I've heard this is really good mod for auto's , but not exactly sure how they work. Say you had a 2500 stall, that just means you wouldnt move from a dead stop until the rpm's reach 2500, right? Does a stall converter allow the car to run below the specified stall on the highway(like if you were running 2.73 gears, at 80mph the car turns about 2000 rpm's).
Also, are stalls good for daily driving, I think having your head ripped off at every red light would get really old pretty quick. If I have been misinformed on any of this, please let me know, and any additional info would be greatly appreciated. Thanx.

------------------
'91 TA, 305TPI, mild cam, stock heads ported and polished, ported plenum, SLP siamesed runners, edelbrock TES headers, flowmaster 3" cat-back, 3.73 posi, K&N, custom CAI, hypertech stage II chip, march underdrive pulleys,
"305 my A**" -countless mustang owners, after a good spanking.

 

This might be a simplification, but the stall speed of the torque converter is the speed at which the converter transfers the maximum amount of power to the transmission. The advantage of stalling at a higher RPM is that it prevents the engine from feeling too much load until your RPMs have moved up into your powerband.

If you had a 1500 RPM converter behind an engine which was set up to begin making power at 3000 RPM, the engine would be under load from 1500 RPM on up, and you'd have to lug it for a while until you started making decent power.

When matched to the rest of your setup, a high-stall converter will allow you to launch faster, but it doesn't necessarily affect streetability, within reason. As long as you're not putting your foot right into it at every stop you should be fine. You will begin moving below the stall speed, but the engine will rapidly begin building speed until the stall speed is reached.

[This message has been edited by Apeiron (edited September 11, 2000).]

 

You will want your stall rpm to be at or below your cruise rpm. At highway speeds, wind resistance and other stuff like hills will put a load on the converter and make it slip. That slipping creates alot of heat, especially if you slip it for a long time. If you run a stall converter with a lock-up, your cruise rpm will be constant and it won't slip.
The car will move before the rated stall speed. Around town you will notice more slip when taking off. With light/moderate throttle, a stall converter will take off from a dead stop smoother than a stock conveter not harder (kinda like when you slip the clutch with a manual when you take off).



------------------
82 camaro--original steering wheel, brake/gas pedals, seats--everything else modified
82camaro