Justin01SS

iTrader: (15)

Converters pretty much rock in auto cars. I did lid, then full exhaust cause well, the exhaust is just funner considering everyone likes a good sounding car. Id say, a lid, exhaust, converter and put that all together with a tune (a must!). Then if your going to race it, a rear end is a must with some gear. Enjoy!

ChocoTaco369

don't go too big...no matter how gentle you are, even with a tranny cooler, a stall WILL decrease your transmission life. the 4L60E is a mediocre transmission. in the V6's it was great but for even the stock 320hp...it never should have went in the V8's. we should have an A5 or A6 with no overdrive - something stouter that still preserves the mpg of overdrive. if you go with a stall, and i never would because well, my car will rarely see the strip. i will baby this thing - i am in absolute LOVE and will happily try and go for the next 10 years driving this (unless they come back out with the firebird because if it were up to me, they would be the only cars i would EVER own).

don't go over a 3600 stall...but if you go under it's a waste of money...

so get a 3600 stall

if you decide you don't want to replace a transmission earlier than necessary, get LT's, exhaust and a lid. you'll probably see the same gains from that combo over the stall, but it'll cost you twice the money. on the upside, you'll gain 2-3mpg if you can keep your foot out of it. with a stall you'll lose 2mpg (due to the frequent higher engine rpm's and the necessary gas it takes to get going). you'll have to put your foot into it more just to get your car to move so you'll have to adjust to the stall.

i'm sorry, i'm kinda against stalls if you intend to keep your car intact as a daily driver like i am. however, IF YOUR CAR IS FOR THE STRIP, get a stall as it IS a must. just as i said, if it's your daily car and you want to keep it for years to come, a stall is a poor route to go as our trannies are not meant to hold a lot of power. stupid GM..why do they do stuff like this? they build us this AMAZING, all alunimum engine with awesome stock internals that generates 320hp and STILL gets 21mpg, then hook it up to a mediocre tranny and a go-cart rear. stupid, stupid, STUPID GM!

just remember, the best gains aren't necessarily the best routes to take. a stall will give you the best gain but at a price. most guys on this forum are all about speed, but if you don't want to replace transmissions - and even the rear as if you launch hard with a big stall, even a 3600 stall, it's like a knife wound to our junk rears - i would find a different route.

remember:
strip car - definitely stall
daily driver - headers, exhaust, air lid

Gold Z

iTrader: (3)

ChacoTaco369 you talk like some kind of an expert but you are wrong about almost everything you said. An aftermarket converter in the 2800 to 3600 range is most certainly not a waste of money but is the single most effective piece of speed equipment you can add to a street/strip car. They will not lessen the life of a transmission if used in conjuction with an aftermarket transmission cooler. The 4L60E is a fine transmission up to about 400 rwhp then with some aftermarket upgrades it will handle much more. Nobody ever considered the powerglide to be good for much of anything but now it is a mainstream racing transmission. The 4L60E is the same way. It just keeps evolving and getting stonger. I'm running a 4L60E and cutting 1.5 60' times with 6.7 ETs in the 1/8th mile. As for the rearend, with an automatic transmission the rearend will last almost forever. However, when you add lots more horsepower and slicks then you risk harming it. To the original poster I say your first major mod should be a midrange converter, from 3000 to 3600 stall. It will give you a bigger performance increase than any other single mod. You can expect gains of .5 in the quarter. My personal recommendation would be a Vigilante 3200.

Crazy Man

iTrader: (6)

My recomendation would be nothing smaller than 3200 id go 3500.

Strahley

iTrader: (4)

It doesn't take much more gas to get a stalled car going compared to stock. My 4k stall only sits at around 2000 or so when lightly/moderatley taking off. In fact, my gas lasts longer with the th350 than it did with the t56

ChocoTaco369

ehh the kid never said he wanted to build a race car. from my understanding, he just wants a little more speed. the FACT is, a stall WILL lessen the longevity of a transmission no matter what you do. it'll also decrease mileage no matter what. they're also murder on our go cart rears at launch. how am i wrong?

i would personally go with headers. that's the point i was trying to make. they don't harm anything, they increase mileage and louden your exhaust note.

and finally, IMO, stalls should be for race applications, not a casual street car. IMO it's a go big or go home thing. that's why i recommended a 3600 converter. again tell me how i'm wrong.

i don't think you read a word of my post. i said stalls are effective, just a poor choice unless you want to build a race car because they kill your tranny OVER TIME. no matter what your HP rating is, your tranny WILL last longer WITHOUT the stall. i don't think you listen too well my friend?

just a note:

i just get my info from stickies. according to consensus, even built, the 4L60E does NOT hold for racing applications. a stall is a racing application, is it not? yea, yea, it's just a stall in a stock car, but last time i checked, 320+ stock hp is a lot of hp and is plenty to break ANY part under abuse.

