1996 Camaro Z28 LT1 Project

[alone_and_insane]

well I just got off the phone with another trans place (this is actually a guy I trust for a change)...he gave me a lot of info. He was 100% against that tall of a stall converter on the street. He recommended a Corvette torque converter, which stalls around 2k. For a street car, he said I'd be best off with no more than 2500. Also, I never mentioned here that I would like to do some occasional autocross as well, so wouldn't a high converter hurt me for that? This is going to be a street car mostly, with occasional trips to the autocross course and to the strip. Also, I'd like to still get a good 25 mpg on the highway (this is my summer DD), and the guy I just talked to today said that would be impossible with a 3400 stall. Thoughts?

[DETROITMUSCLE]

ok thats a little better info, however I wouldn't consider the corvette converter much of an upgrade at all. it might stall 200rpm higher than your current piece which is not going to be noticeable. I would have no problem with recommending a 3000-3200 converter to you. I run a 4000 and daily drive on it just fine. The highway mileage will be unaffected at all by a converter because it'll be locked up long before that speed. City driving will drop you a few mpg but nothing major. As far as autocross goes I have no knowledge on that so I don't know how tight of a converter would be best maybe someone else can chime in on that.

[alone_and_insane]

thanks. anybody else got any input? perhaps somebody that's done a little bit of autocross before?

[alone_and_insane]

well after much personal debate, I have settled on a Corvette high-stall converter. I thought it would be the best all-around for my car specifically, and it is also much less expensive than a higher stall. If anything, I believe that I erred on the side of caution, which is better than erring on the other side. Now the shop can finally get to work on putting the transmission back together. Hopefully it will be back on the road in a couple of weeks or so.

[meissen]

Ah didn't see the updates until now. Sorry to hear you went with the Corvette stall. I managed 19.5 mpg highway this past weekend so I'd imagine a stock LT1 with the same stall as me would do better MPG.

[alone_and_insane]

well a big part of the decision was that I want to dabble a little bit in autocross with this thing. This kind of sums up what I've been told with a stall converter and autocross:

Auto cross with an auto is always hard. your going to need some help with shift points other wise you are going to be constantly having to wheel on it when it down shifts. as far as stall, I have a 2000 and it's not enough for my 383. If you go 2500 you can do that on a decent restalled stock converter and not spend all that much to see if it is going to be a problem when you auto cross. Anything more your just going to be getting wheel spin on an autocross track because your always going to be on and off the stall. torque converters are torque magnifiers so it is going to send a shock to the drive train when you go from braking to back on the gas and then wheel spin. I'd say stay around 2200 the peak torque on these things is right at 2400 to 3000 depending on mods and mild cam. at 3000 stall you will be sideways alot in my opinion.

[MP81]

If you want to autocross, a lower stall speed will benefit. Joel and I were talking about that on Saturday.

[1quik6]

I would definately recommend a trans cooler and a temp guage if you are autocrossing with an automatic. Have fun and good luck!!!!

[JoeliusZ28]

if you are serious about autocrossing you want to run the smallest stall you can get away with. Or swap in a six speed. The higher RPM stall converter you have the less "feedback" you will get from the car in corners.

What would I do if I were in your shoes?

Id get either a 700r4 or a TH350 and run a manual valve body. Cheap, and IMO a mechanical trans is better than an electronic one all day long. I absolutely love high-tech stuff, but I am still not convinced that computers do a good job of controlling transmissions.

[alone_and_insane]

eh, I'm really not interested in switching transmissions (especially after rebuilding this one). Autocross will only be an occasional thing I do a couple of times a summer just for fun, nothing serious. I just want my car to be ready for it every once in a while. I'm not making this into a dedicated autocross car or anything.

[JoeliusZ28]

ah, didnt realize you already had yours rebuilt.

[nascarnate326]

You must not autox at MSU without me


nathan

[alone_and_insane]

ah, didnt realize you already had yours rebuilt.

yeah, it's actually literally at the shop right now, hence why I was kind of rushed into a decision about the torque converter.

You must not autox at MSU without me


nathan

well it won't be until next summer at the earliest. I'll let you know

[alone_and_insane]

just picked up an SLP CAI and aluminum elbow for $150, courtesy of Nick Kerns (Purple94Z28).

[alone_and_insane]

car just came back yesterday from getting the transmission rebuilt. Total bill: $1635.25