Street machine converter - 3,500rpm stall?

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rmchrgr

rmchrgr

Skate And Destroy
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Thinking about combos. Anyone using a 3,500rpm stall converter on the street? How is drivability? Lunati makes this cam that looks pretty aggressive for a hydraulic. Their info states 3,500 stall needed. My thought is that it might be a little too much for regular cruising but obvioulsy fun when you mash the loud pedal and probably good for 11's on the track if your car is set up properly. Clearly mileage is of no concern for a hot street machine but will drivability be horrible or livable? I guess that's always the trade off.

Let's just say for argument it's a 3,300lb car with a full interior, 9-10" DOT tires, 450hp-@-the-flywheel small block, 4.10 gears, manual valve 904 and Cal Tracs.

Any input is appreciated.
 
rmchrgr said:
Thinking about combos. Anyone using a 3,500rpm stall converter on the street? How is drivability? Lunati makes this cam that looks pretty aggressive for a hydraulic. Their info states 3,500 stall needed. My thought is that it might be a little too much for regular cruising but obvioulsy fun when you mash the loud pedal and probably good for 11's on the track if your car is set up properly. Clearly mileage is of no concern for a hot street machine but will drivability be horrible or livable? I guess that's always the trade off.

Let's just say for argument it's a 3,300lb car with a full interior, 9-10" DOT tires, 450hp-@-the-flywheel small block, 4.10 gears, manual valve 904 and Cal Tracs.

Any input is appreciated.
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Whoa, that's quite a bit of cam for the street IMHO, and I can see why they're recommending a 3500 stall converter. If it was me, for the street, I'd tone it down just a bit maybe around .505"-.510" and be a little more streetable with a 3000 stall converter but hey what do I know.:-D:-D:-D

Terry
 
What cube engine is it going in? That makes all the diff in the world. I run the next smaller lunati in my 360 and it's not all that radical. I have a 3000 stall in it and to tell the truth it dont' need that much because it's so torquey. My 3,000 verter works great on the street. If I'm not getting into it it drives just like a regular converter except it's looser at idle which helps the idle.

Also just to mention there are basically 2 styles of converters. Loose and tight ones. Mines a tight one so it doesn't slip much until I get on it. A loose converter would be the kind like most of the old day converters were that slipped nearly all the time. They still make them but their mostly suited to drag racing. They spool up faster with lower torque engines so for a race car their better.

Just thought I'd add this: If the engine is a 340 that cams going to be pretty darn choppy and would probably need the 3,500 verter to make it work. If it's a 360 a 3,000 should work ok. If it's a stroker (390 cubes or more) you'd have no problem with a 2,800 converter. Again if you go with a "tight" converter it'll drive fine on the street.
 
fishy68 said:
What cube engine is it going in? That makes all the diff in the world. I run the next smaller lunati in my 360 and it's not all that radical. I have a 3000 stall in it and to tell the truth it dont' need that much because it's so torquey. My 3,000 verter works great on the street. If I'm not getting into it it drives just like a regular converter except it's looser at idle which helps the idle.

Also just to mention there are basically 2 styles of converters. Loose and tight ones. Mines a tight one so it doesn't slip much until I get on it. A loose converter would be the kind like most of the old day converters were that slipped nearly all the time. They still make them but their mostly suited to drag racing. They spool up faster with lower torque engines so for a race car their better.

Just thought I'd add this: If the engine is a 340 that cams going to be pretty darn choppy and would probably need the 3,500 verter to make it work. If it's a 360 a 3,000 should work ok. If it's a stroker (390 cubes or more) you'd have no problem with a 2,800 converter. Again if you go with a "tight" converter it'll drive fine on the street.
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Likely a 408 or some other permutation of a stroker. My theoretical goal is around 465-475hp or 1.1 or 2 hp/C.I.. I'm just thinking that if you have an 'effective' converter, or one that's matched to your engine for 'max' performance it will be fine for racing but might be miserable to putt around on the street with. At what point does drivability start to suffer? I've never had any type of converter in any of my cars. I'm curious as to what it's like to have a performance converter under regular, part-throttle conditions.

I guess what you're saying Fishy is that if you have more cubes it will 'mask' the slippage because of the potential for increased volumetric efficiency at a lower RPM? Do I have that correct?
 
