Top Performance for your buck

i think we should make a list of mods that range from free to about 10k to use on your camaro and stick it in performance to avoid the weekly thread.

I really love to see the stuff you guys can come up with

especially the "free" stuff

a pair of Edelbrock stickers (come free with edelbrock products) will usually net around 5-6hp
not much, but cant complain

interesting thought, but thats why we have the performance section of the sub-forums.

well no disrespect iroc but this part of the "Camaro" forum gets the most views and i was hoping some of the more knowledgeable memebers like youself could come up with some stuff.

can you move this to that part of the forum

thanks

what is this forum for anyway? there's problem diagnoses, performance, and non-performance subforums.

just curious......

not trying to step on any toes but i think its "general camaro talk"

lol, wasnt trying to be a dick, but i was just pointing out that these answers are probly in the performance thread if you had wanted to take a look is all im saying. as far as moving this one, im not that much of a dick, and im too lazy ;)

Hmmmm. bang for the buck, well the one mod i have done thus far that i dfinately felt the most was the mods i made to the tranny. The B&M trans kit and custom torque converter was the biggest seat of the pants improovement by far, and all together it only cost me about 620 bucks. a very close second was the exhaust system, headers, high flow cat, and 3in flowmaster american thunder exhaust system, all together, cost me around 660 bucks. and was a major boost in the performance i could feel. Next on my list is a set of rear gears, to change my 2.77 ratio to a 3.27 ratio. should only be a couple hundred bucks and provide the biggest change in performance. cold air intakes work well, but my car already has one. so couldnt tell ya.

do torque converters really add that much power. i never really thougth that they did a whole lot for performance. how much of a gain would u say it gave u.

well thats the thing, a torque converter dosnt really add power, it just lets you use the power you have better.

a torque converter is a fluid coupler, a propeller connected to the engine turns in a fluid, pushing it towards the back of the converter, through a stater vane, which directs the flow of fluid into a strait path against another propeler connected to the transmission, the force of the fluid being pushed against the trans prop is what moves the car. the first few instants the car starts moving from a standstill the converter may actually multiply the torque from the engine by as much as 200%, this fades off very quickly but is great for launching.

Torque converters, by their design can be built to run up to a certain RPM before they start coming under the influence of friction, which is their stall speed, or the max speed the engine can go with the tires immobile. By putting in a higher stall converter, you will allow the engine to rev into its powerband rather than shifting far below it. this will allow better use of your available power, giving you better performance, without actually increasing power.

more efficient...

Iroc,

The way I read your post I'm getting that torque converters are only on automatic transmissions? Manual's don't use one????

(the stupid new guy is starting to understand?)

you read correctly. torque converters are used on automatic transmisions because there is no way to disconnect them from the engine, so they have to be able to slip, or turn at different speeds. hence the fluid coupler.

manual transmissions use a clutch, which uses to friction disks, intead of two propellers. the disks are seperated by the clutch pedal, allowing the trans to turn at a seperate speed, then reconnect the two disks once youre in gear. this is why the car will stall if you come to a stop with the trans in gear, but with an automatic trans, you can stop the car in gear and it wont stall cuz the converter allows the engine to spin without turning the trans or stalling.

Holy Jesus... I UNDERSTAND SOMETHING!

Thanks, I was starting to worry that I really was stupid or something.

What's with lockup/non-lockup?

emphasis. I was really getting excited that I understood something. Actually went home in a good mood after such a shitty day.

PS: If my posts seem anal in terms of grammar etc, forgive me... I'm a CPA. That should explain everything.

I meant lockup/non-lockup converters, not caps lock lol

See what I mean?

so here is a question for this lockup torque converter. say you have a 3200 stall. will the car ever move below 3200rpms? or is thier a switch that you hit to make it go under less pressure? gotta explain it.

here...this might clear up some questions...

http://www.tciauto.com/tech_info/torque_converters_explained.htm

a non-lockup converter is just what i described, the two propellers in a fluid medium, seperated by a stater vane. these converters will always have slippage. causing higher trans fluid temps, higher rpms, and worse gas mileage than a manual.

a lockup converter, is basicly the same thing, except that it includes an electronicly activated clutch so that it works like a standard transmission, zero slippage, better gas mileage and lower cruizing rpms.

the deal with stall is that basicly its the limit to the difference in speed between the engine and trans. so no, the car will not have to rev all the way up to 3200rpms in order to move the car, but if you are standing on the brakes, the car will only rev up to 3200rpms without moving the tires.

Holy crap I finally understand torque converters lol.... how about installation, what's entailed if you anna do it yourself

put some tranny fluid in it....and slide it on to the tranny shaft. and then when the tranny is up bolt the converter to the flywheel.

kinky