3.23s after a week or so of driving it. With 2.73s it's a bit looser, but nothing bad at all and still perfectly fine for the street IMO.
Honestly I think I noticed it more because I had 3.73s before I had a converter so maybe that's why I felt it was way loose
Old 03-23-2016, 04:17 PM
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I have 3.23s with a loose 4000. It climbs up to 2500 to move. But the bigger issue is lockup. Once locked up, with a big cam, a short (numerically higher) gear helps a lot more. The 2.73s will be fine until you cam it.
Old 03-23-2016, 06:25 PM
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Originally Posted by JakeFusion
I have 3.23s with a loose 4000. It climbs up to 2500 to move. But the bigger issue is lockup. Once locked up, with a big cam, a short (numerically higher) gear helps a lot more. The 2.73s will be fine until you cam it.

So my 2.73 gears will limit my cam selection in the long run?
Old 03-23-2016, 06:44 PM
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Originally Posted by LS White Dragon
So my 2.73 gears will limit my cam selection in the long run?
Not exactly. Jake was just referring to how low the cruising rpms will be with a 2.73 gear while in lockup, and that it may surge a bit with a big cam while at that low, lockup rpm. This won't be a problem with a stock or mild cam. If you go with a big cam, you can tune lockup to take place at a higher speed/rpm to correct this, should you encounter an issue (or consider a gear swap at that time, if you don't mind the higher cruising rpms on the highway.)

Other than that, the entire matter of looseness is a personal perception issue. Some people (the minority) find they are more bothered by "looseness" than others, and in those cases a gear swap can always be done after the stall. It's fine to do gears later, in fact I always recommend doing a stall first. If you want to up the numeric gear ratio later, you can always do that with the converter already in place.
Old 03-23-2016, 07:05 PM
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Yea it didn't really bother me but I noticed it. I even went up to a 4200 stall but unfortunately due to life I haven't been able to test it out
Old 03-23-2016, 07:44 PM
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Slight difference in strength among ratios in the same housing; varies with how many pinion teeth are engaged: more = better.
Old 03-23-2016, 08:18 PM
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My 4000 stall with 2.73s is somewhat loose, but it's not bad at all on the street. I have it set to lock at 55 mph.

I think the quality of the torque converter is key as to how loose it is. For example, I had a 69 chevelle with a b&m holeshot 3000 with 3.23s, and it was as loose as this fti hard hit I am running now with 2.73s. Basically, the fti is a better converter.
Old 03-23-2016, 10:50 PM
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Originally Posted by jhshnh
I think the quality of the torque converter is key as to how loose it is. For example, I had a 69 chevelle with a b&m holeshot 3000 with 3.23s, and it was as loose as this fti hard hit I am running now with 2.73s. Basically, the fti is a better converter.
This is exactly correct. Torque converter is no place to cheapen out, as the consequences to driveability and top end performance are significant. A high quality 4000 stall can have better street manners than a cheap 3000 stall speed.
Old 04-20-2016, 08:51 AM
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I have a Yank SS 3600 and 2.73. I am a firm believer that gears are good for maybe a tenth or so in the quarter. People make a bigger deal out of gear ratio than they need to. You'll be fine. My car has gone 12.4's with 2.73's and just bolt-on's. I'm going to see how far they can take me before I either break the rear or stock trans. No reason to waste money on gears for a 10 bolt.
Old 04-20-2016, 11:34 AM
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I agree with Dark SS. I have bolt ons with a SS4000 and went 12.31 with the 2.73 with a 1.85 60'. I swapped in a 3.42 rear for better driving around town experience. I also added a line lock when I installed the 3.42 rear. My current best on the 3.42 is 11.97 with 1.71 60'. My mph is identical between both and I believe the biggest improvement came from being able to warm up my drag radials properly.


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