Please see signature for mods completed last fall. I have been to the track twice so far this season and I am disappointed with the results. I was hoping for the 12.7 range but the best so far has been 13.0 with 60' of 2.0. Best with stock manifolds, tune, and 2.73 gears was 13.4.

I now realize that I screwed up by keeping the stock torque converter. I was hoping that the 3.42 gears, headers, and tune would get me in the 12's- close but no cigar.

In doing research, I am bewildered by the choices for performance TC's. I am looking for a recommendation from the Forum. I realize this request has appeared many times before, but please bear with me.

My car is primarily a show/cruise vehicle with occasional trips to the strip, so I am looking for a TC that will be the best compromise favoring street manners over all-out performance. I do not plan any internal engine mods and plan to stay with the stock rev limit of 6200. I want something compatible with my 3.42 gears. I want to get into the easy 12's but I don't want to blow up the stock trans and/or output shafts (yet).

I am thinking about a "mild" stall of 2400-2600. So far I have the Pro-Torque TC as my #1 choice. I am sure there are "hard core" guys out there that will tell me I am crazy and I should get a Yank 3800 but that is not what I am looking for. No flames, please.

Forum input is requested. Thanks in advance.

 

Get a Vig 3200 and never look back
If for some reason you want more send it to them for a re-stall
I have a 3800 with 3.73
Remember at 30 in 3rd it locks up and at 39 in 4th Even my 3800 is ok on the street .
No if you want to autocross or road race you might want to check with those guys.
I believe they are running 2800 vigilante's
My 60ft ' s were 1.67 with et streets with the vig and 3.73

 

I'd say a Yank SS3200. It'll give you a lot more out of the hole, help eliminate dead spots, will increase your top end, and will feel just as tight as stock.

 

This was my best when my car was configured like yours. I run BFG drag radials. The only differences were I had a Blackwing. And mine is an '03. This is with the Pro torque 2400-2600 stall. 12.53 and 12.56.
Coincidentally, ....I believe that the 12.53 came against you when your car still had the 2.73s



I have run 12.33 with my Pro Torque 2400-2600. It is plenty of converter for what you are trying to do. The PT 2400 used to be a favorite around here untill people started needing more stall for H/C applications and some needed more get up from a roll than the low stalling PT 2400 will give.

Again with the Pro Torque 2400 but this time using the Vararam. A Black 04 SVT Cobra was granted the privilage of seeing my tail lights during this run. I red lighted but so what. He would have still taken a bad beating :




My car drives like stock. I do not street race so there is no need for me to get into it from a roll. The PT 2400 has an STR of 2.3 and hits very hard off the line. I average 1.8 sec 60' times but a 1.7 is in it. If you only occasionally drag race, IMO it is ideal. Do a tranny cooler as well however.

NJVette guy made it to 12.20 with his. He was running 3.42 gears, PT 2400, Nitto drag radials, and the usual PCM tuning and bolt ons......... And no long tube headers. In fact he ran a few 12.2xs that day with 1.6sec to 1.7sec 60 ft times.

Nuff said, and good luck

 

I also had a PT-2400, great mild converter that acted like stock. I ran a 12.6 with the stock engine and 3.42's! But don't get the bug like I did, now I have a ST-3500, I wish the SS-3800 had been around when I made my change. Each change will get into your pocket!!

 

But its all just "pocket change" for a Wall Street guy like yourself, I'm sure Al.

 

I also had the PT2400 & 3.42 gears. As Wall St Al said it is nice combo that drives like the stock T/C. However if you want a T/C that will get rid of the dead spots when you go WOT from a roll the PT2400 & 3.42s won't cut it. I agree with "Face" if you want a T/C that will give you great all around performance from a roll or a standstill go with the Yank SS3200 or SS3600.

 

The only convertor I have experience with is my Vig 3200. I can highly recommend them for a very quality product, great customer service, and electrifying performance!
However, with your stated goal in mind, I would suggest a Vigilante 2800 lockup style covertor. Good street performance, with a little upgrade for the track too, and seems to meet your requirements!

Good luck with whatever you may choose!

 

These Tuners are getting rich enough!!

 

With the 3.42 gears go with the SS3200 or the Yank 2800. My 2800 feels completely stock on part throttle roll aways, but gives a good boost under full throttle. I could have easily gone with a bigger stall and still done well for street/strip use, but I am happy with this one since it still allows for the occasional road race

 

I honestly didn't feel much difference when I had my 3.42's and Yank 2800 installed (except for the mild gear reduction) but my 60' times dropped a little more than 2 tenths with slightly more tire spin than before. Which is exactly what I was looking for.

 

Thanks, guys, for the input. You have narrowed the options, but I need to make a final decision. I plan to choose among the following three:

1. Pro-torque "Low Stall" 2400-2600
2. Yank Stealth 2800
3. Precision Industries Vigilante 2600

Some additional input to make the final decision would be helpful.

1. PT: I know EB20003 personally and his car runs great. With the PT he runs mid-low 12's with a setup similar to mine. I would be thrilled to run his times. He is a very knowledgeable C5 guy and I greatly trust his advice. The PT website is impressive- there is none of the "bash the other guy" stuff. However, the PT does not seem to be a Forum Favorite.

