Racing Torque Converters

When you are lined up at the tree waiting for green, you want to know you’ve done everything possible to squeeze the power out of your engine and slam it down to the asphalt. Lots of enthusiasts and weekend mechanics focus solely on getting more and more horsepower out of the engine.

What some people fail to realize is that all the power in the world doesn’t make a difference if you can’t get it down to the road the right way. Drag racing torque converters are an element that separates truly track read drag cars from the pack.

Choosing The Right Racing Torque Converter

Having goals in life is good, having goals in any kind of racing is better. When you are choosing the right racing torque converter you will want to have a performance goal in mind. This will help guide you to the right set of components.

Selecting The Stall Speed

Stall speed is a reference to at which RPM of the motor the torque converter starts putting power through to the transmission. In the case of racing torque converters you want to find out the exact torque rating for your engine. The stall speed should be about 300 to 400 higher than the peak torque rating of your engine. For vehicles running a trans brake the RPMs drop during the initial launch. Torque converters should compensate for this effect.

Torque Converter Size

More horsepower, shorter lap times, and bigger torque converters equal more fun on track day. Understanding how size affects a torque converter might be a little confusing, so let’s tackle it. While smaller torque converters need less fluid to operate and have less drag inside the torque converter, they are not ideal for racing. The extra power from the motor puts extra pressure inside of the torque converter. Smaller torque converters that are not built for racing can actually swell or “balloon”.  

Racers want to avoid anything that has a stall speed of about 3,000 or up. For vehicles running a supercharger, blower, or nitrous system a larger more serious torque converter will be necessary to handle the stress.

Detailed Orders Convert To Better Torque Converters

Different kinds of racing benefit from having the maximum power being delivered at different RPMs. Giving your exact specs and type of racing details to your torque converter builder is critical for their ability to provide a fully optimized product. While knowing what your favorite color is isn’t relevant to your torque converter builder, every single detail about your vehicle is. Collect and send all of the following when ordering a torque converter:

·         Horsepower and Torque ratings for your vehicle
·         Vehicle Weight
·         Tire Size
·         Maximum RPM
·         Shift RPM
·         Engine Specs – compression ratio, displacement, induction system, camshaft specs etc.
·         Axle Ratio
·         Power Increasers – nitrous, turbo, superchargers
·         Include if the car has a throttle controller, 2-step, foot brake, or transmission brake

When it comes right down to buying parts dealers want to sell what’s on their shelf. It might be what you need, or it might just be what they have on hand to sell to you today. There really are no “one size fits all” solutions to torque converters. For something as competitive as racing do you want to have a custom tailored torque converter that is ready for performance, or a one size fits all solution?