Suggestions on Torque Converter?

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Some details:

69 Plymouth Road Runner
440RB (.030" over)
Eagle Forged Steel Crank
Wiseco slugs
Ported 915 heads
Comp Cams 23-742-9 cam (308/308-262/262-.575/.575)
Team G intake
King Demon Dominator
Fresh TF727 w/Cheetah RMVB
3.91 gears
29x12.5x15 tires


Current converter flashes at 2800 and it's a dog out of the hole with significant drop in revs between shifts as seen in these videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT5f2z7PTQc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk3KpfWv_5k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWHvkcQ-j-c


Here's what Comp Cams suggests according to their application chart:

http://www.compcams.com/catalog/COMP2012/pdf/COMP_Catalog_2012_50.pdf

MECHANICAL ROLLER − Max street effort . 383 requires 4000+ converter . 750-830
CFM . 4 .30-4 .88 gear . 440 needs 3500+
converter . 800-850 CFM carb, headers . 4 .10-4 .56 gear

Since I'm running 3.91 gears, I'm thinking I'd need to go up a bit on their suggested stall speed, but I'm open to any suggestions as I'm actually more of a 4-speed guy :icon_winkle:

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

What type of rear tire will you be using?

 

[Budnicks]

I'd say they are spot on 3500-4000 rpm 9"-9-1/2" converter with a 3.91:1 gear would help to wake it up off the line for sure, for the street mostly I'd stay on the 3500-3800 rpm range, it won't be ideal for the drag strip but will be a good compromise... I'd also suggest you run a good inline cooler &/or a deep cast aluminum cool pan too, for more fluid capacity... I ran a 3500 {-3800rpm flash} custom/reworked by a friend, out of a 10.5" 175k Mopar Performance converter, with 3.73:1 315 drag radials, about 29" diameter on 9" wheels, with my 383/479ci-6bbl 727 manual valve body, worked out very nice, good street, moderate driving manors, no slippage, no overheating {he recommended reworking a 10.5" vs a 9" for that very reason}, pretty much 3500 rpm @ at 55mph IIRC, ran very well at the track too... The heavier the car & lower numerically/higher gears like 3.73:1 or 3.91:1 compared to like a 4.10:1-4.30:1 gears, the more effective the stall speed will be with the 3.73:1 or a 3.91:1 gear, the more cubes/more torque & higher numerically/lower gears like 4.30:1 will have a less effective the stall speed, will be, mainly because of gears ability to aid in as a torque multiplier... that camshaft is made for drag-strip/bracket racing use really & a loose converter, with steep gears something like 4.30:1 - 4.56:1 gears, to be ideal... good luck Coan, ATI, Neal Chance, Pro Torque, A-1, PTC, Ultimate Converter, Mopar Performance, Hughes, TCI, Turbo Action, B&M even, allot of converter mfgrs out there to choose from, I'd highly suggest calling & talking to them, in person not via e-mail crap, get what's necessary for your specific needs/expectations... I'd also highly suggest buying the book Torqueflite A727 Transmission Handbook by HPBooks-1399 written by Carl Monroe, great for combos, necessary mods & general actually useful well informed/knowledgeable MoPar TF 727 specific information...

 

[sleepar]

Lower gear will do wonders 4000rpm stalll speed but you loose on the top end... if you have a singleplane hirise intake that makes power at higher rpm a dual plane lo rise may help more.... use the calculator or as close as you can get.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

What type of rear tire will you be using?

Currently running 29x12.5x15 MT Sportsman Pros, but as you can tell by the last video, they're down to the cords

Gunna replace them with a set of MT ET Street Radials which will give me an extra inch (30x12.5x15)

Don't plan on changing the rear end gears as I just rebuilt it last Summer and don't want to lose anymore top end :sad6:

I've actually been thinking about throwing in a GVOD since I do quite a bit of highway driving.

Spoke to a local builder earlier today (S-Torque) and he said he'll send details on what he can build for me in the morning, but I'm thinking a 3800 from Turbo Action might be the way to go :eusa_think:

Gunna give them a call tomorrow.

