Need some input from the experts here.

I'm thinking of buying this cam : 234/240 598/608 114 LSA.

And YES - I WANT the wild lope.

I already bought Crane dual springs, titanium retainers and seats. And a blueprinted oil pump.

I currently have this :

2001 Coupe, A4, stock TC, Transgo shift kit, 2.73:1, 160deg thermo, reprogrammed fans, stock engine otherwise, Blackwing, Supermaxx headers (complete system with cats & x-pipe), Stingers out back, and a Predator tune (TQ Mgt delete, upped shift firmness, upped redline) - No codes.

Oh, and a Performance Hood Seal

Car pulls like a freight train right now.

Suspension : Slammed, Bilstein Sports shocks, FE1 leafs & sways (soon to be Z06 leafs & Hotchkis sways), stock painted wheels, stock runcraps (also soon to change)

On the horizon is 3.73:1 gears and 2400rpm stall

My driving style : canyon crawling and twisties. No drag and have no interest in drag racing. I do NOT want a high stall TC because I hate "slip" (so please do not recommend one).

I'm a torque driver and have no real interest in running my car to redline all the time.

This will be professionally tuned once it is completed.

So my questions : will this big cam have to idle above 850rpm? Hunting a little bit is OK, as long as it doesn't stall. And what will my torque curve look like (in your expert opinion).

Any relevant comments would be appreciated.

EG

 

Nice cam selection !!! going to need those gears soon or she will be a dog off the line. The Predator tune is not going to work imho.Also, you might be "old school" but converters have come a long ways,You might want to rethink your converter selection, I know this is highly opinionated but I think you colud go to a 3000/3200 stall select a low str(1.5/2.0) and you want even know its there! Could have came this way from the factory.

 

Thanks for your reply.

Predator is just "for now". I will get the car professionally tuned after the cam/springs install.

The problem I have with "slip" is it doesn't work with my driving style. When I cruise, I cruise just off idle, and twisties varies from 1800rpm to 5000rpm. I don't want to have my foot to the floor while cruising just to get the car going and likewise when on the twisties. The last thing I need on a tight corner is for my TC to lock up at 3200rpm at apex.

Appreciate the comments on the high stall, but the slip would drive me crazy. 2400 is the highest I would go - and only with 3.73:1 gears.

Thanks

EG

 

The bigger converter won't slip as much with that gear, and with the lower STR, it will have much better efficiency. This will help your car move out from a roll, or out of a canyon twisty. Once any converter reaches lock up speeds, they all work the same. Having the larger converter will also help with your shift extension and keep your engine in the power range of that BIG cam (less RPM drops between shifts). A Yank 3200 converter that is designed to run with the 3.15 gears would probably work Great with the 3.73's and probably shouldn't slip too much at all.

That cam is definitely going to make some pretty sick power up top in the RPM range, and with how good these tuners are nowadays, your idle should be around 850-900 rpm's and driveability should be alright. On the F-bodies, they drill holes in the throttle bodies to help the idle, and they might do that on ours, but I'm not sure. Maybe a good tuner can chime in and shed some light on it. Please keep us posted with how this turns out, and Good Luck!

 

The bigger converter won't slip as much with that gear, and with the lower STR, it will have much better efficiency. This will help your car move out from a roll, or out of a canyon twisty. Once any converter reaches lock up speeds, they all work the same. Having the larger converter will also help with your shift extension and keep your engine in the power range of that BIG cam (less RPM drops between shifts). A Yank 3200 converter that is designed to run with the 3.15 gears would probably work Great with the 3.73's and probably shouldn't slip too much at all, or maybe a PI/Vigilante 2800. A good tuner can reprogram your lock up speeds, so that might not be a problem, but if you want nothing bigger than a 2400, then Please disregard this.

That cam is definitely going to make some pretty sick power up top in the RPM range, and with how good these tuners are nowadays, your idle should be around 850-900 rpm's and driveability should be alright. On the F-bodies, they drill holes in the throttle bodies to help the idle, and they might do that on ours, but I'm not sure. Maybe a good tuner can chime in and shed some light on it. Please keep us posted with how this turns out, and Good Luck!

 

Thanks for the input. Yes, small holes in the TB blade might be needed for idle - I will take my tuners advice on that one.

I'll have to drive with someone with 3.73:1 and high stall before I can make any final judgements. In the past (and yes, my stall knowledge is a little dated!!) the slip drove me crazy while cruising and in traffic.

Thanks again.

EG

 

[QUOTE=LuvmyC5]The bigger converter won't slip as much with that gear, and with the lower STR, it will have much better efficiency. This will help your car move out from a roll, or out of a canyon twisty. Once any converter reaches lock up speeds, they all work the same. Having the larger converter will also help with your shift extension and keep your engine in the power range of that BIG cam (less RPM drops between shifts). A Yank 3200 converter that is designed to run with the 3.15 gears would probably work Great with the 3.73's and probably shouldn't slip too much at all, or maybe a PI/Vigilante 2800. A good tuner can reprogram your lock up speeds, so that might not be a problem, but if you want nothing bigger than a 2400, then Please disregard this.

