I don't want to spoil your fun, but the reality is you don't need one. unless your car is a track only car, it's not worth the driveability you will lose. There are plenty of mods with much more bang for the buck. If you want to raise your launch rpm, trade your car in for one like mine - where the torque is applied with your left foot lol. Unless youre planning on goin low 11's or faster it's really not worth it. There are plenty of mustangs out there haulin ass with the stock converters.
Agreed. I have an auto (bought it so my wife can drive the car). should not have done that. Anyhow, better off with a 4.10 rear end and ratchet or dual gate shifter. I found out that B&M is about to release a ratchet style shifter for the 2005+ autos. Gets you quick and you could auto x with the ratchet shifter. Otherwise take the depreciation hit and buy a manual.
Oh by the way, if you are bracket racing an auto is more consistent and as such you should prefer the auto over the manual.
A Torque Converter transefers engine rotation to transmission rotation by spinning the fluid at a high rate of speed. The higher the stall the more RPM needed to get full power to the wheels, for example a 3,000 Stall will not transfer 100% of the power until 3,000RPM until then its almost like slipping the clutch on a manual. Torque converters a crucial to automatic tranny's. My friend put in a performance converter in his Marauder and it made a night and day difference in acceleration.
I don't want to spoil your fun, but the reality is you don't need one. unless your car is a track only car, it's not worth the driveability you will lose. There are plenty of mods with much more bang for the buck. If you want to raise your launch rpm, trade your car in for one like mine - where the torque is applied with your left foot lol. Unless youre planning on goin low 11's or faster it's really not worth it. There are plenty of mustangs out there haulin ass with the stock converters.
I don't agree. Like I said My friend put in a converter on his 2003 Mercury Marauder and it was worth every penny. There are converters out there that do NOT affect driveability as far as everyday driving in a negative way.
Something else that I didn't see clearly pointed out is that you should match your torque converter to the type of camshaft you are using. This is where I believe the Professor touched on matching your stall just under the "sweet spot" of where your HP and torque curves cross. Aftermarket parts and camshaft changes will alter where that crossover occurs. And a higher stall will end up costing you more in gas. I run a 3000 stall on a 355 V8 and get 12 MPG on the highway.
Either a V6 or V8 can benefit from a different stall, as long as it's correctly matched up. HP is no good, if you don't have enough torque to jump off the line.
Hoose84
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torque converters actually multiply the ammount of torque your engine produces. The presence of a stator allows the fluid in motion to remain in motion, this provides an "assist" in regards to the engine's ability to spin the turbine. Think of this principle as a "redneck pool" affect. You ever run around a small, above ground pool until the water begins to push against your back? Then you can just lift your feet and float in a circle around the pool? Something similar happens in a converter but on a much more complicated scale. Now this will not double or triple the ammount of power your engine makes, but it allows it to produce the same crankshaft speed under load than a converter without a stator (which does not exist). Sometimes when the stator breaks (allowing it to freewheel in either direction) you will notice that your car just revs and barely moves out of it's own way from a stop but will cruise like normal. This is the engine working extra hard to obtain the same amount of driving force than it used to. The right torque converter is one that allows moderate amounts slippage until the engine produces peak power. A 302 with an f series cam will benefit from a 3000 stall because the engine does not produce a lot of torque below 3000rpm (f cam is made for high-end power). You want to be able to rev the engine to it's power band and, upon release of the brake, have a near direct link between the engine and the tires. This allows for the fastest acceleration (engine at full steam directly linked to wheels = wheels equal engine's speed quicker than allowing slippage of t/c from a normal accel). This and the lack of a third pedal to push is, in my opinion, the only benefit of an automatic. Unless you are a teenage girl or a flat-out drag racer, I believe the manual trans offers more control and reliability. I prefer a stick to an auto ANY day of the week.
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RE: What is a Torque Converter? - 
