ballas03

Hi I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good stall speed for my car. I have a stock 96 z28 with a 125 shot of nitrous. the rear end gears are 2.73. I was think about a 2400 stall but people I know are telling me I am wasting my time. My question is should I go bigger then 2400. the biggest I want to go is 2800. also could anyone tell me how bad a converter will hurt my drivability like fuel mileage and comfort. thank you.

itSSlowZ28

iTrader: (5)

i'll let the pros give the specifics, but from experience, i had a 3200 stall and wished i'd gone bigger. a yank ss3600 comes highly recommended. it won't hurt you're cty mpg very much and as long as it locks up you're hwy mpg won't change. gears would definitely help too, but will obviously affect your mpg more

IDriveChevy

iTrader: (5)

I have a 3600 in my car with just bolt ons and it drives pretty much normal. Once the converter locks up the car will drive like normal.

Dave357LT1

3600-3800. I had a vig 4400 and it drove fine. A little loose tho for a stock engine tho. I go yank 3800 if i did it again

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

2400 is going to be a stock size converter and the nitrous will push that stall higher and make it less efficient.

You are going to want a good 9.5" unit which is going to be bare minimum 2800stall and 3200 more likely. You will want to stay on the tight side so 3000-3200. If that worries you heat or driveability wise then you need to stop thinking like it is still the 80s.

You need to go with a quality unit too Yank, Edge, Vig, NOT some $400 TCI or ebay unit

BizZzatch350

iTrader: (33)

I had a Vigi 3200 for close to 7 years, daily drove for a while of that as well. Never had an issue, car drove great and was pretty fun. I actually miss it some times.

ballas03

I understand highway mileage wont change but how bad will city be. so if I go with a 2800 stall or 3000 stall how much should I expect to drop my 1/4 mile time. my best is 12.6 with a 2.0 60ft. if a converter will drop me 3 tenths at lest I will do it. a few weeks ago I put 3.42 gears in and my times didn't change at all and my fuel mileage drop a lot. so this weekend I am putting the 2.73 back in. being an 18 year old kid I don't wont to waste the money again and not have anything happen.

BizZzatch350

iTrader: (33)

With that Vigi 3200 on Kumho street tires I would cut 1.7s with good track prep, that was with 3.23 gears in my bolt on LT1. .3-.5 tenths isn't uncommon, for an auto it's the best bang for the buck. I drove my 93 through Houston traffic when I was in college, mixed city/freeway MPG was always around 17. I drove it kinda rough also because I was a bit younger. But around town, it drove fine. Mine wasn't a lock up converter.

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

If you think 2.73s are better then 3.42s then just walk away and buy a Prius.

If you think 3.42s hurt mileage much less hurt it meaningfully you either did something wrong, drove it a LOT harder or just can't evaluate things competently.

A bolton??? car doing 12.6 is respectable and if you are so foolish as to think 2.73s and 2400 stall is anything but a joke then I can't believe you made the car do that in the quarter.

Even for the most conservative among us 3.42/2800stall is awesome for a daily driver been there done that when the car was seeing 20K miles a year.

When I was in my early 20s I was afraid of gear and stall, then I got a clue.

muddyjimmy

iTrader: (15)

Was the car tuned after the 3.42 gears? If not that could make a big difference in the calculations you were using for mileage.

I would stick with at least the 3.42 gears and pick up a Yank SS3600 stall. Have a good tune done afterwards and that will really wake the car up. For a bolt on car with factory converter and 2.73 gears to run 12.6 is pretty good. Finish up the rest of the combination and you could have a strong running bolt on car. Sounds like it is time to bring it out to the LTx Shootout and run the Street Stock class.

lt1-xjs

The 12.6 is a stock car with a 125 shot.

ballas03

thanks everybody for the input I think I am going to look at a 3000 stall.

muddyjimmy

iTrader: (15)

That must be the part that didn't sink in when I read it. Either way, my recommendations of at least 3.42 gears and an SS3600 stall still stands

bowtienut

iTrader: (1)

A Yank PAS3400 will be perfect for you. Yes, that's PAS (Power Adder Series). It's basically an SS3600 with a modified stator, flashes like an SS3600 but then couples up quicker for less "slippage" beyond flash stall rpm.
Perfect for the juice on a stock motor.
I would change those gears to at least 3.42 no matter what you do for a TC.

ZFreie

Things were not equal in the comparisons between the runs then.

I just went from 2.73s to 3.42s and I can tell you I'm faster then I was before, cars I would run even with I now pull half a car, don't have before and after track results to compare sadly.

Also I've lost 1mpg from the gear switch, went from 22 mixed driving to 21 and I'm boltons, tune and !weight and I drive the **** out of my car.

Shanle929

I've read this figuring out the same. So yank3600 stall and 3.42 gears sounds good. My question is what is the lockup I read about and what is the driving experience like? Thanks in advance

IDriveChevy

iTrader: (5)

Lock up is basically a mechanical coupling to remove the slippage. My converter locks up at 45 mph and drives like a stock stall

chevy94c

Go with 3400 or above stall. vigilante or yank

Tranny cooler is also a good idea.

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

The stock converter is lockup, and lockup conditions are computer controlled and adjustable.

The "need" for vast amounts of extra tranny cooling is generally overstated as modern quality torque converters really don't generate that much heat not like stuff did 30 years ago. This tranny can actually be run too cold pretty easily. If you can keep the tranny between say 165 and 190 you are doing very well, I wouldn't even worry if it hits 200 sometimes.

Consider that the popular mods of turning down the fan temps and 160 stat both help keep the tranny cooler due to the in radiator cooler.

bowtienut

iTrader: (1)

True, but considering it's an F-body (which I believe OEM is radiator end tank trans cooling only), I'd add a cooler like we have on the B-bodies, especially if he intends to AutoX, roadrace, or generally beat on it.
I recently took a long trip in my Dad's 2010 Silverado. Periodically checked the trans temp via the OEM readout, and the peak I saw was 124 DegF! If GM thinks that's warm enough for longevity, I don't think we have to worry about too cool!