/QUOTE]



I have had 3 different converters in my car. I had a PT2400 and 3.42 gears in my car. A 2400 stall with that big cam is a very poor combo. Do yourself a big favor go with at least the Yank SS3200 and 3.73 gears. You will get VERY little looseness and better performance than you will get with a 2400 stall T/C. If you want a T/C with a small stall maybe you should consider a milder cam.

 

I had the G5X3 in my old car. It was an automatic. Unless your going to spend a lot of time in the upper RPM range I would go with something smaller. Just my 2 cents.

 

The spec is almost the same as the G5X3.

So the concensus is I will not have horrible slip with a modern 3000/3200 stall, and I am definitely going with the 3.73:1 gears - so I will try the 3000 stall with those gears.

I'll try it and report my findings. Either way, it will be very different from stock

Keep the comments and opinions coming please.

Thanks

EG

 

I don't really think the slip is bad with my SS3600. It has been a daily driver in town commuter. I think you will hate that cam with stock TC - you will lose your low end torque and the car will feel like a dog 98% of the time.

Seems like with your racing/driving style you would want to optimize for midrange and not put in a top end screamer. Good luck.

 

Don't get the Yank Stealth 3000, because it is really just a modified stock 12 inch T/C that is very inefficent. Stall speed is not the only thing that must be considered when you select a T/C. The design of the T/C also governs how loose or tight a T/C will be. For example Yank made 3 different 4000 stall T/Cs that ranged from tight to very loose. The Yank SS series converters are designed to be tight street/strip converters. The SS3200 with 3.73 gears will have excellent street manners.

 

If you really want a wild lope, may I suggest a 112 LSA on the cam in question? The narrower LSA will also give you more power under the curve.

 

I have A4 with 3.42gears. I am looking at either Yank SS3200 or SS3600.
A good friend locally has a stock (blackwing) engine, 3.73gears, Yank SS3600 into Z06 Titanium exhaust. It idles at about 850rpm. It will "creap" with foot off gas and brake. I can't tell the difference at "normal - go to get milk" driving speeds, but get on it and its a monster looking for prey!! With no other mods except for drag BFG's he runs just below 12.5 in the 1/4mile.

 

Thank you. That is excellent real world info I was looking for - how does it drive on a daily basis vs. how does it drag race, which I know is very important to many members.

This has certainly been quite educational. Please keep the comments coming - especially around driveability.

Thanks all.

EG

 

Let me put it this way. If you drove a car with an SS3200 and 3.73 gears. And you did not know the car had a high stall T/C you probabily would not notice it while you are driving normally. That's how good the SS series converters are when it comes to driveability.

 

What about the heads
Say goodby to the trans
3.73 love um
My vigilante converter works flawlessly (3800) not the converter for road race 2800 would be my choice
I have a small cam and it makes great power with my et heads
The camshaft and torque converter have the biggest impact on driveability I had Ed Curtis design the cam
Tuning is a must with any cam

 

Car will be professionally tuned after cam/spring install. I have been doing an amateur job with LS1 edit and Predator so far (when I had my Procharger) but after the big cam it's going to ECS probably.

Heads will be towards the end of summer to help the car breath, but 3.73:1 gears and stall will be very soon after cam install.

Thanks for all your input. Please keep the comments coming, they are much appreciated.

EG

 

Your car will probably idle around 950.
I'd recommend the Yank SS3600 and 3.73's. I have a smaller cam(230/236) and still have creep with my YPT4400 and 4.10's. With my old combo, a SS4000 and 3.73's the car crept also.
Do yourself a favor, don't get anything smaller than the SS3200.

 

I am sorry you are anti-converter. I do, however, agree about the "slip" being undesirable. However, if you go to a deeper gear, like a 3.73 or 4.10 in back, it will feel "tighter" than with, say, a 2.73 or 3.15. And though this may be a bit off topic, the deeper gears will take some of the tremendous stress the transmission must endure to turn the rear tires. The 4L60E, or even the 4L65E is really an updated, electronically controlled version of the-EGADS-700 R4!!!! It can, and does, need all the help it can get.I have a Yank 3200 stall with a 2.4 stall ratio. With the lockup feature, I haven't lost anything with driveability, and I have a 3.15 gear. I DO wish I had a 3.42 in back though. However, I have seen many Forum members who have done the 3.42 thing with a 2800-3200 converter, like my combo, and were sorry they didn't KEEP the 3.15. Don't recall the exact reasons. A converter really "wakes up" our C5's. I do feel that in your case, however, you would probably rather have a more "solid" feel between your right foot and the rear tires, as corner carving is far different than drag racing and the accompanying pre-requisites. Wow! Guess I typed this for nothin' !!! Really though, how come you didn't try and get a 6 speed for your style of haulin' butt? Just curious.

 

Hey Irish, sorry for the absenteeism!! I can't run at Lapeer anymore with the drop top!! Ed didn't like 12.5's @ 114 with no rollbar!!!! Pray for Ubly!!! I will PM you soon...