2. Yank: This seems to be the forum choice. However, much of their website is devoted to "bashing the other guy"- showing pictures of the "crappy" (unnamed) competitor product; stating the competitors make false claims, etc.; saying they dyno their products on the "General Motors dyno" etc. This kind of marketing approach always makes me nervous with any product...

2. Vigilante: Good Forum support, but information on the website is clearly inferior to PT and Yank.

Thanks in advance.

 

hey bigmac, i'm in the same boat as you. trying to decide which stall. keep hearing good and bad on all three. pt. yank. vig. i have a 3:15 in my c5 looks like it's between a 2800 and a 3200 stall. i'm like you mainly street use. dont want to be loose. leaning toward the yank 3200 or vig 2800. good luck

 

If your looking for a mild converter go with the yank 3200SS. Also vig under rates there converters a 2600 is going to be like a 3200 from yank. And I think the yank is lighter with is more HP to the ground.

 

When i was trying to decide which manufacture to go with, I was swaying between Precision & Yank. Leaned more towards Yank because the lower stall speed conv was cheaper (Y=450 & PI=800). Then I read a post about someone who used to use PI conv only, but had an issue with some of them randomly slipping in and out of lock-up. They stated that they had tried Yank and have never had an issue with them. I placed my order with Yank the next day.

I'm not trying to discredit any manufacture in any way because i've only purchased and installed one converter. I'm only posting my experience in searching for my converter.

 

the vigilante 2600 is like the yank ss3200? or is it the vigilante 2800=ss3200yank? yes i'm looking for a mild stall.

 

I have also heard that PI (Precision Industries) Vigilante converters stalls are underrated and that a 2600 is really like a 3200 stall.

A few have recommended converters with a higher than 2400 2600 stall. My question would be: "If he can get what he wants performance wise with a low stall, then why go with a high stall?"

The Pro Torque's 2.3 stall torque ratio is what is really going to get you out of the hole. Like I said, unless you are into stomping it from a 60 MPH roll, it should be fine for your needs. But if you like to get into it from a highway roll, or if you are going heads and cam, then look elsewhere.

You know as well as I do, Western PA is crawling with State Troopers, and the curves and hills give them plenty of hiding places. Stomping a Red Vette, with headers and stingers on it, from a 60 MPH roll is just asking for them to lift your license. Something to think about. Its just not practical around here.

FWIW I bought my Pro Torque from a previous owner, brand new in the box. He had intended to put the PT2400 in his own car as he was going to 3.73s. But he was also planning heads and cam, which he has now, and would need a higher stall for that application.

He sold me the Pro Torque PTC-11700C5LS 2400 stall for $550.00. It had come from Mallet Racing and was just waiting for install.

What you will find is that the Pro Torqe, like the Vig is reasonably priced. Some of the Yanks people are recommending to you, well be sure that you price them

The PT 2400 he told me was used by Mallet Racing in some of their packages:
http://www.mallettcars.com/catalog-p...artID=71029999

West Coast Corvettes as a package.

http://www.westcoastcorvette.com/sho...ail.cfm?id=467

Incidently the claims in the WCC information are EXACTLY what I saw. 12.5s.

The VetteDoctors: http://www.thevettedoctors.com/htdocs/c5-rx.shtml

I learned a little about torque converters and how the stall is actually effected by to amount of HP/TQ the car has. This is why they say 2400-2600 stall. When my tranny went down, it was flushed, the torque converter was flushed and the tranny rebuilt. The folks at Gillece actually tested the stall of the converter during this rebuilding and at 350 HP it was 2400, at 400hp it was 2600.

You can call the folks at Pro Torque, and George Jr will give you further advice if you ask him. And you are right, they spend little to no time bashing other people's products on their site, but concentrate on their own.

While a transmission cooler is not essential with this converter, I would recommend one. It is cheap insurance.

You already have the headers, drag radials, stingers, programming, gears. The stall and a well concealed/removable switch line lock are all you need to get into the mid and possibly even low 12s.

I recommended a line lock, because that new TC is going to hit harder off the line than your stock converter is now, and you won't get good traction if your tires are not adequately heated with all that torque getting transferred to the wheels. This of course would defeat the purpose of what you are doing anyway and not help your 60' times. Avoid spin at all costs.

I wouldn't worry so much about busted output shafts in your automatic as I would with a stick.

You can do a burnout without a line lock of course, but I saw a post a little while back where a guy had developed some drivetrain problems, he felt were due to his using his foot brake for burnouts.

 

Yank 3800

 

Sorry. I just noticed you already have the 3.42's installed. I'm not sure if you'd be interested in a conv like mine. Reason is, Conv.'s aren't cheap and that's alot of money and labor for something that you may not notice enough of a difference in. As I stated earlier the stealth 2800 feels like stock to me, which is what i was looking for. But, if i had already had the gears installed and spent that kind of coin in a conv only swap, i'm not sure if i would've felt as if i got my moneys worth.

Before swap 3.15's, stock conv, Yokohama run-craps 2.20 60' (no tire spin)

After swap 3.42's, S2800, same tires 1.91 60' (slight tire spin)

I'm sure i could get my 60' times lower but my local 1/8th track won't let me run anymore without a rollbar (convertibles can't break 8.49), and I'm not planning to put a bar in either. (I just wanna test how my money is working kinda thing).

 

A good set of drag radials and that 1.91 would improve.