Torque Converters

[Chevyman85]

I currently have a B&M Holeshot converter. Its advertised to stall between 2000-2500 and I dont feel like I'm getting my moneys worth out of it. I have hotter cam and carb, how high of a stall should I go with? I'd like something thats mostly street with some track use. Gas mileage isn't an issue. Anyone have any ideas? Let me know

 

[87MonteSS]

I wouldn't go any higher than what you have if you want to drive it mostly street. A higher stall means higher transmission temerature and 2500 is pushing it for mostly street use as it is.

To test the stall speed put the trans in first gear, hold the brakes hard and put the gas to the floor. The stall speed is what you see on the tach. Do NOT hold it there longer than what it takes to get a quick look at the tach or you'll be replacing the trans sooner than you'd like to.

If the stall speed is 2000 then you could go with a different converter, but again, nothing more than 2500 for street use.

City cruising won't take you to 2500 RPM, so the whole time you're driving the converter is slipping and heating up the trans.

Hope this helps.

 

[Chevyman85]

Thanks, I wasn't sure what the disadvantages were of putting a high stall converter on. I knew it would cause it to slip around town but didn't know it would overheat the trans. Right now I have a deep 3qt. trans pan, and trans cooler do you think I could get away with a little bit higher stall or will it still overheat? Thanks

 

[RedHotRegal]

also a higher stall converter counteracts a shift kit. My transmission guy told me not to put a firm shift in the transmission if a want to run a stall conv.

 

[87MonteSS]

It's not worth it to go higher for city driving. Temperature, weak shifts, fuel mileage and overall wear and tear will make it one big pain.