what's so good about a lock up converter?

[1984-monte-carlo-ss]

I'm thinking about getting a th350 and rebuilding it at boces since my teacher has built soo many. but if I get a regular th350 I can't have a lock up converter...does the lock up really help save that much gas? lol I have 3:73 gears so I don't think it helps that much on the highway. btw the car has no computer. is a regular th350 better then the th350c? I would be rebuilding it for performance

 

[CHRIS.O]

Lock up converters produce lower rpm's during lock up and less slip which means less heat and possibly a longer lifespan. Personally I would rather have a standard TH350 non lock up. But that is me. If your building it for performance then your probably going to drive the car with your foot in the throttle. I wouldn't be worried about gas mileage in this case.

 

[Pbngem]

You can choose to use the lock-up feature or not to use it. Without it, the 350C will perform the same as the 350. The advantage it not only limited to fuel milage, but the less heat generated on the fluid by the converter. Even at cruising speeds, the converter has some slipage that equates to heat generation. With the lock-up feature, this is eliminated. If it were my choice, I'd use the 350C.

 

[1984-monte-carlo-ss]

what about at speeds above 55mph does the lockup help go faster? or with no lockup?

 

[CHRIS.O]

It's not going to help you go faster. All it does is lock the crank to your trans. You might be spinning 200-300 rpm faster without a lock up. They are designed to only lock up once your in high gear. Think highway or rural road. They wont be locked up under wide open throttle.

 

[shotgun]

The lock can be usefull in drag racing also.

You can lock it at 1000' in 3rd and pick up some MPH & ET.

I think a good trans guy can make the trans able to use the lock up in 2nd also.

You can experiment, lock up 1/2 way threw 2nd, stay locked in 3rd or etc.etc.

 

[1984-monte-carlo-ss]

It's not going to help you go faster. All it does is lock the crank to your trans. You might be spinning 200-300 rpm faster without a lock up. They are designed to only lock up once your in high gear. Think highway or rural road. They wont be locked up under wide open throttle.

ok, what i ment to say was to go faster a little bit quicker lol but yea because if i wanna put a stall speed conveter then theres no point to build a th350c

 

[CHRIS.O]

No its not gonna help you get to a speed any quicker. Top speed may increase, I don't know but personally I would not want my crank locked to my drive line under wide open throttle. You want an aftermarket stall. You can get them lock up or non lock up. But you want one for any type of performance.

 

[DoubleV]

The lock can be usefull in drag racing also.

You can lock it at 1000' in 3rd and pick up some MPH & ET.

Yes, but this is VERY hard on the converter and it won't last long under those conditions. The Vigilante converter is the only one that I know of that is purposely built to be locked up during hard acceleration but they are expensive and from what I've heard, noisy.

A good quality non lockup converter can be very efficient, so the slippage and heat can be greatly reduced over lets say a cheap over the counter non lockup converter like a B&M or TCI.