Question about stall converters.
 

Up until now, the stall converter was one of the most effective mods anyone with an auto could do. One of my first mods to my lt1 was a converter...the ls1 guys sweared by them. Why are folks not trying them as a simple bolt-on mod for the ZL1s? Is it the warrantee?

I would imagine that a converter alone in one of these cars has got to be good for at least .4 in the quarter. Though I was able to get a 1.74 60' on street tires on my 11.9 pass, I'm sure that with a good converter and a set of drag tires, I could run an 11.4 with nothing else done.

I am considering this to be my next mod.
I need to get educated on the subject. Hopefully some good info comes out of this thread.

leave it stock unless you are going for the "ultimate track time" 1.57 is my best 60' with my stock tc. Many vendors left their tc stock for low 10s...spend money elsewhere IMHO

They are worth the money BUT trans tuning with the 6l90 can be something that can make or break a gm eith 6l80-90 car..

I ran a Yank PY3400 on my former 99 procharged LS1. It woke it that car.

Big Dave, how much does the car weigh stock?

If you can 60 a 1.7 stock I'd probably do a set of drag radials before I did a converter. Stephen's almost in the 10's without one.

I figure the car should be somewhere around 4230. I'm 240, plus I might have had around 10 extra pounds of junk in the trunk. Funny thing is that one track said 4380, another said 4480. I figured the latter was correct since the car is an auto with a sunroof. I think the manuals come in around 4100 lbs.

my car is exactly like yours auto/sunroof and it weighs right at 4400 race weight. Do drag radials, pulley, tune, air intake first before you stuff a looser torque converter in your car. Normally aspirated cammed cars...definitely need a looser converter but the ZL1 has tons of low end torque. You will find it difficult enough to hook with the stock converter without shocking the car even more with a looser converter. IMHO.

BIG DAVE
IF YOU RAN A 1.6 60' TIME ON STOCK TIRES WHAT KIND OF TIRE PRESSURE WERE YOU RUNNING. WHAT SIZE TIRES/BRAND. THE BEST I CAN DO AT A MILE HIGH IS 1.897 60' TIME ON STOCK GOODYEARS.

TCI has an adjustable torque converter that looks good. It costs over $1500.00 though. They claim it will will drop 7/10 sec. in the 1/8 mile and will hold up better than stock if you do power mods. Also it will bolt right in without any type of tuning. I considered getting one but I would have to pay to have it installed because I don't have access to a lift. I really don't want to pull the tranny with car on the ground. I know installation has to be expensive. If anyone has installed this please let me know what you think of it.

7/10s in a 1/4 are hard to believe
7/10s in the 1/8th. That would be magic.
If they guarentee results and have testing to back it up I am sure people would be all over it.

I have some fairy dust to sprinkle for 7/10s too...

Wow no kidding, my SS 1SS is 3980 with me, some small weight reduction.

If I had gotten a ZL1 I'd do a pulley, heat exchanger, probably a trans cooler, air intake work and a tune, seems like low 11's should be no problem.

Big stall converters helped to launch an N/A car (LS1, LT1) but it's not as necessary in a supercharged LSA.

Also they help with shift extension and flash points on 4 speed automatics that have only 3 usable gears that are spaced rather far apart. The 6 speed automatics have more usable gears spaced closer together, thus there is less need for stalls.

Not that a stall wouldn't help, but it's not as necessary with a 6 speed auto and gobs of torque from the engine.