I had a couple of Q's as to getting a torque converter for our cars:

1.Can I have just a torque converter without getting a vavle body upgrade (I already have a tranny cooler installed)?
2.Will the T.C. improve my acceleration throughout the powerband, or just getting me off the line faster.

I belive a couple of you guys here on the board have T.C.'s, so let me know how much of a diffrence it made and was it worth it (along with answering the questions above). thanx guys.

 

ok...................lemme ask this then: what mod would you guys prefer better? The VB mod or getting a new torque converter?

 

5spd swap will blow both thoughs combined out of the water for both off the line and through out the power band and could be done for the same price

 

Take that back! It's not true. My automatic can rape yours off the line. lol

But 5ltr Beater... please do research before you ask a question like that. It's obvious that you don't know what a torque converter does.

 

I take it your joking about the T.C. right? And your asking me to do some reaserch.........well, last time I checked........this is a Maxima website......right? And where else but here would I get a better answer on first hand experience on what mod would I notice more of a difference. Your obviously too cocky to just post a reply saying " I have a torque converter on my Maxima and I love it; great mod!".
But no; I get a dumb *** answer like " please do research before you ask a question like that;It's obvious that you don't know what a torque converter does." Who made you the "master tech" of Maximas?

 

I got this car because it is going to be my daily driver. I just sold my other Z28 and I am currently saving for an 03 Cobra that comes standard with a 6 spd. But i would love to have a cool daily driver that has an automatic for those days that I just don't feel like shifting; hence why I bought this car in the first place. On the other hand, I just can't leave anything stock. I am a confirmed horsepower junkie.

 

whoa dude, TCs act as clutches for Automatic transmissions... they arent just mods, you can surely upgrade your existing one or clean it up a bit. good TCs will make you haul *** off the line, but after the tranny shifts to higher gears, you wont have that pwr you would get from manual tranny... this is one of the reasons why automatic transmissions are used in most professional drag racing. it all depends on what you want to do.

i suggest you go here http://auto.howstuffworks.com/torque-converter2.htm and read up on this. the reason why Aaron told you to do some research is for your own good, so you would know what youre doing and what you would need to satisfy personal criteria. so its not a dumb--- answer.

 

I'm well aware of what they do for V8's. That's mainly where most of my expertise is. However, I'm not too familiar with what they do for V6's and I would like to get some personal info. and some first hand experience from someone who's already done it so that I can confirm my beliefs. Instead I get a smart *** remark that was totally uncalled for.
Again, I can't stress enough the fact that this is a Maxima website and that getting first hand answers from "real" people and almost instantaneous answers is hard to turn away from. Would you not agree?

 

I upgraded my torque converter to an ACT clutch. Best work I've ever done to my car.

 

A torque converter's function is the same whether it is behind a 2cyl or a 16 cylinder or anything in between.

 

It's questions like these that tell me that you don't even know what a torque converter is. Before you ask dumb questions like these, please find out what a TC is. Sorry for the stupid answer, but that's what a stupid question deserves.

 

Do you want to explain what the stupid question is? Let me give the "RUNDOWN" on a V8! Mr. 14 sec car (lol). On an automatic LT1/LS1 camaro, you don't need to do a vavle body upgrade. If you purchase the Hypertech power programmer, you can actually "set" you tranny to shift harder through the computer; without ever opening up the tranny; Making a torque converter, your best friend and improving acceleration THROUGHOUT the power band (Mainly from a stop though).You don't need to do both, some poeple don't like the hard shift, but it's personal preference.
As chrgdRapa indicated above, a torque converter acts like a "clutch" for automatics, and starts to work as more tranny fluid is passed through it. While the car is completely stopped, very little fluid is passing through the T.C., which in return requires very little pressure applied to the brake to keep the car from rolling.An improved T.C. (for V8's, i don't know how big they are for imports) are a little big longer, and when placed side by side, are a little shorter in height. They pack additional fins that move tranny fluid faster through the T.C., hence giving you more "grunt" off the line when you floor it.
So mr. World's fastest "VE", :
1. On a Camaro, you can get a T.C. without getting a vavle body upgrade (aka "shift kit") if you like.
2. On a Camaro (and according to other automatic V8's on LS1.com) a T.C. will improve acceleration thoughout the powerband; BUT MAINLY FROM A START.
I'm sorry if my "stupid" questions bore you. No one is forcing you to reply to them; and some of us in life want to go faster than 14.5@93mph.

 

You should definitly get the VB upgrade before considering the TC upgrade. The shifts need to be firmed up before installing something thats going to give more energy transfer during a high rpm shift. Only makes sense.

Aaron has a more aggressive VB upgrade than the one I have. I'm using the transgo shift kit, that mainly enhances 1st and 2nd, although it does much more than that. I installed that myself, along with a tranny cooler and royal purple syn atf back when the car had 70k miles on it, now I'm up to 120k and the tranny still runs real strong.

 

I would tell you to get a y-pipe and high flow intake for your best bang for your buck. And advance your timing 2-4 degrees. That will work wonders and cost you very little money. You will never get V8 acceleration out of a automatic maxima unless you turbo charge or do some serious mods $$$. And when you get to that point you will be rebuilding or replacing your auto tranny because it will break. From what I know the torque converter in our cars is part of the tranny itself but I could be wrong about that.

 

Sounds good. Thanx for the info. I will definetly consider getting a VB upgrade now. That, or E36 headlights. I'm confused.

