stage II tranny

[turbo buicks]

hi my car is pretty close to stock (see sig) but i was wondering, since you stage guys rev 'em hi (7000 +) would it be beneficial to put a manual tranny in one? im simply talking about the street cars not the race cars. i hear hi stall converters get hot which isnt good. what happens when a converter gets too hot? do you just run a tranny cooler on the street GN's w/hi stall converters or what? i know that a manual in a reg GN is a big NO NO unless your looking for 16's but i was just wondering since a stg. engine revs higher the manual might be of some use on the street. just a thought. dont flame me

 

[StageII86]

Manual tranny

Most of the stage guys prefer a full-manual auto setup (T-400's and Powerglides with manual valve bodies) since the Stage II cars are primarilly drag raced. Turbo drag cars typically prefer a converter to a clutch. Clutches typically take far more tuning in a drag application. Some of the VERY quick stage II race cars (<8.0's) run 3 to 5 spd. liberty or lenco setups which use a clutch. You are, however, definately correct in that heat is much less a factor in a manual tranny setup. Building boost on the line albeit with a trans brake or foot brake can yeild skyrocketing tranny temperatures (little airflow to the trans cooler) if you hold them too long. High temps burn clutches. This is the price you pay with a big turbo, high stall and thus a low ET. Stage II street cars will actually see better spool up and milder street manners with a high stall converter setup over a clutch (theoretically that is--anything is possible). Tranny temps mainly depend on how loose the converter is; cars driven around with predominately low converter engagement will see much higher temps than a car with a tighter converter. The temps can be regulated decently via large or multiple tranny coolers, heat sinks, etc. Those who still run a 200 can take advantage of a lockup converter which will yeild lower cruise temps.

 

[TurboTR]

Actually I think PI offers some sort of TH400 race lockup converter setup now too that might be interesting

TurboTR

 

[StageII86]

l/u 400

Yeah, i heard about that--sounds real neet. Do you know where I can get any more info on it? I was contemplating a setup like that back when I used to have a '98 Z28. Locking up a 1:1 with 3.42's and a 28" tall tire would be about like having an overdrive (and even more efficient).