GTJim

Thinking about the next set of mods for my car. Got the A4 Auto with 3.15 gears and a tune. I'm looking to improve the response of the car. Even with the 3.15's and the tune it still feels sluggish/lazy when accelerating from a cruise in the upper gears.

My car is street driven and never sees the track. Drivability is crucial as well as maintaining good fuel economy. I figured the best way to wake up my car is with 3.42 gears and a torque converter.

I want the car to be responsive, both part and full throttle. I don't want a loose huge stall converter, l'm looking at 2400 rpm range. I had a Mustang with a 3500 rpm converter and the low speed drivability and response sucked. Drivability was horrible. I do not want to go through that again.

Any one added gears and a converter?

outkast6991

3.73's and an ss3600 here. Drivability if ok for me but it isn't for everybody.

Stealth02

3:42 gears and a 2800 stall. Woke my car up. Am going to go with a 3200 stall and should be right where I want it.

NukeC5

3.42's and a 3200 here. Very streetable. I wouldn't go less. I will be moving up to 3800 or 4000 here soon. But that's because it's more of a track car now.

Rj-lo

I had the 2.73 gears and recentley installed a 3.42 rear end. Really woke the car up. I mentioned a stall to my mechanic and he advised against it saying for a street driven car why add the added heat and stress. For a track car, sure. So I took his advice and skipped it.
Car feels really good now and pulls hard

DSTURBD

My first C5 had the 2.73 gears and was a SLUG performance-wise. This one has the 3.15's and is much more responsive! I think the 3.43's would be perfect for me.

DSTURBD

GTJim

A 2800 stall might be the limit as my car is not raced. A 2400 stall is probably what I want. The 3.42's are almost a definite but I'm still debating the torque converter.

NukeC5

Only problem is, once you go with a stall, you always wish you went with more. Everyone seems to wish they went bigger once they get use to it. I do.

donald4972

I suggest you call Andy at A&A Corvette.
Have them install a SuperCharger.
Those 3.15 gears won't feel 'sluggish' anymore. Ever....

Even with an all stock engine, you can easily get over 500 RWHP. The car drives daily, just like a 'stock' C5. Until you nail it !

That, will improve the 'response' of your car, I assure you. You may not believe how much response these things have, supercharged. Unless you've driven one.

I daily drive mine, and would never go back to being without the power, it has; if I want it.....

good luck, whatever you do.
Don

GTJim

Not counting my suspension mods, my car is basically stock. The only thing I have done is a drop in K&N filter and a tune. For a car with more mods done a higher stall might be better but not for me. I think any thing over 2800 rpm would be overkill and effect my drivability.

92GA

Changing the converter in a stock engine car is wasting the available torque the engine has. Higher stall converters are for modified engines with cam shafts that require higher rpm. The converter should be mated to the cam shaft for best performance.

You want seat of the pants feel, change the gears. Starting line ratio will make a huge difference in the way the car drives. 3.42s aren't much difference to the 3.15s but you'll be able to tell the difference. I wouldn't spend the money myself for that little. Now 3.73s will really wake it up, and still give decent mpg.

Several years ago I had a 87 GTA with 350, comp xe268 cam, 2200 stall and 4.10 gears. On wet roads you really had to be careful as it wanted to swap ends very easily. Was a lot of fun when it was dry though. Mileage wasn't terrible either. Don't recommend the 4.10s for a Vette, they are much lighter.

F&Yb0dluvr

What SIZE converter did you have in your Mustang? I had both a 12 inch 2400 converter and a 9.5 inch 3200 converter in my WS6 and the 9.5 inch felt just as tight but spun the tires more and downshifted a lot harder when I romped on it...

GTJim

Huh? How is the torque converter wasting available engine torque when it multiplies the torque the engine makes? A properly matched converter, say with a STR of 2.0 and stall speed of 2400 will definitely wake the car up. Combine it with the gears and it will be a very noticeable difference.

Problems arise when the converter isn't matched to the cars mods or drivers expectations. Case in point my 90 Mustang. Against my better judgement I went with a "recommended" 3500 rpm stall converter that turned out to be too loose for what I intended to do with my car, street driving. Sure at the track the converter would have been awesome but on the street the drivability was horrible.

NukeC5

I agree. A stock C5 can defiantly benefit from a converter swap. It's a better way to put down more instant torque and stay in the cams optimal power band.