Edge TC or ACPT Driveshaft for more performance?

[Arctc Wolf]

I have a birthday coming up, and after all my current hassles get resolved(ses lights and what not), I'm lookin at gettin some drivetrain modifications going. The 2 biggest gains that i can think of are Torque converter and driveshaft upgrades. I already have 3.42's w/ LSD and I'm keepin those for a while.

I'm looking at a Edge Racing TC w/ the carbon fiber internals. The specs I'm looking for are 2.5 str and 97% efficiency along w/ lock-up. I like the light weight of carbon fiber, freeing up hp, and the huge gains off the line from the upgraded specs, dropping 1/4 times by up to .5 seconds once u re-learn how to launch it. I know it's about $450 for the converter itself, but will require a lot of labor to put in, as well as the tranny cooler, and at $70 per hour, it adds up quick, plus it's pretty much only good off the line.

I'm also looking at getting a carbon fiber driveshaft from ACPT. basically weighting 1/2 of what my current driveshaft weighs, getting me more hp mainly as speed increases, getting me more power on tap for highway driving, less stress on the drivetrain, and quicker acceleration. It costs $750-800 depending where I get it at, but doesn't take nearly as long as a TC would to install.

I'd like inputs from everyone about which one they'd get put in first.

[Dominic]

I would DEFINETLY get the converter. The driveshaft might net you 1rwhp, its just not worth it, and it won't connect to a big 12bolt in the future if you need it anyways.

Stick with the 1pc steel until it snaps, 1pc alum if you want, the CF shaft is cute but not worth the $.

[HAZ-Matt]

Dominic hit the nail on the head yet again. CF driveshafts are really low in the bang for the buck department. A torque converter however is basically one of the best mods you can do for an automatic car.

[LordoftheBling]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by HAZ-Matt:
Dominic hit the nail on the head yet again. CF driveshafts are really low in the bang for the buck department. A torque converter however is basically one of the best mods you can do for an automatic car.<hr></blockquote>

not one of the best..it IS the best mod for an automatic car

converter for sure. driveshaft is a i have nothing else to do to my car mod

[Arctc Wolf]

The driveshaft doesn't show the same gains across the powerband. it's power gain increases as speed increases due to it's lower rotating mass. basically a 5% decrease in drivetrain losses. gaining 5% at 200 rwhp right now would just be 10 hp, but this increases as hp increases. when cruising, the hp gain will be small, like dominic said, maybe 1-2 rwhp.

also, since the driveshaft keeps accelerating, the higher the speed, the less loss there will be.

when getting a TC installed, what other hidden costs should I look for that might pop up besides the tranny cooler install?

[xjarayax]

Can't work on your own car or what? Both of those installs are very straight forward.

[Arctc Wolf]

I don't have a lift nor the tools to do it

[xjarayax]

You don't need a lift, you need a floor jack and two jack stands. Jack up the car, put it on stands, pull the jack and then use it for the tranny jack.

As far as other tools, are you need is standard and metric socket wrenchs, some RTV sealant, and a bunch of tranny fluid. The whole install is very straight forward.

You could buy yourself some nice *** tools and gain some good knowledge about your car if you just take the time to do it yourself.

Like I said, it's very straight forward. Here's a good read for you. Don't be afraid to turn a couple wrenches and have pride that you do your own work on your car. Save cash from the install and buy yourself some tools and a nice floor jack instead.

http://modernmusclecars.net/articles...all/index.html

[ July 18, 2003: Message edited by: xjarayax ]</p>

[Arctc Wolf]

I prefer to have somebody else do it, so if something takes a dump, i can have them fix it for free instead of having my parents on my *** for treaing into a complicated part of my car. This will be done by a tranny shop, so is there any possible hidden costs that might pop up when they install a TC?

[SLOWBRAEATER]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Arctc Wolf:
I have a birthday coming up, and after all my current hassles get resolved(ses lights and what not), I'm lookin at gettin some drivetrain modifications going. The 2 biggest gains that i can think of are Torque converter and driveshaft upgrades. I already have 3.42's w/ LSD and I'm keepin those for a while.

I'm looking at a Edge Racing TC w/ the carbon fiber internals. The specs I'm looking for are 2.5 str and 97% efficiency along w/ lock-up. I like the light weight of carbon fiber, freeing up hp, and the huge gains off the line from the upgraded specs, dropping 1/4 times by up to .5 seconds once u re-learn how to launch it. I know it's about $450 for the converter itself, but will require a lot of labor to put in, as well as the tranny cooler, and at $70 per hour, it adds up quick, plus it's pretty much only good off the line.

I'm also looking at getting a carbon fiber driveshaft from ACPT. basically weighting 1/2 of what my current driveshaft weighs, getting me more hp mainly as speed increases, getting me more power on tap for highway driving, less stress on the drivetrain, and quicker acceleration. It costs $750-800 depending where I get it at, but doesn't take nearly as long as a TC would to install.

I'd like inputs from everyone about which one they'd get put in first.<hr></blockquote>


Well you talk a good game so why not do your own labor?

[Arctc Wolf]

like I said, tools and knowing exactly what I'm doing under my car. This isn't just some project car, this is my daily driver. I can't afford to screw it up putting something in myself because I have work, school, and college football to deal w/.

This post wasn't started to debate my abilities to upgrade my car myself, this was to get honest opinions from you guys about which path to take in my car's build-up. my car has had everything installed in it by me except tires and swaybars, and I don't feel like pushing it with an install like this. Can I get some replies to my original question, and no more questioning my install abilities.

[xjarayax]

Maybe then the question should be can you afford an expensive TC + shipping + ~300$ install?
Also a tranny cooler + lines + shipping + install?

You're probably looking at like at least $700-1000 depending on which converter you buy.


Seriously, it's not a hard install. I hate seeing people waste money paying other people to do stuff like this. Buddy and I started working on his car, pulled the stock TC, put the new one in, and were driving it within 2.5 hours of when we started. You can't get a ride from a buddy for a DAY in the EVENT that you mess something up and have to start over?

The torque converter will definately outmuscle your driveshaft in the oompf category. What stall were you looking at?

[Arctc Wolf]

yes I will have the cash, between $1000-$1200. I know how each modification will affect my powerband. I will feel the converter more during stoplight to stoplight driving, and the driveshaft at higher speeds. The variable I'm worried about is how much labor will be involved. I know that the driveshaft will require less labor, but is more expensive for the part, but the TC will end up being about $450, but needs more labor.

I figured the stall to be betwen 2800-3200, optimally 3000. also like i said, 2.5 str and 97% efficient.

[xjarayax]

Labor will probably be $250-300 on the torque converter. Check with your local mom and pop shops.

[SLOWBRAEATER]

the ds install takes 10 minutes i guarantee you can do that, and like he said i hate seeing people waste money on someone to install something easy, i bet you can do the tc as well, just buy a chiltons