Tony

Details on the converter!

Where..
stall...
How much..

I assumed it was opened up?

pappy92651

The converter was modified by Edge Racing Converters in Simi Valley CA;
http://www.edgeracingconverters.com/

The Porsche P/N that mine was built from is: 722-250-0602-3890. The final unit is a Mild Street Edge model which will allow normal RPMs when not under full throttle. The stator design is critical here.

Before you have one built you need to fill out their work sheet and send it to Andre. Here are some rough estimates for target stall speeds that seem to work well;

Stock S4 87-88, rear axle 2.20:1 = 2300 RPM brake stall nominal
Stock S4 89, rear axle 2.54:1 = 2150 RPM brake stall nominal
Modified S4, GT cams, rear axle 2.54:1 = 2400 RPM brake stall
Modified S4, GT cams, rear axle 2.54:1, big tires = 2600+ RPM brake stall

You get the idea. Too much stall will promote traction issues. The right amount will increase performance from launch through mid range. On a stock S4 you can expect to reduce your 0-60 MPH time by at least 0.5 seconds. Edge charges $475.00 to rebuild your TC and it comes with a warranty. Turn time is typically 3 days. UPS ground is the preferred shipment method.

Tony

Thanks, thats good stuff to know!

bd0nalds0n

I just had my TC done during a TT replacement, based on prior conversations with Steve on the SOCAL 928 board. I highly recommend it. Due to some scheduling issues, I didn't specify all that much to Andre; however, when he and I spoke he said he basically optimized the stall as high as he could without affecting the road manners or drivability.

I'm really pleased.

Worth noting is that the car feels less "loaded" at idle. The converter decouples better. This leads to the next item of note: engine braking through manual downshifting has markedly dropped. I use my brakes more. When I downshift to "2," I get no engine braking at all, and need to be on the gas a little early to spool up the RPMs. It's a different feel.

As I said, I'm really pleased with the outcome. And I don't know how mine is different than Steve's, but I was charged only somewhere ~$375...

Steve, I love the avatar. I'm one of those people with the 17" Rivas with the suboptimal front offset. Your SOCAL post got me thinking.

Didn't mean to hijack the arguing.

Nicole

Worldwide definitely the vast majority, In the US probably the majority of enthusiasts and second hand buyers.

In places where people are less limited in their actual driving, the 0-60 is less relevant. Why risk reliability for something that is not really a normal driving condition? Why go through all the hassles of getting your mods legalized, when the original is already perfoming so well? Why compromise the integrity of a piece of [well engineered] art (which is what many people consider a Porsche)? Who would fix the darn thing? If you can afford a Porsche elsewhere in the world, you typically have other things to do than spend your weekends under it.

There is no other place in the worls with a such high concentration as some of the metropolitain areas in the US. That's where even a top of the line Porsche is not quite competitive enough. Elsewhere in the world you are already considered high up the food chain, if you have a standard Porsche...

Just trying to give you a different perspective... It's all relative!

Lagavulin

The 0.5s reduction is comparable to gaining 50 rwhp; ~$10/'hp' would easily be the best bang-for-the-buck available by far.

Old & New

Nicole, I certainly have other things to do with my weekends but often *prefer* to spend time on my car. It is relaxing.

Implying that we Americans have nothing else to do on our weekends is somewhat condescending.

rob rossitto

I can attest to the dog like performance on a stock auto trans S3...cured it w/the TC mod, which made more diff than the chip and catback rmb together...don't think it's nearly as much as an issue w/the 5 speed folks...many good points here - not the least of which is the fact that although it's a GT car, it's still fun to leave "others" in the rear view at any speed....just a competitive nature thing....I used to do it on my bicycle in town at lights just for grins. nothing like getting the jump on an unsuspecting "victim", even if it's for 10 feet...

bd0nalds0n

Prob with the TC mod is the pulling of the tranny and reshimming the flex plate after the reinstall. Increases the total cost by almost 3x, unless the TT is already out for some reason. A great WYAI mod to consider when doing the TT bearings.

Bilstein/Eibachs are the next step, and a supercharger next summer...and Steve's got me thinking about the 18" rims, but I'd rather run something wider than 225s up front.

Bernie

If at first you don't succeed,
BOLT **** ON UNTIL YOU DO.................

pappy92651

Brian,

Nice to see you on this thread. The TC change over can be costly, thats for sure. I spent at least $6K working out the variations. Expensive tuition, but thats OK. I hope that your TC delivers everything you want. Do you have your car back?

I can go 235/40 safely on the front with the +54mm offset. With custom wheels you could go 265/35 up front. Since the Enkei wheels run about $550.00 each new it would not cost that much more to have custom wheels built. I cheated and got all 4 wheels and tires for under$2000.00. Once you have all that torque the big rear tires get the car off the line.

Bernie,

Agreed, you do the math, bolt it on and see if it really works!

Steve

pappy92651

Rob,

Whats your brake stall speed?

Steve

rob rossitto

did it over 1 year ago, when doing the TT and trans... a little foggy but think it wound up around 2000 or so...not nearly as rad as the 3500 stuff I've used on sat night specials in the old days...only cost about $350 to do the TC mod, but only since I was in there anyway...RS transmissions in valencia,ca did the work and they sub'd out the TC to an HP shop that does TC overhauls/mods...did not notice the braking anomolie that was mentioned here though...maybe just an issue w/the valve body or pressure settings? I had a valve body/shift kit installed also...seemed to shift a tad quicker/more firmly w/out the jerkiness of just cranking down the modulator...have no idea what will happen w/the new motor...given the torquemonster rep of a stroker, 2000 might be too much...just have to wait and see, make any adjustments after I ruin the next trns/TT/etc...

pappy92651

Rob,

2000 RPM brake stall sounds good for a stroker with stock cams. With big tires you could go up to about 2150 RPM. The boys at 928 Intl told me that if I stroke my GT cammed motor my 2400 RPM stall will be just about right. If your supercharging or stroking with stock cams then it's better to stay with a lower stall because the power comes up so fast. If each case it's where the torque curve rises into the stall that provides torque multiplication. I never imagined that it could work so well until I tried it, and then I wanted more.

Steve

mulik51

I think it is all about how do you look at the car in whole. If you look at it as engine and drivetrain, then 1/4 mile is good way to compare two cars. If you look at it as engine, drivetrain, suspension, aerodynamics and BRAKES(hate those Mustangs with drum brakes on the back!) , then 1/4 mile is not sufficient to compare two cars.

Klim