Hey guys. I am thinking about getting a bigger stall for my car. I was thinking about the 3200 Tci street fighter. What does the lockup capability mean? People are also telling me that I will not be able to get any kind of traction if I go bigger,and with no suspension mods, are they right? People tell me that a converter really wakes our cars up. How bad does it cut our gas mileage? I am getting about 230 a tank all city driving. Would the 3200 converter,a transgo shiftkit,and b&M transcooler be a good setup? Thanks for reading.

 

1). Yes it will definately wake up your car. You'll shave .5 to .7 off your ET with most 3200-3600 stall TC on a basically stock car. It'll help eliminate those annoying dead spots too (like the 35 mph punch that makes you feel like your driving a V6). Best mod you can do for an A4.

2). Lock up capability means at a certain speed the converter locks and your car drives normally again (like it does now on the stock converter). The TCI SSF 3500 torque converter locks up around 40-45 mph.

3). You will lose some city MPG because the converter stays unlocked at slower speeds. City driving you can expect to lose maybe 5 mpg from what your getting now. more if you always get on it and less if your real easy. But you will lose a few mpg. That's just the price you pay but it's well worth it. Highway mileage will be unchanged though because the converter will lock at 45 mph or so and drop your rpm's back down to normal.

4). You will lose traction with a TCI converter. The stall isn't the biggest factor here. The STR is 2.2 on a SF and 2.5 on a SSF. Anything over 1.8 will roast street tires. Low STR make it easier for the street but you gain less at the track. If your converter has 1.8 or higher STR then your gains will be better but traction will suffer. You will roast the street tires to shreds. I'd be looking for drag radials as the next mod.

5). 3200 stall, tranny cooler and a shift kit is an excellent setup. The tranny cooler is a must. The shift kit will make your shifts firmer and help with the "looseness" a bit for better street manners. For stock internals 3200-3600 stalls work the best. Less then 3200 is too little and more then 3600 is too high on the stock cam (IMO). I'd say a 3200 stall for a stock engine and daily driver is perfect. I'd only consider going up to the 3500. The TCI SSF 3500 2.5 STR is a great bang for the buck converter on a daily driver.

It's a great investment. I'm about to order my TCI 3500 very, very soon with my income tax return

Good luck

 

I installed a midwest 3400 coverter on my 98 auto with 2.73s, best mod I have ever done. I also installed a transgo shift kit and b&M cooler. I will never own another auto f-body without a higher stall converter now

 

Thanks for the replies guys. Does Tci have a website where I can order one? Last question is, what is the aprox.cost on installation of the converter and trans cooler?

 

Check out Texas Speed and Performance. They generally have the best price on the TCI converters. You'll have to check locally by you for installation price. But for a ball park I was quoted $350 from Speed Inc here in Illinois for the installation of a TCI converter, Tranny cooler and shift kit.

Good Luck

 

Heres a link to thier website. Look under LS1 f-body and then Transmission.

www.texas-speed.com

 

How do they affect daily driving as opposed to the stock one? Not just saying MPG, but like when I start from a stoplight, what differences will there be? How about when I floor it? I am looking at getting a Vigilante 2800 if that helps.

Thanks

-Dustin-

 

Vig 2800's are actually a 3200 stall. Basically the car will sit at higher rpms's during city driving then it did before so those with louder exhausts notice it's a lot louder around town then it ever used to be. That's one difference although most do not mind it.

The car will feel a little "loose". So it takes more gas to get going then before. Lets say when your at a stop you let off the gas. Your car will start to roll even with no gas applied. Then if you give your car a little gas it shoots forward. That's the "tight" stock feeling. Very accelerator responsive even without flooring it. Now with a 3000+ stall the car might not move at all when you release the brake. Then if you give it a little gas it barely takes off even though the rpm's are high. It basically feels "sluggish" or "loose" on very mild acceleration. But when you floor it you get thrown back, tires smokin, car movin sideways and well you get the idea. You'll quickly learn how to use a "firm" accelerating technique to move around town without losing traction or taking too long.

You can still drive normally but you have to get used to giving the car more gas when your around town and not looking to do WoT runs. After a week you'll be so used to the converter it'll seem normal again and you'll wonder how you ever drove a auto without a higher stall in the first place. If you were looking at 3800 + stalls you might never adapt to it but a 3200 will be fine for your car. The SoTP difference when you floor it will be a night and day difference.

