CONVERTER SWAP,,DONE !!

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Here is for all my "bolt on" friends who were waiting for me to get my converter swap completed.Well here goes my friends, I would have never guessed that my Camaro could have run any better than it did already, and be any quicker, but just add a Circle D 5C 4000-4200 stall to the equation and man watch out!!! Holy crap man!! What a wild difference for sure!! She was an animal before with the cam and 3200 stall, but this 4000-4200 retuned has made her a MONSTER for sure. Night and day difference. Cool thing about it is she doesn't drive any different on the highway or around town and in parking lots that the 3200 did, totally docile to say it properly. You can tell it is a higher stall when you just push on the pedal cause it revs higher to move the car the same amount as before.
Driving on the interstate at 75mph with the cruise on she maintained a trans temp of around 169-170 which I like. When you romp on it at that speed it flashes up to around 4800-5000, down shifts and away you go! We got up to 110mph in a matter of about 5 secs, then let off, wow that was fun. People were doing around 80-85 or so and I would let them get right up to my left rear quarter, and they were gaining, then I would romp on it and just watch them get left behind very quickly, amazing, the 3200 wouldn't do that for sure.
Driving around town is even more fun, driving in sport mode and letting the converter, do what it does is awesome, more so than the 3200. Leaving the line she will rev rev up to around 3200-3400 and just cruise along as it shift gears smoothly and the RPM's don't drop very much, maybe 100-150 or so.Also he has the manual mode put in auto lock he called it, this way in any manual gear I'm in the converter is locked and I use this to cool the temps back down after some "spirited driving. From a dead stop when you romp on it she flashes up to around 4800-5000 blisters the tires thru 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear!! So I know what I need next!! Some DR's for sure, even rolling along at 35mph or so and you get on it they just light em up. So now I have to be gentle on the throttle leaving the line so as to not smoke em. When doing a WOT pull she pulls like nothing I have ever felt, except my friends 2003 10 sec Cobra, just seems to want to keep going and not stop!! Wow what an awesome feeling, and difference for sure!
All I can say is I am very impressed with this cam and converter combo and couldn't imagine if I had a 3.91 of 4.10 gear how much quicker she might be. Awesome. So in my words and thanks to you guys out there running these big converters that helped me see the light, thanks for making my girl a NEW monster, and more pleasure to drive. And for all you guys that are skeptical about running a 4000 or bigger stall with your cam, don't be. When it is tuned correctly it's pretty much like driving a stock one, only a tad looser, but the performance gain from it is "off the chart" in my book in the fun catagory. So glad I went with this converter for sure. Hope this sums it up for you all and go getcha one! Oh and I forgot to mention when driving this Camaro now during "normal" driving, when you accelerate or go to pass someone the feel of the car pulling is amazing, not at WOT just normal and it just jumps to attention now. Sooo much different from the 3200 for sure.

[Bo White]

Yep don't fear the stall! I've always said a 3200 stall is for stock cams and if you feel the need go to 4000. Sooo much better driveability.

[gunchamp]

I have the same converter and love it. 391 gears as well and wouldnt have it any other way. Drives great and is perfectly streetable.

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Originally Posted by Bo White

Yep don't fear the stall! I've always said a 3200 stall is for stock cams and if you feel the need go to 4000. Sooo much better driveability.

So very true my friend, just wish I'd have done it in the beginning, I lost out on 19k worth of "more fun" since the cam swap!! lol. But then again, now I have a brand new monster to enjoy for sure !!! Thanks guys...

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Originally Posted by gunchamp

I have the same converter and love it. 391 gears as well and wouldnt have it any other way. Drives great and is perfectly streetable.

Oh heck yea! So very streetable she be. As quick as she is now from a start, I couldn't imagine with a 3.91 gear. I have my mech looking for someone he trusts to do the gear swap for me, properly as I have heard they need to be set up precisely right so you don't have any problems..

[InFiD3ViL]

Oh man, these type of threads are going to get me in trouble. That sounds freaking awesome. I was considering 3600 for when I get mine, but this type of talk has me thinking. I really don't like doing things twice.

Who did the convertor tuning for you? Also, did you go with single or triple disk and is this the 245mm one?

[Speeddmn]

When engine bay is left like this for a bit, makes me think... man it would be much easier to just do it now....

[Roader]

Who tuned it this time?

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Originally Posted by InFiD3ViL

Oh man, these type of threads are going to get me in trouble. That sounds freaking awesome. I was considering 3600 for when I get mine, but this type of talk has me thinking. I really don't like doing things twice.

Who did the convertor tuning for you? Also, did you go with single or triple disk and is this the 245mm one?

Yea I had to really think this one out because I was going to go with a 3600 like one of my friends did, but the 2 yrs of driving my Camaro with the cam and the 3200 and when I would romp on it and it flashed up to around 3400 or so and had a sort of "dull" spot until she got to 4000 then just took of from there, but didn't pull as hard as this new 4200 does now all the way up to 7200. I decided from advice on here from a couple guys to go for the 245mm 4000-4200 single disc for her, and SO glad I did!! What am awesome converter for sure. A triple is not needed according to Chris at Circle D unless you are well over 700hp. I drove back down to Ft Lauderdale and had Josh at Lashway Tuning tweek the tranny tune for me, 2 hours down and 2 back and it only took him about 15 minutes to write a new tune for it from my old tune, and he got it spot on for what I like!!

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Originally Posted by Speeddmn

When engine bay is left like this for a bit, makes me think... man it would be much easier to just do it now....

Yep, now's your chance!! Save ya about 1k is what is cost me to pull the tranny and swap it out, unless you are doing the work your self. Don't forget the trans cooler too.

[Speeddmn]

Originally Posted by 1JEWLDSSRS

Yep, now's your chance!! Save ya about 1k is what is cost me to pull the tranny and swap it out, unless you are doing the work your self. Don't forget the trans cooler too.

Yeah, doing it all myself. Juat a few pieces from having all the motor stuff ready to assemble. Just time and money, plus its hunting season so... there is that!

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Originally Posted by Speeddmn

Yeah, doing it all myself. Juat a few pieces from having all the motor stuff ready to assemble. Just time and money, plus its hunting season so... there is that!

lol, I hear ya there!! It is snook fishing season down here in Fl, so I tend to want to go fishing more so than working on my Camaro. But if you are on the fence about ordering a Circle D converter, it takes about 4-5 weeks to have it built as they are all custom made.

My 35lb snook..

[TheFlyingBananaSS]

Sounds like I'll be sliding further down the rabbit hole lol.

[InFiD3ViL]

Originally Posted by Speeddmn

When engine bay is left like this for a bit, makes me think... man it would be much easier to just do it now....

I was thinking just like you when I had my engine out...perfect time to do the convertor. Unfortunately the engine rebuild and swap broke me financially, so it was put on the waiting list.

Looks like some of your harness conduit is in the same shape mine was. Word of advise while you have the engine out....redo all that wire looming. It's cheap and fairly easy, and so much easier to do now with all that room. One of the spots on mine that was also bad was right in front of the passenger head where it goes through that metal harness hanger. I figured that was the perfect spot for chafing, melted wires, or a short.

Mine was also really bad like yours is right near the ECM due to all that heat. It just crumbled away and I knew the wire insulation was next to suffer. I used new nylon looming with a high quality 3M electrical tape, and then anywhere there was a possibility for heat damage/exposure (ie. near the passenger head) I covered it with metallic heat tape. I used this stuff: