Need some input/advice on TC's
 

Alright I know this subject has been beat to death. So with that said, I was hoping I could get some feedback on all the brands, prices and perhaps personal experiences you want to share on Torque Converters for my goals. I don't have a lot of money to spend on one since I am on a budget tighter than a bull frogs ass (My wife and I are having our 1st baby and trying to get a house this year!:nod:).

What I think I need to start with is a new torque converter and I am considering Fuddle Racing Torque Converters. I am trying to spend the money where it counts the most, a better converter. I have heard Fuddle's quality is really good for the price and I don't want to buy another one untill the cars needs change. The engine runs strong and is pretty much stock, mods in sig, the trans is a problem right now and is going to be swapped out again to hopefully take care of the wierd issues it is having (i think mostly due to the 97 OBDII trans to OBDI). Eventually I want to get a mild cam and a set of heads with 1.6rr rockers to be more streetable. The trans I am installing was originally in a 95Z and I am going to install new shift solenioids. I was thinking that I should be looking into a stall at about 3-3200rpm. Suggestions and advice would be most appreciated!

If money is tight right now, and you do NOT have a built trans. I would not put a stall in a stock trans. How many miles on it? A stall will kill a stock trans in no time. Even more so if you have a good amount of miles on it.

What else would figure needs to be done with the trans? Its in good shape and I believe is a rebuilt trans so it should have low mileage.

Is it a stock-type rebuild or is it a built trans with stronger internals? You can put a stall in it but I would not be romping on it too much if it's a stock-type rebuild. Make sure you add a external tranny cooler if you decide to do the stall.

Yeah I planned on the cooler for sure.


Anyone else have any input? Is a 3-3200rpm stall too high?

i would wait and save until u can afford a yank or vig.... my yank is sitting here right next to me... and i can't wait to throw it in my car!

I would pretty much only consider Edge Yank and Vigilante, Edge is the cheapest of those, what I have been using for over 4 years and it seems to work well.

I would do some searching and read up on all the Fuddle horror stories that have been floating around. A stall is one thing you should not cheap out on at all. I went with a Yank and am very happy and wouldn't consider going with anything except for a Yank or Vig. There are some other good ones but they are the ones I've had positive experiences with and always hear the best about. If your going to add heads and cam later on a 3000-3200 would be IMO too small and I guarantee you would be regretting it. I would go around 3500-3600ish. My 3600 in my cam only car is great and I would probaly go with a 4000 if I did it again.

wtf?? i feel retarded...y do you want such a high stall??

I went with a TCI 3500 and I love it. It was cheap and works great on the street or at the track. Yank and Vig are great from what I hear but I was on a budget as well and I'm not at all unhappy with this product.

the more the stall the higher you can launch from and the higher the shift extension which equates better et's, better for roll racing, etc. etc. Dont be intimidated by higher stalls, my 3600 drives beautifully.

o ok i was jus thinking if your rev limiter is lets say 7000...y would u wunna rev it to 4000 before u even move...but i got ya now thanx im a newbie lol

you dont rev it to the stall speed to get moving. It takes about 1500rpms to get moving with my 3600.

Sorry I havn't had a moment to chime in here the last couple days. I will have to price out what it will cost for a better brand name one I guess. I certainly don't want to buy another one again. Only thing is I have to do this transmission swap and would rather not pull it apart twice to install a torque converter.

See I thought about a 3600 but a lot of people said that was extreme. How well does it daily drive then? Does it rev more at all or really drive more like stock til you burry your foot into it?

Its real nice, I drive it 50 miles back and forth to school almost everyday and its fine in traffic and I love it. It takes about 1500rpms to get moving so you can feel that its not stock but its nothing outrageous at all. Before it locks up it runs at a higher rpm but has some serious balls when you want to lay into it. Its really not extreme I mean its more than you may need for a bolt-on car but its perfect for the future if a cam or heads are in the mix. They usually say to go a size bigger than you think you should so you dont end up doing it twice. Like I said above I'd go with the Yank SS4000 if I did it again b/c Im confident it would still have great streetability and be a bitch when I get on it, plus Yank is known to be pretty tight and thats partially why the 3600 I have seems to work out so well for me.

all hail YANK! hey stealth u got a ls1 driveshaft laying around?

did but it went on my car lol :D

Thanks to all who gave their input here. I know the TC has been beat to death by threads, but always seems to miss exactly what people on here want to see. I was hoping to get a little more feed back, but the feed back I have received has been great! It would be nice if someone made a sticky on here laying it all out there for the ignorant on what the benefits and draw backs, drivability and race capability of high stall torque converters meant in our cars. Its hard to know what you need without test and tune and at this time you cannot demo one to make sure you have the right one. Qaulity i am sure plays a huge roll here that much i am certain. But like people have videos of there cars with cams, there doesn't seem to be much the same for TC's.

I am kinda leaning on the 3400 stall now, i still don't know for sure if that is too high or too low. Seems nobody deals with fuddle on here so I guess i will be looking to possibly yank or vig. It would be nice if you could actually tell what you are getting before you go out and purchase something this expensive. StealthFormula you have any in-car videos of you TC in action as full throttle and normal street cruising to give us all some kinda idea? I really want to make sure I know full well what I am getting with one of these. Just to see how it performs under all conditions with my own eyes. I always learn something new everytime I get on into the A4 and TC's...

I'm running a TCI3800 in my bolt on car, love it! I did get it for future mods, but is working good with just bolt ons.

I have a fuddle 3200 in mine with a 2.1 STR, been great for over 35k miles on a slightly built trans.
Now my first TC was a TCI 3000 on a stock rebuild, that setup lasted 12k miles. I would NOT put a TC in a stock trans again.
Atleast get the larger 2-4 bands and the blue?? 3-4 clutchpack. Would have to go back and find my build sheet to remember the stuff, but this is my 4th trans and I believe its lasted so long due to them 2 parts.