 

I need to underline my signature more, but I posted in my sig. that I already have the y-pipe and CAI along with the UDP and I also advanced the timing. All mods that woke up my VE considerably. I have the JWT ECU but it's still on its way from Stillen. I know my little VE will never be able to hang with the V8 "big dogs", but it's always fun to give them a run for their money and I enjoy doing it while sitting in leather seats. hehehehe.

 

your definitly right about your auto raping my 5spd off the line since i dont have a 1st gear right now but any time you feel like running from a punch im game

but ill hopfully have the tranny fixed in the next month so soon well see

 

Try unplugging the line resister located on the driver's side strut tower. Looks like a long silver memory stick. Drive it around and let me know how you like it. I wouldn't do this all the time though.

 

are you talking about my car or subs1000? and what is that long "silver memory stick" for?

 

You. And it's the resister that controls the line pressure. Disconnect it and you get full line pressure all the time.

 

Doesn't that kill your tranny?

 

I'm sorry. Those questions you asked just sounded like a newbie question. You obviously know the function of a TC. But TCs aren't known to ADD HP to higher revs. In fact, most higher stall TCs LOSE HP if you go with too high of a stall.

The difference in low end power will always be better with a V8. The more torque that you have, the more torque you can multiply and the more increase in low end power you'll get from a performance TC. For V6s, the gain in low end power should be less considering your torque, gears, curb weight, etc. In my experience, I shaved .15 in my 60' and 3 tenths in the 1/4 mile. My stall was raised from 1800 to 2450 or so. That is a decent raise in stall and I'm happy with it.

Since a torque converter and shift kit really has nothing to do with each other, no you don't need to get one before the other. But I would definitely keep an eye on your tranny temps (tranny temp gauge) if you drive around in summer heat with the AC blasting all the time. A tranny cooler is always a must for all us automatic Maximas. You'd be surprised how hot our trannies can get, even with a tranny cooler. If I blast my AC all the time, I bet my tranny temp would get above 180 degrees. And tranny fluid starts to break down when it gets that hot. 9 out of 10 tranny failures are due to heat. I won't drive my car if I can't keep it below 165. I'll kick on my fans, shut my AC off, blast the heat, whatever I got to do to keep the temps down.

I am stressing heat a lot b/c a loose TC will generate more heat than the stock TC... especially city driving. On the highway, the unit should lock up at a lower rpm and actually might give better gas mileage. But around town, you should get worse gas mileage.

if you decide to get a TC, PLEASE go with the company I went with. They know what they are doing and have great customer service. www.edgeracingconverters.com Leave a message for Andre if he isn't available. Andre is the man!

If you go with Protorque, that will only provide a 300 rpm raise in stall. 2100 is not what I wanted, so I went with somebody else. I'm sure Protorque or Level 10 can give you a higher stall, but Edgeracing is already proven to be a very reliable company with a great product.

As Jeff mentioned, you can unplug your drop resistor, which will give you full line pressure and make your shifts INSTANT. In 4th gens, it's been proven to not be harmful. In 3rd gens, we are skeptical about it still. You can do it just for the track and it will be fine I'm sure. I just wouldn't drive around with it unplugged all the time. Could be harmful... maybe!

And last, your comment about some of us want to go faster than 14.5... haha I know that. You don't think I want to go faster? As far as my Maxima is concerned, I will do nitrous one day and see 12s or 11s. But as long as I am bracket racing my Maxima, I will stay in the 14s b/c of consistancy. FWD traction on street tires begin to become a big problem when you go faster than 14s. My brother owns a mid 11 second 68 Chevelle than he wants me to bracket race. But I don't think I will do that right now. Lack of money to enter the Pro category and buy fuel and whatnot. But I'm sure it will be LOTS of fun to race that car. It'll definitely be the fastest car I've raced before. Again, I apologize for being an Ahole.

Subs1000, if you want to come to Vegas, we can line them up at the local track. But, if you want to do it an easier way, just see if you can beat my 60' time on street tires. It's in my sig and webpage.

 

I accept your apology; I didn't mean to come off as being arrogant; but I'm by no means a . I've owned and sold too many cars to still be one. I was just curious to know how much of a difference a T.C. made to maximas that had them installed and thats pretty much it.

Now this question is for you and Jeff92SE, do you think it's possible to make a toggle switch between the drop resistor, so that I can toggle it on or off? And are the gains somewhat noticeable? I take it that you have tried this mod. with some success?

 

hahaha Noticable? Yeah, it's noticable when you get whiplash when you shift into 2nd and 3rd gear. It will be FULL line pressure, which means a VERY harsh shift. Probably slightly harsher than my Stage II shift kit.

Yes, it's very easy to wire in a switch. When the resistor is grounded, it shifts normal. When the resistor is disconnected, or not grounded, hold on, very harsh shifts.

Now, if you can search, which we can't... search for Jime. Jime posted a nice thread on how to wire in a switch that not only gives you full line pressure, but it only gives you full line pressure at wide open throttle. I think he wired in a microswitch to the gas pedal and that switch unplugs the resistor, or ungrounds it. So it only provides harsh shifting when you want it at WOT.

For me, I like my harsh shifts all the time. Even at partial throttle. I've had this for 1.5 years now and I still love it. Oh yeah, this is an easy way to see if your motor mounts are bad. haha If the motor BANGS when you shift into reverse, then it's the broken motor mounts bottoming out. And at partial throttle, it shouldn't BANG. It just be an INSTANT snap and the motor shouldn't bang. Also, keep in mind that I have my motor mounts filled with polyurethane, so the motor moves less than stock.