Sounds similar to the cam that's going into my new 383. Comp XE285-HL. Around 242 at .050 and .545 lift. As long as you have decent compression (at least 10:1) these cams aren't too hard to live with. As far as convertor go with a tight one. I have a tight 3000 in my duster now and it seems docile driving around town. Nail the gas and it jumps up to 3000 rpm.
 
my 9 1/2" dynamic was 3800 stahl. it was great on the street. felt like a stock converter on the street but at the track it was an animal... the new converter technology is awesome. it gives ya the best of both worlds. your best bet is to call dynamic, ptc or ultimate and get their opinion on what you should run. just be 100% honest about your combo and intended use.
 
Rmchrgr,i ran that Lunati cam in my 416..loved it!!..with my 3800 stall converter on the street,car ran consistent 11.0's with just 3.91's in the rear..
 
abodyjoe said:
just be 100% honest about your combo and intended use.
Click to expand...

I think that's probably the key right there. Wishful thinking is probably what kills drivability the most. I'd probably sacrifice some top-end power to be able to drive it on the street comfortably.

Thanks for the input boys.
 
rmchrgr said:
I think that's probably the key right there. Wishful thinking is probably what kills drivability the most. I'd probably sacrifice some top-end power to be able to drive it on the street comfortably.

Thanks for the input boys.
Click to expand...

I guess I should have asked ya to be more specific about the cubes, I was thinking 340/360 when ya said small block originally, not a stroked small block, oh well.:-D

Terry
 
I'm running a simular Comp cam in my 340(XE284) with a boss hog 3200-3600 street bandit convertor. It idles fine at 900rpm. To me the convertor is on the tight side. The only reason I went with the comp instead of Lunati no one had any in stock.
 
rmchrgr said:
Likely a 408 or some other permutation of a stroker. My theoretical goal is around 465-475hp or 1.1 or 2 hp/C.I.. I'm just thinking that if you have an 'effective' converter, or one that's matched to your engine for 'max' performance it will be fine for racing but might be miserable to putt around on the street with. At what point does drivability start to suffer? I've never had any type of converter in any of my cars. I'm curious as to what it's like to have a performance converter under regular, part-throttle conditions.

I guess what you're saying Fishy is that if you have more cubes it will 'mask' the slippage because of the potential for increased volumetric efficiency at a lower RPM? Do I have that correct?
Click to expand...

Actually what I meant is to go with a tight converter (but still rated at the stall speed you want such as 3500 rpm) like some of the other guys run and you will hardly be able to tell there's a high stall in it until you floor it. With a tight converter the street manners are nearly the same as a stock converter i.e. it doesn't slip while cruising normally. A loose style converter like racers use will slip alot more so you don't want that. That's what they all used to be years ago and that's why everybody thinks a high stall will slip around town but in reality if you go with the new technology converter like the other guys mentioned they don't.
 
nice to hear these are livable on the street as i,m going with a ptc that should stall around 3800 with my combo
 
how can you tell what stall converter you have?
And how can you tell if its a loose or tight stall?
 
74Burntorange said:
how can you tell what stall converter you have?
Stop the car and brake torque it up to as high as it'll go and look at the rpms and that's what the converter stalls in your car. That may not be what it's rated at but that's what it stalls in your application.
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And how can you tell if its a loose or tight stall?
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Like mentioned above a tight converter will drive pretty much like a stock converter. A loose converter will slip quite a bit until you reach it's stall rating.
 
more power you have the higher it will stall right? Like if you have a 3600 stall, it will stall lower than it would in low power motor like a stock motor right?
 
you might want to give Pat @ SMRtrans.com a call. makes a very good 3800 stall convertor - least mine is.
 
I'm with A body Joe on his recomended places to call. 388 dart listed another place I see around alot.

Honesty in discloseing your set up is super key.
 
rmchrgr said:
Thinking about combos. Anyone using a 3,500rpm stall converter on the street? How is drivability? Lunati makes this cam that looks pretty aggressive for a hydraulic. Their info states 3,500 stall needed. My thought is that it might be a little too much for regular cruising but obvioulsy fun when you mash the loud pedal and probably good for 11's on the track if your car is set up properly. Clearly mileage is of no concern for a hot street machine but will drivability be horrible or livable? I guess that's always the trade off.

Let's just say for argument it's a 3,300lb car with a full interior, 9-10" DOT tires, 450hp-@-the-flywheel small block, 4.10 gears, manual valve 904 and Cal Tracs.

Any input is appreciated.
Click to expand...

When my dart was a true street/strip piece, I ran with a 3500. Ran fine. Didn't overheat the trans.
 
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