Hey guys,

So I have had a higher stall converter in my LS swapped 84 for years. The last one was a Circle D 3200 in a 4L60e. Now it was a stock diameter converter. I loved the thing and for a street car with an LS6 it was amazing. It felt like stock to be honest.

So this winter while recovering from Covid I needed something to do (and something to keep me away from other people) so I rebuilt a 4L80e that I pulled out of a 1 ton van. I guess I shouldn't say rebuilt. It already had new clutch packs in it. I installed a CK performance shift kit, dual fed the main drum and installed a Sonnax pressure valve. I also installed an FTI 3600 stall 9.5" converter.

So this is the question. Because of the weather here in PA I haven't had the car out on the road yet. But I needed to get it out of the garage so I could do some exhaust work on the daily driver. The Vette went into reverse just fine. No funny noises at all. It goes into drive, park and neutral as it should. But when I went to pull the car back into the garage I have to drive the car up onto ramps on my 4 post lift. I really had to rev the thing up to get it to go onto the lift. It went and again, no funny noises or anything like that. But it seemed very labored.

It is a drastic difference between the old trans and this one. I know the 1st gear ratio is a lot different with this trans and a higher stall converter but does this sound normal? This is the first 4L80e I have ever had apart so I'm a little nervous I guess. Also I have never used a 9.5" converter before. This could all be normal and I have no frame of reference.

 

Interesting, I would also like to know why. I might get a 2500 9.5 stalll on my 95 vette too... I'm sure this will be fine. I can't help you there never messed with tc honestly

 

I'm kind of leaning toward it being normal. I still haven't had the car out on the road because I found out my e-brake cable was froze up. The brake wasn't on. But when I pulled the handle the cable didn't move very well. Anyway I've had the car out of the garage several times now. The trans seems to have loosened up a little. But it still needs way more rpm to get moving then before. I guess this is a great excuse to get a bigger cam

 

I have a 9.5" Vigilante with 3200 stall in my 4L80E and I don't need high revs to drive.
Are you sure you are starting from 1st gear?
First gear on the 4L60E has both shift solenoids on. On the 4L80E that will give you 4th gear.

 

I'm fairly sure it's not in 4th gear. The reason is that I have to rev it higher in reverse also.

Also you have a way nicer converter than I do. Fti makes a strong converter but yours is probably way better for drivability

 

From idle, about 1k rpm, it moves both in fwd and rev on flat surface. When driving around town a normal start does not require more than 2k rpm to keep up with traffic.

 

I'm sure you checked, but just in case...are you sure the tranny level is correct? More than once I have installed a fresh tranny or converter and miscalculated the amount of fluid necessary. The car moves but takes some revs.