Preferred converter brand?

I am in the process of choosing a converter to go with the TH400. Carl Rossler recommends Coan. I have a friend who has had good luck with Yank. Any comments pro or con on the various brands?

Rich Krause

You might want to call PTC. I have had good luck with them. They will build a converter per your specifications. TCI also holds up pretty well.

Daren

Personally I love my PI Vigi 2800, not sure if they make converters for TH400's, but i'd imagine they would :)

2 companies I always hear great things about are Coan and Midwest .

P.I does make a Th400 converter, but check into a bolt together Neil Chance converter, pricey but you can change stall speeds at home or the track it's a great unit. Dan Millen and alot of other outlaw cars use this very converter.

Kevin

I have a Hughes 4000 soft hit in my TH350 and love it.

Randy

Originally posted by 383 Blwn Bird
P.I does make a Th400 converter, but check into a bolt together Neil Chance converter, pricey but you can change stall speeds at home or the track it's a great unit. Dan Millen and alot of other outlaw cars use this very converter.

Kevin

I have heard that the Chance is great, but it is $1,500+. Anyone have contact info for them?

Tahnks for the replies.

Rich Krause

Neal chance (http://racingconverters.com/chance-racing-converters.html)

That link should be good. I'm in the same boat as you. looking for the right converter to go with. What does Rossler(sp) say you should go with?

Originally posted by Daddyo
Neal chance (http://racingconverters.com/chance-racing-converters.html)

That link should be good. I'm in the same boat as you. looking for the right converter to go with. What does Rossler(sp) say you should go with?

Rossler recommended Coan. I spoke with them today and they were very thorough. I will look into the Chance, but at this point think Coan will be the way to go.

Rich Krause

ATI is my converter of choice. Excellent turn around time after ordering and their converters work great.

i just got a midwest a month ago for my turbo 400 conversion. i had the vig in my 4L60E, was good, no problems at least.
i surfed and looked online like crazy,,,and somehow i talked myself into "taking a chance" with a Midwest converter. i talked with Dennis over there, great guy to me. i didnt want a 1,000 dollar "speced" converter, just an off the shelf one that would come close to my needs. He asked me all the questions of my combo,said he got me the stall i wanted, proper stator for my cam profile,,,hell, i feel liuke i got a "speced" converter from him, and i payed 460.00 shipped for his best converter with billet anti-ballooning plate, on the site it lists for like 550 i believe.
a friend just got a custom Coan converter for his chevelle, 1,000 bucks to his door. nice unit and great name we all know,,,pricey as hell though. on a side note, he had a "home made" converter in it before the Coan,,, the Coan slowed him down by 2/10th's! kinda funny if you see this **** converter that a trans guy made him....but it obviously worked.

Good Luck,,,,,try calling Dennis at Midwest before you make your final decision, he might be worth your time.....Jeff

*edit* oh yea, he gave the two year warranty and free stall change as well with the Midwest,,, Coan has nothing i believe??

Thanks for the input. I may give them a call.

Rich Krause

Another vote for Midwest....but Rich, make sure you give them the ins and outs of your setup and the amount of HP that the TC is going to have to hold up to.

I as well got my Midwest for $460 shipped and it was custom made to my specs for a 3200 stall but that is the BASIC setup and not built for very, very high amounts of torque.

Midwest has a good thing going and has many patents on their torque converter design but I don't think I have heard of anyone pushing as much HP as you are through one of their converters.

I'm sure they can build you one that will match or surpass any of the big name brands but you may be looking at spending very close to what you would with a tried and true name brand.

Just my $0.02.

GhostZ: thanks for your input. Waht you posted makes perfect sense.

Rich Krause

Originally posted by GhostZ
Another vote for Midwest....but Rich, make sure you give them the ins and outs of your setup and the amount of HP that the TC is going to have to hold up to.

I as well got my Midwest for $460 shipped and it was custom made to my specs for a 3200 stall but that is the BASIC setup and not built for very, very high amounts of torque.

Midwest has a good thing going and has many patents on their torque converter design but I don't think I have heard of anyone pushing as much HP as you are through one of their converters.

I'm sure they can build you one that will match or surpass any of the big name brands but you may be looking at spending very close to what you would with a tried and true name brand.

Just my $0.02.

one of my friends has been running their converters in his former sbc/fogger combination that was going 9.20s with it

another friend uses them on his twin turbo big block car (1100hp) and another friend uses them on his twin turbo small block ford car (980hp). It says right on their website that their pro 22 element converter that is rated for 1100ftlbs of torque is $560 for a stall in the 3000-3500 range

someone post a link to midwest's website...? I've never been able to find it.... :confused:

I just talked to Marty Chance and now have complicated things. They make a bolt together converter (which allows one to change the stall by swapping stators). The quality is reputed to be excellent, but it costs $1,599! This appeals to me, but the price is up there, all right.

