Torque Converters

[Irish Whiskey]

For a 2000 coupe A4 what stall speed should be chosen for torque converter?
Primarily used on the street but several stops at the local strip as well. Will run street tires not drag radials on the street. Low str or high str? Any experience with the Yank SS3200?
Have blackwing, corsas,kooks 1 3/4" headers with high flow cats, 3.42 gears with hardened shaft.

 

[vette-dude]

I think stall convertors are highly misunderstood. A high stall figure such as 3200 RPM does not mean you will be able to flash the convertor or foot brake it to this rpm. Keep in mind that if you use one of the higher stall on the street it will be "slipping" most of the time at lower RPM and heating up your trans fluid. You should determine the right torque convertor by where your engine gets "on the cam". From what I see in your post most likely a 2500 stall would be adequate. It will probably only flash to about 1800 RPM. Mostly these convertors were designed for automatic cars with large cammed engines that would not idle with a stock convertor. The HS convertors allowed the HP engines to slip like slipping a clutch and thus they would idle in gear without locking up and killing the motor. I don't claim to know all there is but I do think that a 3200 stall convertor would be overkill for your application. I would call TCI convertors and tell them what you have and ask them for a recommendation. Hope that helps a little and I'm sure someone else more knowledgable will chime in with more info.

Randy

 

[Edmond]

Randy,

What does a torque convertor do?

 

[vette-dude]

Randy,

What does a torque convertor do?

It takes the trans fluid pumped to the convertor and changes it to a mechanical function by the use of Vanes in the convertor. A HS convertor has modified vanes to allow more trans oil to get by the vanes and the profile of the vanes determine the stall point (as well as how much HP your engine makes). Here is a good website that will help answer your questions more thoroughly.

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/archive/index.php/f-13.html

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/torque-converter.htm

Randy

 

[wallstAL]

A PT-2400 by Pro Torque is great converter for your needs along with the 3.42 gear. I had one for a couple of years until I out grew it. My 60' times were in the 1.8's with drag radials.

 

[George8211]

Irish

With your setup, I would recommend you go with a 7,400 RPM Stall Converter.

George

 

[vette-dude]

Irish

With your setup, I would recommend you go with a 7,400 RPM Stall Converter.

George

I hope that recommendation is a missprint and you meant 2,500 RPM Stall.

Randy

 

[LuvmyC5]

Yank makes Great converters, and so does Precision Industries. Precisions are nice because they allow you to restall the converter once to change the stall speed up or down, which is a good factor.

In my opinion, I wouldn't go under a 2800 RPM stall. I have a Yank SY3500 in my car with a 3.42 and an FLP Level IV trans, and I Really like it. The description above is a good one, in that it feels like a very smooth driver letting out the clutch when driving it regularly. Now, when you stall it up, that's another story. It's a little loose, but Very bearable.My car is 100% street driven and with the converters 1.7 STR, it's Very easy on my street tires (335/30/18 Michelin Pilot Sports), but when I replace these, I'm putting on some Nitto RII's.

The best thing to do is to go for rides with guys that have converters and see what you like, because what's loose to you might not be for me. Only you can judge that. If you ask ten peeps, you'll get ten different answers. In the end, you're the one who's got to be happy! Good Luck!