gears or stall converter? which would i gain more with? costs + labor? specific recommendations on brands and stall speeds for this car?I am currently visiting the local 1/8th mile track every friday and have gotten the stock trans am down to a best of 9.12 @ 78.50 mph and would like to break into the 8s without engine mods......

NOTE: in the future i think i will be using some sort of forced induction leaning toward nitrous but not totally commited to that yet.

 

What gears do you have now? If you have 3.23 I say get a vig2800 or 3200 and some sticky tires. If you have 2.73 I say get 3.73 and sticky tires and then save up for a stall.

 

i do believe i have 2.73 gears with my a4 so ive been told, and i already have sticky tires(bf goodrich drag radials 275/35/18) ....i leave a lot out i guess

 

Check your shift lever. If it does NOT have a 1 as an option for the shifter, then you have 2.73s. I would get a stall and swap junkyard rear with 3.23s or 3.42s and youll be flying. Read my post on new best bolt on LT1 times.

 

nope, D32 no 1st gear option there....what can the junkyard rear end come out of ? Im a newb.....im used to dealing with that other automotive group( ).

and what stall speed and type do you recommend?

 

dosent a stall hurt ur tranny?

 

The additional heat created by the higher stall converter can be damaging. That is why most people install an auxillary transmission cooler and have no issues.

 

ok lol newb here remember..... wats an auxillary transmisison cooler and how can i get my hands on one?

 

Summit is where I got my cooler from ($40). I forgot to mention I had a cooler in my previous posts. There are a few good writeups with pics on how to do it. All M6 cars came with 3.42 rears. You just have to make sure the traction control option matches your car.

 

<<<a4 with 3.23's

 

If you want better 1/4 mile performance, I think you're probably better off with a stall, honestly . I've been down the gear road and back, and YES they help/make a difference (see my times in sig). I never got around to getting a stall, then my tranny blew up! (don't freak yet, mine was from excessive abuse, including racing on a road course).

I think a stall even with 2.73's would wake a car up really nice (just be sure to get a good aftermarket tranny cooler). For an LT1, seems ~2800 - 3200 is plenty (unless your engine has heads/cam which would raise the power band). For an LS1, ~3200 - 3600 seems more common.

Gear wise though? If you've already got 3.23's, they're probably fine, unless you want something like 3.73's or 4.10's (don't hesitate to run them with an A4 ... they're hardly more "extreme" than 3.73's are ). Going from 2.73's, I wouldn't stop at 3.23's. I'd go at least 3.42's or 3.73's, but again, if you're really after 1/4 mile performance, then go 4.10's .

That's my $.02.

 

Stall first, even with the 2.73's you will get the most benefit from a stall.
Not only will it launch harder but it will help remove the dead spot after the shifting, by keeping the car higher in its TQ band.

 

...you will also improve by switching to a set of 16x8 stockers for the rear with 255 50 R16 DRs ( I prefer M/T radials, but the BFGs are OK, too...) More sidewall + better front to back tire contact patch = lower 60's...18" wheels/tires have very little sidewall...You will see an improvement...Adding gears and/or a stall to 18s will show their limitations...

--Alan

 

exactly why im saving my stockers until im ready for some draglites!.......

time to burn up the ****ty street tires on those stockers so i can replace em with radials lol thats the fun part!

 

Go with a higher stall first.

When I still had a SBC, the car only had 3.27 gears and 26" tall tires. With a 3800 stall converter, I was able to still run high 11's at 117 mph.

A higher stall converter allows the engine to operate in it's best rpm range or it allows the engine to get into that range quicker. Deep gears, (4.56 etc), help in accelleration but with a low rpm converter, the engine has to work harder and takes longer to get into the higher rpm range. The stall speed should be around where the cam starts to make power. If you have a cam that peaks out at 5500 rpm, a converter that stalls 4000+ in a street car wouldn't be practical since most of the time, you would be trying to run below the stall speed. The amount of heat the converter would make when it's slipping at these lower speeds would cook the tranny oil.

My car is race only. My converter stalls at 6000. At WOT, the engine rpms don't drop below that.