Already have a deep pan and a cooler, but not sure if the cooler is big enough (11x6x2)

Zero issues with heat on my current setup

 

[Meep-Meep]

That seems like an awful lot of cam for a 3.91 gear B body. 4.56 would be more like it - or get a smaller cam.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

OK, the builder over at S-Torque got back to me and suggested 3500, but doesn't really know much about my motor setup.

Billet 10" cover $727
Non Billet 10" $525

Then I went to my guy at the local speed shop who sells all brands and can get any kind I want, but suggested FTI since their service seems to be top notch and is actually what he runs in his personal car.

He knows my setup from top to bottom and suggested a 4000 stall, but also said my gears won't make that much of a difference which I found odd :icon_redface:

I told him my main concern was remaining streetable, so no overheating the fluid, but he assured me that I wouldn't have any problems running a 4k stall with my setup :icon_silent:

Waiting on Turbo Action to get back to me as their tech guy stepped out for a bit.

 

[sleepar]

Cam... stall... gear and tires all work together.... I would try 26" tire before a 30" if it dogs... settle on street or strip... you may be out of opinions for both.... do you want PITA street car that runs or a PITA drag car that behaves nice on the street. Can't have both UN less you get a second car.

 

[eagleone1983]

Did you try talking to Don at FBO? You can give him all your specs and he'll have Dynamic converters build one for you.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Ok, spoke with Turbo Action for about 30 minutes yesterday and they suggested going with one of their 17805S models (10" 3800-4200 street converter) for my setup :glasses2:


Thing is, I'm looking over the details on their website and they have it listed to fit 727/A518/46RH. Year, 92-95 :confused:

Am I missing sumthin here?

They said that they would actually suggest a higher stall if it were an all out drag car, but since I made it clear to them that it's a street/strip car and that I don't want to have any issues while driving in traffic, they suggested no higher than 4000 and to keep an eye on tranny temps (even suggested a good low buck temp gauge).

Still waiting on Greg at FTI to get back to me.

I've narrowed it down to either FTI or Turbo Action mainly because they're somewhat local and can get same day or next day service if needed.

Both offer a free restall in case things don't work out as planned and I know I won't have my car tying up my lift for a week or more.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Quick test hit for those that couldn't sit through the last 18 minute video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m-DQYQ7PkE

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Just spoke with TCI and they suggest a 142206 Ultimate Street Fighter (3500-3800 stall)

$968.75 (yikes)

 

[eagleone1983]

yikes, I believe I paid $350 - $400 for mine from Dynamic.

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

Why such a high stall on the suggestion from Comp cams? I mean I run a stock converter think it comes on at around 1100 lol and with 3.55 gears it shreds the tires have to be careful.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

yikes, I believe I paid $350 - $400 for mine from Dynamic.

The Turbo Action is like $550 and the FTI is $600

Why such a high stall on the suggestion from Comp cams? I mean I run a stock converter think it comes on at around 1100 lol and with 3.55 gears it shreds the tires have to be careful.

Cam range is from 3500-6500

With my current converter (which flashes at 2800 in 3rd gear @ WOT from idle), she's a dog off of the line with big meats until it hits around 3500-4000 RPM's, then she picks up rather quickly (as seen in the hit videos)

On top of that, there's a huge drop in RPM's between shifts

She'll definitely smoke the tires with ease as seen in the first video, but once she hooks up on hot meats, she feels like she's bogging through the run :icon_neutral:

Not slow by any stretch, but nowhere near her full potential :dontknow:

 

[petieg383]

My buddy runs an ATI converter in his Chevelle. 468ci with small street solid roller cam. It's anything but a dog off the line. It certainly wasn't a cheap converter either, but he's super happy with it. See here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZixuYJ2zDI

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

My buddy runs an ATI converter in his Chevelle. 468ci with small street solid roller cam. It's anything but a dog off the line. It certainly wasn't a cheap converter either, but he's super happy with it. See here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZixuYJ2zDI

What stall and what rear gears?

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

Jeezus H. Christ! can't we go more than 16 posts before a god dam chevy reference?

 

[snakeoil24]

Call Dynamic Converter he knows his stuff.

 

[SwedCharger67]

It's an interesting question, will it be faster with a looser converter giving less RPM drop between shifts? The converter slipping will mean that some of the power is used to heat the oil instead of moving the car forward? Does it depend on what your torque curve looks like?