Well, the title says it all. I am considering putting a turbo setup on in the future, and I have been wanting a higher stall converter anyhow. Do I need an anti-ballooning plate for a turbo setup? I'm finding it difficult to locate a converter with the plate and lockup for under 500 bucks. Thanks a lot.

nobody?

It's not a bad investment but probably it isn't required for your application.

Anti-ballooning plates are designed to combat shock loads, mostly from nitrous. A turbo shouldn't need one because it will gradually build power as boost increases. Turbos are very easy on parts, which is one reason you see a lot of the big guys going that route now.

Some of the worst ballooning situations come from people with turbo cars. Moslty from trying to create boost with the brakes on or up on the trans brake. The spool time is the problem.

If you just drive around on street tires all the time and take it easy it shouldn't be a problem.

My company sells good converters for your application but to use ballooning plates your going to have to find a company that takes the 700r-4 serious enough to produce a ballooning plate to fit the 7004r pump.

Then it would depnd on how big a turbo you are planning on using and how you plan to drive the car. I've yet to hurt the converter in my big diesel holding 20psi at the line in 4wd against the brakes. I'm cutting 60 ft. times in the 1.90 range weighing 6,800 lbs. Eventually I'd like to go with an aftermarket converter to cut my times down a bit, but for now the stocker is working fine.

Also, you're going to have a hard time finding a lockup converter with a high stall for below $500.

Your talking about a heavy duty 50 lbs monster of a converter. Thats a different story.

Try doing that with a 10 inch street strip converter with no ballooning plates and see what happenes.

well i mostly just drive it around on the streets, pretty much just in the summer. it sits at home when i go away to school and it is my daily when im home. but i try to hitch a lot of rides. basically it gets like 3000-5000 miles a year and gets me from A to B. just a sweet car to do it in.

Yes, the converter in the truck is massive, but so is the torque that the motor produces. Stock power ratings on the truck are 325HP and 550 lbs./ft. of torque. With my current mods I estimate roughly 475HP and 800 lbs/ft. Most of that torque is available from super low RPM too; the torque curve on a Diesel doesn't look like the one from a gas motor. There's no gradual climb to a summit; a big shot of fuel starts the party and from there the fuel and boost just keep the curve at basically the same number as RPM increases. You also have to remember that my shift point is 3,900 RPM, so all of this happens in a much smaller window that it would in a gas motor, even one that makes the same power. That means that the force imparted at the flywheel is greater in a Diesel, even if a gas motor makes the same peak numbers, because when time is reduced force increases; it's high school physics.

Summation: it's all relative. My truck has a more massive converter than a car would, but it also throws more force at that converter. Is it really so different in the end?

so i dont need the plate basically? cause i dont ride my car really hard or launch it anywhere,

I would say no, unless you plan on really hard launches.

ok, thank you guys. i appreciate the input.

I would say no as well if you plan to just cruise it around on street tires and don't do to much brake stalling. You should make sure to ask the manufacturer if it is internally furnased brazed for strength. It will help with longevity.

yea, i was thinking the tci breakaway or the b&m holeshot. i dont think the saturday night special or the tork master will cut it. also looking at the hughes street master, as i dont think the street rod one will cut it. what do you guys think? im not sure how much stall i want/need.

You would need to post your entire combination. Motor specs, cam specs, and rear gears.

A 12 inch converter would be cheap and tight for a stockish combination with a small turbo. It would be 2800 stall and pull real hard on the street. These sell for $275 or so.

If you had some more mods and a decent size turbo with good gearing you could use the 10 inch converter to obtain a 3000-3200 stall. These are the expensive ones, like $500 and up.

If your combination was agressive with cam duration at least 240's-250's @ .050 with a good size turbo and high gearing you could put in a 10 inch with 3200-3600 stall.

TCI or B&M I have had real good experience with both. Got a TCI trans and converter in now. I am not turboed though. I think you are good without the balloon plates to about 700 horse unless you track the car.

Yes, to really determine stall speed we need a wealth of info. The real trick is to time the stall so that the turbo is spooled up when it stalls, which depends on the turbo as well as the motor it's used on.

well i planned to do the turbo maybe next year or so, but want a converter now. as far my setup, i have a ZZZ crate motor with 3.73 gears in the rear.
235/235 .480 lift cam
what other motor specs would you need to know?

The ZZZ is rated at 345HP, and my guess is that peak power is around 5,500 RPM. Given that I'll assume tht the torque peak is somewhere between 3,000 and 3,500 RPM. I would go with a 3,000 stall converter. That would allow you to leave at or near peak torque, in theory anyway.