I made the mistake of installing a ZO6 3.42 rear in my 03 coupe without changing the converter. It locks up way too soon at 1600 rpm's( stock), so I am not in the powerband of the engine. It has nothing coming off the line, and nothing when I get on it until it starts to get up into the 2800 to 3000 rpm range in my car.
I don't race the car ( A4), but I would like to be able to go to the track for 1/4 mile runs every once in a while and not be embarassed, and to be able to at least chirp the tires coming off the line if I want.
So, the question is, "which converter to use?" Mike Mercury has discussed the one he used, and I see people talking about everything from 2800 to 3600. I did drive an 03 with a 3200 Yank, and the same ZO6 3.42 rear as mine. It seemed a little loose to me for around town driving, but wasn't terrible. Would a 2800 be a little more firm for this type of driving, yet still launch well enough? The power in my car seems to come on around 2800rpm's. Also, which brands do you suggest? Yank, Vigilante, or something else? I know there's alot that I'm asking here, so please try to be specific in your experience, and the type of driving I do. Also, for those of you who think a 3600 with drag radials is the answer, please save it for someone else. That's not what I want.Btw the only engine mods so far are Vararam and a tune.

 

I don't know how a 3200 could be "loose" around town. I have a Yank 3500 and it certainly is not loose. The new converters have made a big jump in performance for city driving. The only time you can tell it is a high stall is when you step on it and it lets the engine immediately get into its power band. It locks up around town at about 35-40 and is very docile. When you decide on the stall you want have a good tuner set it up for you.

 

any time you step out of a stock TC and use a hi stall it feels loose. That's natural because to the throttle response your used to. however, once you drive the car for a few days it now becomes your "normal"feel- it no longer feels loose, it just feels "right". You seem to have you mind made up to get a relatively low stall TC and that's fine. I'd only point out that the most common lament about TC's is that the guys that installed them ended up regreting that they didn 't go bigger. PS, I never owned drag radials and have never tracked my car.Road raceing is a different story.

 

I drove my 2002 coupe for 5 years with the 3.42 with the stock converter... with no driveability discomforts at all.

When you say "It locks up " you're referring to stall speed... and not when it rigidly locks in 4th on the highway; right ?

If you're not liking what you have right now... you certainly won't like the converter I changed to.... was only about a 300-400 rpm change.

If you want a converter that keeps your engine in its power band... then you'll need a loose/high-stall converter, designed for serious drag racers.
If you don't go far enough into serious drag racer territory, then it's always going to be a compromise. I can only advise ... "be careful what you wish for".

 

Hey Mike, didn't your new TC come from a Chevy pick up or something similar? I remember reading a post of yours on this subject.

Sorry...not meaning to hijack this thread

 

I have 3.42's in my car (2004 CE A4) with the stock converter and its the best thing I could have ever done. When you say you have the car tuned who did it and did you get a graph of the tune? With a stock car you are only going to max out at approx 312 rwhp with max torque of 318 or so. When you installed the 3.42's you actually lost 5 rwhp but picked up on max torque. Ed Hutchings did mine. You need to insure your shift points are correctly set for your new gears. I have a few more mods now but those were the stock numbers. I am still running the stock converter at over 400 rwhp 390 torque with no issues at all.

 

 

Astro Van; rated for 7500 lbs towing capacity.

the GM part number for this converter is #24208645
ref: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...9&postcount=32

and

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...9&postcount=34

 

always a good idea

but his complaint (I believe) is at the launch; RPMs too low at the start, and only a higher stall converter would rectify that specific (unless you wanna rev up in "N" and slap it in "D" at 3500 rpm )

 

I installed a Yank 2800 Stall. The only time I fell the "looseness" is when taking off from a stop with very light throttle. When I step on it, it will put you back in your seat. It is a daily driver car. I don't think I personally would like it with a higher stall. That's just my preference though.

 

That is odd!! I had 3.42s installed on an A4 coupe about a month ago and still have the stock converter. With just headers, vararam and a tune I get absolutely no traction of the line at anything approaching WOT. Something doesn't seem kosher there.

 

I had 3.42's installed as a first mod and with no other changes then an open face air box and a superchips tune it could smoke'm at will.
That started the mod madness

 

It seems odd to me too. I had ECS install the ZO6 rear, and Doug did a tune for me. In fact, I brought it back to him again to check it out because it just seems dead off the line. We took the car out for a drive, and he had the computer hooked up, and checked all the settings. He said that the stock converter keeps you in that lower range until the rpms come up, and then the car hits the powerband at about 2800- 3000 rpm's, and it hits nicely.ECS specializes in Vette mods, and everyone around here has used them with great success. Any ideas guys?

 

Different tolerances for different folks.

My converter flashes to 3200rpm and it feels "loose" to me.

A 3200 is a big difference from 1600. You will feel a difference. It's just a question of how long it takes to get used to it, and your tolerance level. If you have more tolerance, after you're used to it it won't feel "loose" anymore, and rather a car with a stock converter will feel "tight"

 

if you upgrade to a converter that the launch will start out @ 3000rpm; then you'll no longer have
a daily driver -type- automobile.

Not only that, but then you'll hafta further mod the car beyond just the converter... with drag radials - or tubbing the rear and going with wider street tires (probably non-run flats)... something to get traction. Or, all you'll accomplish is driving a burn-out-contest winner.

I think one of the nicer things of these 2400 or lower converters is that it aids in controlling traction at the launch. The power doesn't come on until you're already fully hooked.

Of course I'm talking about a dragstrip 1/4 mile launch... and not just mashing the pedal to the floor in an attempt to intentionally spin tires while on the street

Like mentioned earlier; be careful what you wish for.

very well put

 

A4, 3:42's, 2800 stall, vararam, ls6 intake, SHIFT POINTS CALIBRATED. On DR's it run 12.5's. On the dyno it's got 307hp.
You can tell it's got a converter, but it's not bad at all. You notice the converter and gears the most at the gas pump!!!
GREAT sotp feel and not sloppy at all.

I had a 3000 stall in my '71 Trans-Am with a built 455 and you could really feel that converter.
The computers on these cars make such an unbelievable difference when it comes to keeping these cars 'streetable'.

 

On my '99 I had 3.42's with a stock converter, and it ran like a champ. Sounds like you might a little finessing with the tune (shift points, etc). Give yer mechanic a call, should be a (hopefully) easy fix...

 

Problem solved. Chuck CoW. It's a completely different car.

 

Thanks Ralph!

Glad I could you help out!

STAY TUNED!
Chuck CoW

 

thanks for he explanation