From the straight-line world...Tranny Mod..

[ChewyChevy]

Soo..does any reputable company make higher stall torque convertors or shift kits/better valve bodies for Mazda tranny's in general??

I'm guessing the Focus and 3S tranny are the same?? I wonder if someone makes one for the Focus...too lazy to check myself now..so I'll depend on ya'll good folks.

I want to turn the 3S into an Auto-X'er, and I think a higher stall would help off launches and keep the car in the higher rpms..and I doubt I or any other common modder will be putting down 400fwhp+ in the near future.

Just wondering, who else would do the mod??

 

[Turbo Matty P]

your first mod should've been a 5-spd. If you were planning on driving a sporty car that would see occasional auto-x the 5-spd should've been your only concern. However, to answer your question: No, no'one makes a M3 specific stall convertor. You can have one made, but expect to pay a pretty penny and ruin your driveability. If you haven't noticed the M3 and even the P5,MP3, MSP all have very tall gearing. Add to that a higher stall convertor and you're asking for 10mpg and a top speed of 80mph.

 

[DZnutz]

(sssh) maybe he hasnt noticed

 

[Turbo Matty P]

I kept looking for 6th gear! I was like 'damn! I need to shift again!"

 

[ChewyChevy]

Hmmm....I've seen plenty of automatics(non sequential shift) dominate over manuals at the Auto-X, as most manual drivers can't heel-toe worth anything (myself included). The 3 has sequential shift on top of that...

A higher stall doesn't effect top speed. Real world top speed is a function of your tranny/differential gearing, your engine output and your vehicles ability to put power to the ground. A higher stall just means your vehicle has a higher flash point.

Not to sure where you get 10mpg from. I wasn't planning on getting a 5000+ stall. Just a nice 2200-2400, which makes my flash-point around 3grand tops. So I'm cruising around the highway at 3000-3200 in 4th gear. Isn't that what most folks are at?? My street mileage may suffer a bit, but it's a 95% highway driven vehicle.

Driveability isn't so much of an issue. Driving a manual don't you shift around 3 grand?? Automatics will just get there quicker with the 2200-2400 stall. Have you ever driven or sat in a vehicle with a properly matched stall convertor to vehicle output?? Their drivability isn't bad and is quite managable. Maybe you sat in a 160 hp vehicle with a 4000+ stall??

In the AutoX I won't be much below the 3k rpms most of the time, so a stall should benefit me from the start and when I am below 3k rpms. I just have to time the sequential shifting down.

I've known properly tuned vehicles with 500+whp, 3800+ stalls, 3 speed automatics, 4.11 differential gearing weighing in at 3500 lbs+ that get 15+ mpg on the highway (about 10 on the street hehe).

Getting a tq convertor restalled at a tranny shop is pretty expensive, but not outrageously so. However, I'm not ready to go to such extremes. Manuals spend what..400 dollars on a good clutch?? Restalling is about the same cost. But it means one is without a vehicle for however long the tranny shop is to restall the convertor.

I could be completly wrong, but I think our knowledge base and experiences are completly different. Thanks for the heads up...

 

[Turbo Matty P]

I've got a stall in my turbo-pinto...while it dominates at the track it sucks on the street. That is where I got my mileage numbers and driveability numbers from. Also I would consider it properly matched because Racer Walsh in J-ville Florida custom built it for me based on mods done to my car, purchased from them. Also, my car was a 2.3L (turbo) so engine size is roughly the same....it takes a good driver to outrun an auto with a 5-spd on the auto-x course....however it's been my experience that people who buuy auto's can't drive for s***. If that's not the case with you then I'm sorry. People buy these auto cars and then are surprised when an identical 5-spd car pulls 'em.

 

[ChewyChevy]

No need to apologize. Your points are very valid. I agree that a lot of folks out there are mis-informed about cars. I got a bit off topic in my earlier post. I'd like to hear about your set-up with your Pinto?? Send me an email or private message?? Thanks