http://revmaxconverters.com/about/shop/th200-4r-3a#upgrade Any of you guys try them or could recommend similar converters for cheaper? I think $265 is a bargain for a 9.5" converter
Never heard of them, but the specs look good. With converters, you get what you pay for. Better to save for awhile and get the best converter you can. I'd be looking at Jim Weise's 9.5 converter if I were you.
I would save more for a converter but even this one is more than I'd like to spend for a converter as I was planning on going with a stock D5. I feel for the power level I am at it can't hurt too much to try out. When I start making more power the trans will need some upgrades and I am sure to go with a better converter. Do you happy to know what Jim's converters go for in relatively low stall applications? (not sure if the lowest is 2800 or 2500 for the 9.5"s)
a cheap converter that fails can cost you an expensive transmission rebuild and at best the converter compoany will give you a replacement converter. better to pay a little more for reputation and peace of mind than to pay a whole lot more later on because you were trying to save a buck or two
I don't. All you need to do is PM Jim, or post in the Tri Shield Forum. I believe he has a thread going on the 9.5. If I ever go fixed pitch, I'm getting one of Jim converters.
I recently bought one of Jim W. 9.5" Stg 1 converters. I have a 350 in a skylark. Based on my combo,( about 320 hp and 400 tq.) he set it up to stall around 2500. I'm still in the midst of getting it installed, so no feedback yet, but I'm excited to feel the difference. The unit was $499 + shipping and Jim W. is a great guy to work with. I will post when I get things back on the road.
Deadline was getting a little tight so I sprung for a revmax. They had one already built and wanted to get rid of it. It had the upgraded sprag, srpings and the woven carbon clutch. He was originally asking $400 but discounted it to $354, I was $7 short so he dropped it another $7:Brow: I guess I'll be a guinea pig here and see what happens but if I didn't go with Revmax I'd be putting a stock D5 in my car
I pulled the old trans out yesterday (I think with not a moment to spare too, I've never seen trans fluid that looked at dark as used motor oil in just 15000 miles) And I have the new one all set to go in tomorrow after work, I'm going to make sure everything is working correctly with the trans before doing the rear gears so I'll be sure to post a review of the converter when I get some wheel time with it:3gears:
Starting to think the discounted upgraded converter I got isn't really a 2800 rpm stall.... Definitely shouldn't flash to 3800rpm behind a stock engine
The question is, Does it feel like it is slipping during normal around town driving? If it does, you will get tired of that really quick. It will make your car less fun to drive, and it will heat up the ATF and waste gas. The best converter for your car will feel very normal around town, but when you romp on it, it will stall right where you need it to. That is what you pay for. There is NO SUCH THING as a converter that will stall at 2800 RPM in any car. Unless it was built for your combination.
Only a few places know how to make an effecient 200-4r converter. They all have a lot of experience in the GN world. You go with Rusty at PTC or get in touch with Andre at Edge. If they are used to Chevies they set you up with what they would use in a Camaro small block with a 700. I would rather have a stock D5 for the street than a badly setup 9 to 10 inch converter. Our GN with stock converter and trans, a few mild mods like chip, boost controller and air box will do low 13's. So unless you are setting up for big HP the stock D5 works great.
You have a lockup torque converter right? If so then you should be happy once it is locked up. I suggest the TCI lockup kit however also add a toggle switch in there so you can take control. I have the vacuum switch setup so that I only get lockup when I have over 12 HG of vacuum AND the toggle switch is engaged. I run lockup in 2nd, 3rd and 4th, but normally only run it in 4th when at highway speed.
I want to post a conditional review of this converter so far, because two new issues have come to light that may affect how may circumstances may be viewed. When I test drove the car last night the shifts were stacking up at Wot in drive at right around 4k, no chirping second, not much in the way of firmness for shifts it was slightly dissapointing (worlds better then my th350 though) Manually shifting was better but still not as firm as expected, our theory was that the converter was soaking up the firmness. Doing some stall tests we determined this is certainly not a 2800 stall converter (which based on what we told Revmax should stall at 2600rpm behind my motor) as it would flash to 3800rpm right off the brakes. Converter is noticeably looser than my previous converter (stalled at around 2500 flashed to 2900-3000rpm) and seems to have made WOT in drive almost pointless. We called Revmax who didn't hesitate at all to offer an exchange or a free restall of my converter. I told them that it flashed to 3800 which shocked the tech on the phone. He asked what kind of power we were making and when we provided the quarter mile times to back up our 230hp claim he agreed something was not right. Said there would be a 1 day turn around time. Two possibilities arose which was A- the prebuilt converter offered for purchase was incorrectly labeled or B something isn't correct with it. After realizing we had to pull the trans anyways we decided to do a line pressure test to further diagnose the shift stacking and soft shifts. Pressure read out to be about 150psi max way short of the 280psi expected. Therefore I cannot give an accurate review of how this converter feels with both the possibility of incorrect stall speed and the improper line pressures as well. Silly question but line pressure doesn't influence stall speed does it? I do want to say the car revs up noticably quicker with this converter and for an assumed 3600 stall speed it really doesn't rev up too much to get moving. Barely getting into it my shifts were about 2800rpm so nothing too crazy, it didn't feel too mushy either
I bet they built the converter based on your HP output not your torque... The amount of torque is what effects your actual stall speed and you should have plenty of low rpm torque with your stock engine. Did Ken setup your carb for the TV cable? make sure you get that TV cable set right ASAP... If it does not feel too mushy driving around then just wire in the lockup torque converter and you will have 100% lockup when you want it... I suggest the TCI lockup kit, or build it your self... Add a lighted toggle switch as well as a brake switch so it shuts off when you hit the brakes.
I was wondering how the line pressure affects the TQ convertor? Or does it have an affect at all? Would the line pressure being downbe the TV cable out of adjustment?...........Thanks
Revmax called today and said they had a customer complaining of a too tight converter, they said they were expecting 3600rpm stallou: Turns out last 2 digits of our invoice numbers were the same. Revmax is going through the converter now to make sure it is up to spec and they are shipping it out when done and sending a return slip for the one I have now. Very happy with their customer service so far. They are helpful and polite and willing to fix the situation without hassle and in a timely manner.
Yes Ken did set up my carb for the TV and I have a bracket all worked out so there should be no issues there. Lighted converter switch is going in tomorrow while my friend is building my rear and I'll do the vacuum and brake switch further down the road. I am just antsy to get everything all together. The converter definitely revs up nice and for a 3600 stall converter it isn't that loose to where you have to rev to 3 grand just to move
