What can I expect from a Torque Converter?

[RancidCamaro]

Can I expect to gain any time on the 1/4 mile by installing a torque converter? Let's suppose it's a stock 99 a4 camaro V6 - What would your estimate be?

Make sure you tell me if I'm wrong, but from what I understand a torque converter basically shifts some of the high end power into low end power. You get better launches but lose some top end speed. Right?

[Arctc Wolf]

a torque converter can get u as much as .5 off ur et's if you can drive it right down the track. TC's have a learning curve to them sometimes. Many ppl on here will tell u that.

Main worries w/ TC's are: Highway cruising RPM's, traction, and tranny overheating.

Having a lock-up converter will help keep highway rpm's down, also having the converter very efficient will help that also.

Traction can be helped w/ suspension, tires, differential, and the STR of the converter. STR tells u how many times the TC multiplies the torque out of the engine before it goes to the rear wheels. for example, a TC with 2.5 str will multiply ur engine torque off the line by 2.5, so if u put down 200 engine torque, you'll have 500 torque after it goes through the TC.

What u said is right, the more STR a TC has, the lower it's efficiency will be, so selecting one should be based on what ur looking for. Lower 60' times, or higher MPH through the traps. It doesn't do this my moving top end power down low though. the engine's powerband isn't changed by the TC, the TC just determines how much multiplication occurs and how efficiently the power will go through it.

Lastly, TC's produce a lot of heat when they do their multiplication stuff, and the tranny fluid can overheat and u might mess up ur tranny. Most ppl put in transmission coolers when they do TC's to keep fluid temp down.

I have been looking at getting a TC for a while. When I do get a TC, the specs I'm looking for are 2.5 STR, 97% efficient, and w/ Lock-up. There's a lot of places u can go, such as Vigilante, yank, and Edge. I personally will pick Edge because of their prices and quality so far shown by some of the members on this board. One of the guys from Edge is part of this board, his name is Andre. maybe he has some other stuff he could relay to u about torque converters.

Hope this helped.

[ May 21, 2003: Message edited by: Arctc Wolf ]

[ May 21, 2003: Message edited by: Arctc Wolf ]</p>

[shortdog273]

I also went with edge. No 1/4 times due to it not being installed..yet.

[RancidCamaro]

Wow! Very informative [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] , thanks a lot! How does the lock-up work? Is it like a fail-safe, so when RPMs get high the converter stops working?

I'll probably go with your recommendations on what kind of TC to get. You seem well educated on the subject. Your 2001 bird is pretty close to my 99 camaro, so I'm betting the results would be close to the same. Let me know if you ever get that torque converter and how it turns out for you! Thanks again.

[Arctc Wolf]

lock-up works when there isn't very much power being put through the tranny. basically, when u cruise, and it can tell ur not giving it much gas, it'll lock up and act just like the engine and tranny were hooked together.

What I looked for in a TC was the best of both worlds. I wanted a decent torque multiplication, yet I also wanted high efficiency out of it for mph at the end of the 1/4. right now, I'm just trying to set up my suspension to be able to deal w/ the added STR of a new converter and keep from breaking traction. don't do a converter unless ur car is ready to take it. the easiest way to do this is make sure u have a LSD differential, then the rims/tires u want, and then take care of the rear suspension so u don't break traction.

[RancidCamaro]

What would you suggest to add to the rear suspension?

[Arctc Wolf]

what I did, was I first got 255-50-ZR16 kumho's, and it hooked better, but was a 1 legger. Also, as I did more power mods, the chassis twisted more and more off the line. To fix this, I got 1LE swaybars, front and back so that the car stayed balanced, yet the rear end didn't twist off the line. Then I got LSD put in the rear diff., and i hooked damn well.

As I put more mods onto my car for power, I got more and more wheel hop. This happens when the tires grip more than the suspension can take, so the suspension flexes real quick to relieve the pressure off of it.

To fix this, I'm getting subframe connectors to stiffen the chassis, because the stiffer the chassis is, the easier is it for the suspension to work against it. I'm also getting Lower Control Arm's, or LCA's. This is the main reason ppl get wheel hop. The stock V6 LCA's are stamped steel, and flex, and the bushings are soft. I just bought BMR Chrome-Moly LCA's w/ a rubber and a polyurethane bushing. The rubber end attaches to the car to reduce road noise and allow the rear end to move a little bit, yet the rubber bushing is much harder than the stock bushings we have. The poly bushing keeps the rear end from jumping up and down.

My suggestions for setting up the rear suspension and chassis: swaybars, LCA's, SFC's, and decent tires. Decent tires means W, Y, or Z rated, and at least 245 width. This is the cheapest way to go to get traction, after this, it's springs/shocks, and a new torque arm, but I doubt u'll have to go that far netime soon.

[RancidCamaro]

[img]graemlins/omg.gif[/img]

I think I bit off more than I can chew.

I'll be goin over that post a few times, that's for sure.

[Arctc Wolf]

Basically, look at my mods, and look at my future mods. my future mods are so i can put the power I'm making to the ground w/o spinning the tires or hopping like a bunny for days.

[RancidCamaro]

sounds good [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]