I got my converter installed today and I have some questions. The car feels really sluggish untill I hit it, and then it's absolutly insane. But I don't think that the converter is locking up when it should and shoulden't and my shifts are now much softer. Will tuining be able to fix this?

 

With A higher stall the shifts will get softer. Try a transgo shift kit and get the PCM tuned. Go to pcmforless@com. Bryan Herter is a great guy and does wonderful work. Good luck.
HVY SS

 

what brand did you go with?

ive read a lot that they feel a little sluggish at lower speeds/rpms, but after a few days you will get used to it and love it. let us know how that works out

 

Brand is important here, some go for all our MPH at the track others go for max drivability and a hard launch. Shifts will soften. Lockup should be more evident than it was with the stock TC because the higher stall should slip more till it locks, the lockup points are pcm controled.

 

when i got my converter installed it felt just like you described. it wouldnt even nudge until it hit the stall speed. mine is a Hughes 3000rpm stall and the first time i drove it it wouldnt even lock up at all, then the next day i drove it and it seemed like stock. i guess all the fluid had to pass through converter or something before it locked up. as for the shifts, mine feels like a powerglide i cant even feel the 1-2 shift. but it really gets violent when i flash the stall on the street, really feels bad @ss launching hard off idle at a stop light, i can feel every shift a lot harder than before

 

Wait until you drive a normal car again.. I used to light the tires up the first time I would take off in another car. So used to not moving until the pedal was down so far..

 

Sounds like you guys could have bought better converters. With a 2800 Edge 9.5" my car pulls pretty well at idle. Pertinent details are ZZ3 cam so the idle is bumped up a little bit but still low enough to be mistaken for stock , 2.93 gears which should make it not want to move due to less mechanical advantage, and it is a friggin Caprice, conservativly I would say over 4150lbs. as it sits in my driveway now without me. A friend has a 3000Edge in an Impala with 3.73s his pulls at idle but not quite as hard, so somehow the lower idle(stock cam), higher stall, and gears are just about making it a wash. Mine will hold still on the grade of his drivway his won't quite, yes you read that right mine will hold on a bit of a grade.

 

Mine is a Midwest. I took the car out again tonight and went ripping around. It actually felt violent when I hit it from a 10MPH roll. I'm getting used to it little by little. Makes turning onto streets from stop lights and signs really intersting given some throttle.

 

Ok, ive tried to get a straight answer on this for a long time, and I really cant. So here it goes. Will, say a 2800 stall, torque convereter actually move forward at idle like the car normally does stock? My friends firmly believe that the car will not move until it hits the stall speed. However, ive read here that they will move before it. So what is the definite answer? And is there anywhere, like a company website, that says this, so I can show it to my friends so they stop thinking im full of it, and i can tell them that they are full of it.

 

the torque converter slips until the rpm (not exactly 2800 or whatever it is rated at though), so the closer it gets the more its engaged, thus is why automatics have no clutch

 

I have a 2800 TCI stall in my Z and when I let off the brake with the car in gear it will move forward. I have seen cars with HUGE stalls actually roll backwards on a hill with the car in gear but we are talking like 4500 and over.

 

I am pretty sure that my car just did that i little while ago while i was trying to parallel park in my driveway which is kinda steep. I was in gear and creeped forward a little and let off and it started to roll backward when i got off the gas. My stall is only a 2600 tho. Maybe i am just stupid but i am sure it was rolling backwards.

 

I've got a Yank ST 3800 in my 'bird and it's a heads/cam car, well OK it's got a big cam in it so the idle is at 1000rpm. I have to hold the brake tight at idle or the car will take right off. The stall speed is the maximum brake stall not the minimum. If I stomp it and it hooks (only at the track on slicks) it'll flash to near 4000rpm.

 

Tonight I stalled my car up and went tearing up the street. After I did that the car got extremly sluggish and woulden't move anywhere untill about 4K. I was afraid I had given it too much heat and had to limp it home. I do have a cooler, and it's the biggest one B&M makes. Any ideas?

Sorry for all the questions I'm really a newbie to all of this.

 

Did you do the recommended lockup and unlock period before you went out ripping on it. I know PI recommends 500 lockup/unlock cycles before actually getting on it. I'm not sure the procedures on yours though. It's possible you screwed your converter. Check your fluid level,color,smell,etc. and let us know the details on that. Also feel the lines going to your cooler and make sure they are warm(atleast the inlet one). Make sure a line isn't kinked somewhere.