Rich Krause

midwest (http://www.raceconverters.com/)

Originally posted by rskrause
I just talked to Marty Chance and now have complicated things. They make a bolt together converter (which allows one to change the stall by swapping stators). The quality is reputed to be excellent, but it costs $1,599! This appeals to me, but the price is up there, all right.

Rich Krause

Chuck peterson and son used these in their promod chevelles a few years back. I never heard of a failure and they were making tremendous horsepower behind blown or nitrous mills. For my level of any level of competition I am going to be in.....that level of adjustability isn't required.....

Knowing me....I'd drop the case and dent it or something when I was doing a restall...:rolleyes:

Originally posted by dougg01
Chuck peterson and son used these in their promod chevelles a few years back. I never heard of a failure and they were making tremendous horsepower behind blown or nitrous mills. For my level of any level of competition I am going to be in.....that level of adjustability isn't required.....

Knowing me....I'd drop the case and dent it or something when I was doing a restall...:rolleyes:

I could do that myself :cry:

Rich

another comment on the midwest,,,,i told Dennis ( who is the owner i believe) that i WILL be making 600+ rwhp and torque.....again, he set me up with the best one he had..

i was getting kinda frazzled on these converters myself...hell..460 bucks? i can piss that away easier than 1,000 dollars.......


may not be "Yank".... "P.I."...."Coan",,,,,but some people do use them....and big power fellas as well....

Jeff

Yup, midwest is not too well known. They are located in rockford, ill about an hour and a half from me. Thats why a lot of local guys in chicago use them because they take the abuse and they're local.

The neil chance converters are really really nice but do you really need to be adjusting your stall? I mean i can see having a 1800hp motor on 10.5" tires and running a p/g and needing the adjustability but not on a street car.

Originally posted by 89ProchargedROC
The neil chance converters are really really nice but do you really need to be adjusting your stall? I mean i can see having a 1800hp motor on 10.5" tires and running a p/g and needing the adjustability but not on a street car.

Hey, in Chi-town isn't that called a 'street car'...!!! :D

Like you, I don't see the justification of an adjustable stall on a car that isn't a max-effort N/A combo or one that is travelling the country, running various tracks, and always changing the setup.

If you are up to the level of 'taking power out' to get down the track.....with no other options available (tire size, gear, shocks, etc) then I can see you having a need for one of these...IMHO.

Thanks! I also thought that a $1,600 (well, it's actually $1,599) converter was overkill, even for me ;)

Rich Krause

Found a CHANCE on eBay if you are interested!!!Neil Chance converter!!! (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2403298776&category=33727)

Originally posted by timelord
Found a CHANCE on eBay if you are interested!!!Neil Chance converter!!! (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2403298776&category=33727)

Thanks, I'll check it out!

Rich Krause

Granted a Chance Bolt-Together is overkill for most people (even thought hats what I have LOL), but when I got mine they had the typical welded converter available for about the same kind of prices you'd expect from a trypical Continental.

The reason I personally got a Chance was he's used to dealing more with Big Power Small Tire cars, using Nitrous, Turbos, and Blowers. That definetly doesn't say that Coan and other manufacturers won't get it right. But Chance is a proven entitry in the Race world with the types of Combinations that many of us are building. Hands down Marty is THE MAN though. We spent about a 1/2 hour on the phone talking about TH400 vs. Glide for my combination.

If I wasn't going to buy a Chance, I would then choose Continental. I know several people that have had good experience with their converters, and Customer service like you expect.

Well, after reading the responses and talking to a number of people, I ordered a Coan. It's their "top of the line" steel stator converter in a 10” diameter. It is the same one used in mud racing/tractor pulling, so there is no way I should break it with my puny 900-1,000hp. The stall should be around 3,200rpm. If that's too low they can raise it for ~$200.

Thanks for all you help.

Rich Krause

Nice choice:) I love my Coan 10" 3500, and I know quite a few people around here that like em' as well.

Originally posted by allmotorta
Nice choice:) I love my Coan 10" 3500, and I know quite a few people around here that like em' as well.

Excellent! Makes me feel a little better about paying out the *** for a converter.

Thanks.

Rich Krause

Originally posted by rskrause
Excellent! Makes me feel a little better about paying out the *** for a converter.

Thanks.

Rich Krause I'll make ya feel even better...One of my buddies has been using a 10" Coan 3500 in his 86 Camaro for about 4 seasons....running deep in the 10's on motor and dipping into the 9's on spray:D They're pretty reliable from what I've seen:)

Originally posted by allmotorta
I'll make ya feel even better...One of my buddies has been using a 10" Coan 3500 in his 86 Camaro for about 4 seasons....running deep in the 10's on motor and dipping into the 9's on spray:D They're pretty reliable from what I've seen:)

I'm feelin' better and better :) Thanks for the encouragement.

Rich Krause

So am I then,that is what I picked up for myself[used]10" 3200 stall,steel stator.
Can't wait for spring to install and try it.
Bought it because of the reputation and only good things heard about them.
Yank horror stories also helped!!!:) :)