Choosing a torque converter...

[toofastforyou]

Now that I've made up my mind and have decided to follow Jack's recommandation, I'll be going with a TH-400 next year.
I've been doing a little researching on the net for a torque converter and I found a lot of manufacturers... There's PTC, ATI, TCI, JW, Art Carr, Precision, Hughes, Neil Chance, Coan, to name a few...
I know my good friend Martin has tried both PTC and ATI back-to-back and seems to have had better results with the ATI.
I, myself have always had some Art Carr converters in my GN, but that is with the 200-4R. I looked at his website and he seems to be more specialized in 200-4R's than TH-400's...
For some reason, I seem to have confidence into the ATI and Hughes, having had an ATI in my Super Stock '67 Camaro. I never had a Hughes converter, but a lot of guys are winning some NHRA events with their products.
I think I'll choose a "spragless" type from either ATI or Hughes...What do you think?

links: ATI Torque Converters for Street / Strip, Racing and Towing!
and
PRO-III Series Converter PRO-IV Series Converters and PRO-V Series Converters

Claude. :smile:
________

 

[HighPSI]

I only recommend PTC's spec'ed out by Dusty. They're what's in nearly every record setting Buick.

 

[pdzz]

I only recommend PTC's spec'ed out by Dusty. They're what's in nearly every record setting Buick.

X2 on that. Dusty is the man!!

 

[toofastforyou]

No one is running with an ATI or Hughes converter?
I know that PTC seem popular (like Art Carr was back in the '90's...), but having seen a friend of mine getting a big improvement when switching from a PTC to an ATI...made me lose confidence in the PTC...

Claude.

 

[John Wilde]

No one is running with an ATI or Hughes converter?
I know that PTC seem popular (like Art Carr was back in the '90's...), but having seen a friend of mine getting a big improvement when switching from a PTC to an ATI...made me lose confidence in the PTC...

Claude.

Was that converter spec by Dusty?
If not there is not much of a connection.
ATI makes some good stuff, but they
had nowhere near the experience with the turbo 6s that Dusty has.

We bought a ATI back when Alan Witter was running one.
It never worked for our 1000hp V6.
I ended up letting Chris use my Art Carr which got us up on boost but was loose up top.

I am pretty sure Jack uses a PTC now as do the fastest 3-4 TSO guys.
You can try and re invent the wheel, but why?

 

[Dusty Bradford]

ATI and many others make great products. If he didn't have luck with the PTC then the converter didn't match the combo well. It can happen.

I try to get a feel of the user's intentions when I spec a converter. Lots of guys have a 9.70 combo but only want to run 10.50's. That makes a huge difference on the design of the converter. In a case like that, a converter I design for a 9.70 combo may not work as well as say a 9" converter in a 10.50 car that is capable of 9's. Alot of getting a converter right is getting the proper info from the customer.

The nitrous crowd is the worst. So many guys say they are spraying a 400 shot but in reality might be using 200. So I build a converter for a 400 shot and they wonder why it's too tight. It's a 2 way street and a good converter is the product of good communication. Not every combo will be nailed the 1st time. There are some combo's that take 4-5 attempt's if something unpredictable is going on with the combination.

 

[toofastforyou]

Was that converter spec by Dusty?
If not there is not much of a connection.
ATI makes some good stuff, but they
had nowhere near the experience with the turbo 6s that Dusty has.

We bought a ATI back when Alan Witter was running one.
It never worked for our 1000hp V6.
I ended up letting Chris use my Art Carr which got us up on boost but was loose up top.

I am pretty sure Jack uses a PTC now as do the fastest 3-4 TSO guys.
You can try and re invent the wheel, but why?

John, no I don't think my friend's PTC converter was a "spec by Dusty"...?
As for Jack's car, I'm pretty sure he's running an ATI unit.

thanks for your reply,

regards,

Claude. :wink:

 

[PremierJosh]

I would bet that with the proper data and feed back any of the mfg's you listed could build a very capable converter. If it takes 1-5x depends a little on luck but more there experiance with the combo you are running and intended use. In my 91mm ls2 I ran a Change converter and I could not have been happier. I was running a combo that had been done before and someone else did the R&D. It worked out of the box. Unless you are running a combo completely in left field I would chose someone with a good product and knowledge of your setup. I have never used a PTC from Dusty but I know PTC can make a quailty peice and Dusty knows these GN setups. Sounds like a no brainer. I have been reading alot since I am looking to pickup my first GN and I see alot of people complaining about different companys converter, the converter you have from said MFG isn't the only thing they can do. If it isn't working for you send it back with data and they will get it lined out. On alot of my customer cars I run a Precision because they can make a nice peice and they are local. If need be I can have it out and to them asap. I have never had one fail but I also don't put a single disk behind 1200whp and try and lock it.