Hey guys. I must've got some weird gene in my family because I'm the first one to be into cars. I have no one to teach me this stuff so I try to learn as much as possible online and from you guys. I know I could ask this on google but you guys could probably tell me a little clearer. So what is a stall? Not like when you let off the clutch with not enough gas but when you guys say "my RS has a 2000 stall"? I know it's rpms but what's it good for and how do you do it? Thanks a million in advance for tolerating my ignorance.

 

Can't resist this...

It's when an aircraft's wing loses sufficient forward speed so sustain lift.

It's where a horse lives within a stable.

It's where crappy trinkets are sold at a flea market.

It also refers to a 'high stall torque convertor', in an auto transmission. It means the engine rpm at which the convertor passes the full rpm from the motor on to the transmission, instead of the zero rpm it does at idle.

Stock, this occurs at about 1200 rpm. A higher stall speed convertor will be higher than this - 2000, 2500, 3000, 4000 etc. The purpose is to let an engine built for higher top-end hp reach it's operating powerband, before it has to lug the vehicle around.

 

http://www.hardtail.com/techtips/torqueconverters.html
http://www.hardtail.com/techtips/sel...converter.html
http://www.hughesperformance.com/ind...=1:latest-news

In simplest terms, while using a transbrake to lock the transmission in forward and reverse at the same time so no power reaches the driveshaft, the engine rpms are brought up. When the converter reaches 1:1 speed between the turbine and the impeller, it will eventually prevent the engine rpm from going any higher until the stator is allowed to spin.

All converters stall. Below the stall speed, they slip. If they didn't, it would stall the engine just like a clutch would. The purpose of a higher stall converter is to allow the engine to increase in rpm quicker to get it into the camshaft's powerband faster for better performance. Too high a stall speed is just as bad as too low.

 

It relates to the torque converter on an automatic trans. Its roughly the RPM the eng can is allowed to turn with the wheels not turning. I higher stall allows the eng to rev higher when launching the car. Engines with high duration cams have more power at higher rpms and less at lower rpms, so a higher stall converter prevents the eng from bogging down when launching.