Make sure you upgrade to better tires in the back. The street tires are gonna have traction issues. Seems people tend to run Drag Radials after a good converter goes in and still have some traction issues just not as bad.

Your gonna love that vig3200. It's an excellent choice.

Good Luck and be sure to get a tranny cooler.

 

Darren said everything I was going, plus a lot more. A high stall converter can be annoying around town, but when you floor it you quickly forget about that. And definately upgrade your rear tires as soon as you can. Smoking the tires is just way to easy with a higher-rpm converter.

 

Man you guys are getting me excited

I want summer to get here so i can buy my 3600stall Trans-go shift kit and B&M hi-tec cooler, and start going sideways

 

I have 275/40/17 Goodyear Eagle GS-D3's now. Do you think I could handle a higher stall TC on the street or are only DR's going to be enough? I am looking into a TC as my next mod.

-Dustin-

 

Depends on the torque converters STR (stall torque ratio). For a LT1 you'll probably want to stick with a 2800 or 3000 stall. If the STR is over 2.0 then street tires will get smoked bad at any WoT under 35 mph so drag radials may serve you better. If you get a lighter str of 1.6-1.9 then you should be fine on your GY Eagles. If you daily drive and see a lot of rain then I recommend either Nitto 555R drag radials or just pick a torque converter with a lighter STR.

Remember the smaller the STR the easier it hits the tires which is good for the street but not so good at the track (if you NHRA/IHRA drag race). But hands down it's the best mod for a automatic and you'll have a blast with the car after you get one installed with a tranny cooler. Shift kit is optional but I recommend them because they tighten up the sloppy shifting that higher stalls sometimes cause.

Good luck

 

Thanks fella's, I am currently looking at a used 5,000 mile Yank S2800 that is a reworked Stocker for $300 shipped and a New Midwest 2800 for $370 shipped. I feel that the Midwest is probably better since its a custom built rather than restalled stocker. But the Yank has a 1.9 STR which according to you guys would help on the daily basis, and the Midwest has a 3.0 rating which I guess would blow the rubber of my rims. I am torn between both to be honest. I can afford to have BFG's on in Ohio which suggests the Yank, but at the same time I want the "newness" of the Midwest since its custom built. I am worried about losing races due to terrible lauches which would negate the time and money spent towards a new TC. Hopefully you guys can provide me with some insight. I cant do something as elaborate as a spanking new Vigilante, so either of these seem like a logical route. Thanks.

-Dustin-

 

Did you run 13.38 before or after getting the 3400 stall? If that was after, seems you had some traction issues?!

I'm looking at a converter this year. I've got a dilemma though.....if I'm planning on upgrading the cam at some point (hypothetically, "this year") then would it be better to get the cam first, dyno tune the car, and pick a stall based on that?? Or just get a ~3200 or ~3500 stall, and pick a cam to suit that power band????

...any opinions on that?? Thx.

 

There are a few variables to this decision.

1). Will you ever run a 100-200 shot of N20?

Generally people running N20 with small cams stay around 3400-3800 with stalls so they don't bounce the rev limiter when they spray.

2). Are Emissions a concern when picking the cam size?

If you are like me and need to pass emissions then you'll be looking at cam sizes around 222/222 114 lsa. That cam would work fine with as little as a 3400 stall.

3). Is this a daily driver or weekend warrior?

If you have no emission concerns and go with a real big cam then your gonna be looking for at least a 4000-4400 stall. Less then that will not compliment your higher rpm powerband. Remember too that the 4L60E is not a strong transmission. If you buy a 4000 stall for the 4L60E and then switch to a TH400 later on because of the power your putting to the ground then you'll need to buy another torque converter that will fit that transmission. So in other words don't spend $1000 + on a new Yank converter if in a year and a half you see yourself TH400 shopping.

IMO it's better to decide what cam you want first and then pick a stall. Even if you buy the stall before the cam because then at least you know what your ultimate destination will be. Plus you can have torque converters restalled. Most companies you buy torque converters from will offer you at least one free restall if you should decide you need to go bigger or smaller for any reason within 1-2 years of original purchase.

3800 stall would be a nice choice if your undecided. That size has some street manners, can take moderate N20 shots and works well with most aftermarket cams.