s346k

iTrader: (4)

stall converters don't kill transmissions. it's the excess heat created by them. install a tranny cooler with the stall, possibly a shift kit + trans tuning, and there is no reason it shouldn't last at least 50k more miles. if you bracket race every weekend, hell no it won't hold up, AND THAT IS WHY 95% OF THESE TRANSMISSIONS DIE. almost EVERYONE on this website races FREQUENTLY...almost any stock transmission will die when you race ALL THE TIME. these trannies aren't junk, the motors just make too much power too easy. you can get 400hp out of an ls1 with minor bolt-ons, apply that 400hp to any of the late model mustang autos or hell even some truck transmissions, and you will start breaking ****. everyone forgets that these cars make power, they just bitch when they break an auto tranny when cutting 1.5 60s in a 3500lb+ vehicle with a STOCK transmission. wake up.

also, high(er) stall converters are good for towing, as well. and anyone who has had a stock stall knows that it takes forever for these pigs to get moving, but when you hit ~3,500 rpm..you're gone...why not improve? a 3200 stall isn't for race cars. race cars have 5k+ stall speeds.

ChocoTaco369

you're not listening. the point i'm trying to make is a transmission without a stall will last longer than a transmission with a stall. i don't care how much longer. i don't care if it's 10 years longer or 10 miles longer. it will last LONGER WITHOUT a stall.

s346k

iTrader: (4)

i am listening, i am also disagreeing. abuse, with or without a high stall converter, is what kills. daily drive both and they will last equally as long. odds are the aftermarket torque converter would crap out before the tranny did, as long as non-abusive driving habits were maintained on both vehicles.

let's agree to disgaree, as this is far too subjective to argue any further.

now...

Genesis_26317

iTrader: (2)

Has anyone even bothered to ask the guy what he was looking for with the car? He has only posted ~4 lines in this entire thread, he hasn't even said what he was looking for ask far as mods go.

A stall on a purely street car/daily driver isn't all that cool when you have to rev to 3600 rpm's to go to the next traffic light. Imagine if the guy got a loudmouth with long tubes and an ORY along with that stall.

ChocoTaco369

thank. you.

NightWindDriftr

iTrader: (4)

Everyone's first mod should be a lid. Beyond that, I'm with the stall crowd. I believe that a mild stall (3000-3500) is still streetable, gets comparable gas mileage (it's agreed that it is lowered), and will wake up our sleepy A4s. When/if you do get a stall, you should pair it with a tranny cooler. The 24k GVW size is a popular choice for our cars.

The stall seems to be an object of disagreement here, and all I have to say is if you want a powerful, STREETABLE car, a stall should definitely be at the top of the list. A lot of us here don't want 100% comfortable cars on the streets. Otherwise, we'd all be driving Civics.

Mike02Z

iTrader: (13)

Here is what I would do and the order I would do them in.

1.) Lid
2.) High flow Catback
3.) Stall
4.) Long Tubes (with catted or uncatted Y)
5.) 9" Rear
6.) Cam
7.) Heads

I don't have an A4 but I know the guys that do love their stall's so you might want that second. The price of the catback will range anywhere from 350 (TSP) to 800+ for the GMMG or Borla with tips. Long tubes will run you about 400 for a coated set of pacesetters and if you can install them youself great if not add another 400-500 for install. The rear will set you back 2000-3000 without install. I put the rear above cam and heads because you will more than likely break the rear if you do all of the above on the stock 10 bolt.

Genesis_26317

iTrader: (2)

I hate to say this but the most noticable mod I did was getting a hypertech programmer, 160 thermo programming (with the thermo) and putting the clutch engagement setting at 100.

The clutch engagement REALLY gives you the seat of your pants free, the stock engagement is to slow.

It was more noticeable than LT, Exhaust, Y-Pipe and intake upgrades.

firechicken2k

ah, your O2 sensors don't heat up fast enough also?
mine always throw those damn 0135 / 0155 codes if it's cold out

s'ok though - 30 seconds with my code reader and they are deleted

and i agree about suspension mods.. those seem to be fun! i'm just now getting into them - only changed shocks and springs for now.. it already made a world of difference!! sway bars are next

Genesis_26317

iTrader: (2)

You'll definately love it when you have the sway bars on there. My Camaro takes turns tighter than my Corvette does. The sucker feels like it is planted on the ground. Thicker is better I put black Hotchkis bars on mine, absolutely no oversteer even with subframe connectors installed.

aaron653

iTrader: (1)

you dont have to rev it up to 3600 rpm's to go. With the stock stall do you have to rev it up to 1800(or whatever the stock stall is) to go? no.

thislswon

iTrader: (5)

lol...a stall is perfectly fine on a DD car...and the only way the stall will hurt the tranny life is if its abused...and you can hurt the stock A4 abusing it...i have a 4k stall...and to most ppl thats a huge stall for a DD...but it really doesnt bother me at all on the street...and its not as bad as alot of ppl make it out to be to daily drive an A4 with a stall...hell my g/f has no problem driving mine on the street....and if the guy gest a stall i recommend a good tranny cooler and while you have your tranny out you can have it stiffend up by adding just a few small aftermarket things to your stock 4L60E

unit213

Did anyone say turbo for the first real mod?

thislswon

iTrader: (5)