Low Stall Converter

[emkay]

Maybe a little bit confusing for you guys looking for high stall converters to spool their turbos, but I am looking to make my LB7 act more like a manual shifted truck. So I wanted to ask if anyone could recommend a low stall converter that couples (I think we talk "fluid coupling" here) lower than stock? As I said, I am not that much looking for brake stall speed to spool a turbo.

The truck is mildly tuned with efilive and gets a slightly bigger turbo (something like a BD Supermax or the Garrett LB7 kit) in the near future. Transmission will be built from scratch too, so if there are additional recommendations on what parts to use I would be very happy!!

 

[TrentNell]

A Suncoast 1054 is tighter than stock , but not sure you will like it on your LB7 , I ran one when my truck was mainly a tow rig , I was running a BD Supermax at the time also , and I didn't like anything about a low stall converter , it actually even made it harder to get loads moving than a looser model due to excessive turbo lag .

 

[othrgrl]

A Suncoast 1054 is tighter than stock , but not sure you will like it on your LB7 , I ran one when my truck was mainly a tow rig , I was running a BD Supermax at the time also , and I didn't like anything about a low stall converter , it actually even made it harder to get loads moving than a looser model due to excessive turbo lag .

x2. What do you mean have it act like a manual truck? A manual truck acts however you shift it and however you let out the clutch - so that would be different for everyone. I agree that a tighter than stock converter would not be a good choice. The Precision ML series has very nice coupling with the perfect stall speed for stock to small upgraded chargers like what you are talking about.

 

[x MadMAX DIESEL]

Just run in tow haul mode if you don't like fluid coupling. I run mine in it everyonce in awhile just for the heck of it.

 

[JustinD]

I have a Suncoast 1056 in mine, it works well. Seems fairly tight???

 

[Mike L.]

A Suncoast 1054 is tighter than stock , but not sure you will like it on your LB7 , I ran one when my truck was mainly a tow rig , I was running a BD Supermax at the time also , and I didn't like anything about a low stall converter , it actually even made it harder to get loads moving than a looser model due to excessive turbo lag .

I agree with this. I had a 1054 on my LB7 and did not like it. Even with my killer Moonshine tune it was dead on a take off. There is a place for the 1054, but not on an LB7 IMHO.

 

[emkay]

Thanks for that very interesting input, let me try to explain what I am looking for (mike, maybe you remeber, I am fried with Lennart and we met last November, we had that discussion and you said "why not use the converter for torque multiplication"):

When you drive a stick shifted turbodiesel, lets say a VW Jetta TDI, you engage the clutch around lets say 800 RPM at start and maybe keep the car around 1200-1500 whild cruising through the city. When the clutch is engaged, thats like having the converter locked up. That is more or less what I am looking for. I whant the converter to be tight in very low RPMS. Maybe thats a very "German" thing but I mostly drive downtown Munich (compare the roads to e.g. old parts of Boston) and I dont need the truck to rev up anytime I hit the throttle lightly. Does that sound "reasonable"

 

[TrentNell]

Thanks for that very interesting input, let me try to explain what I am looking for (mike, maybe you remeber, I am fried with Lennart and we met last November, we had that discussion and you said "why not use the converter for torque multiplication"):

When you drive a stick shifted turbodiesel, lets say a VW Jetta TDI, you engage the clutch around lets say 800 RPM at start and maybe keep the car around 1200-1500 whild cruising through the city. When the clutch is engaged, thats like having the converter locked up. That is more or less what I am looking for. I whant the converter to be tight in very low RPMS. Maybe thats a very "German" thing but I mostly drive downtown Munich (compare the roads to e.g. old parts of Boston) and I dont need the truck to rev up anytime I hit the throttle lightly. Does that sound "reasonable"

If that is what you are after I personally would use a standard stall converter and use an external lock up device , then you could have the best of both worlds .

 

[chrisuns]

If that is what you are after I personally would use a standard stall converter and use an external lock up device , then you could have the best of both worlds .

X2, lock-up controller would serve your purpose perfectly.

 

[Mike L.]

I have tested a converter that only drops 50 rpm when it locks. Works well on Dodges but have been a little leery at putting one in a Duramax.

 

[MFDinosaur]

I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but I do this with my LB7. Since you're using EFI Live, you can lower the shift points in your normal mode or use the current normal mode shift points and set the lockup points to be locked in second through fifth. This will give you the shift like a manual feel as the converter will spend most of the time locked. I have found that the converter locks and unlocks more and that may be undesirable from a wear standpoint. It seamed to also boost my economy a couple MPG since the majority of the driving I do is between 30 and 50 mph. I have a worn out stock converter and transmission. That from abusing a the stock components with more than they can handle.

 

[GeneralTJI]

When the clutch is engaged, thats like having the converter locked up. That is more or less what I am looking for. I whant the converter to be tight in very low RPMS.

Tuning or lock up device. You can get your TC to lock much sooner than stock so you can stay locked up under lower rpms and lower gears. Works pretty good until you lug it down around 1000 rpms, down there the truck will buck and pulse a little under light throttle.

 

[WanaDmaxsub]

Mike told me the other day that driving around in T/H all the time isn't a good idea...sorry I don't remember why he said that...

With that said...I lived in Germany for 7 years. If I had my truck over there, I would most likely be driving in T/H most of time. Lots of quick and nimble little cars over there...you can't give them an opening waiting for a down shift and the T/C to lock.