torque converter sizing
torque converter sizing
(OP)
How do manufacturers size torque converters for a particular vehicle? Do they do a trial and error until they get the characteristics they are looking for or are torque converters given classifications that can be used to size them for a particular vehicle weight, torque, etc? I'm trying to size one for my applications and am having a hard time selecting the correct one that will give them the characteristics I am looking for with any confidence.





RE: torque converter sizing
I remember one really low-buck hotrodder who replaced a 283 Chevy with a 348 Chevy in a rapidly aging Impala, back when that was a big car. To soup it up, he used the 283's converter behind the 348. I think the difference in converter OD was on the order of two inches, which is really quite a lot in converterland. The kid was hooning it around for about two weeks before he broke a rear axle control arm bolt or something like that. With the too-small converter, the big engine would spin up fast enough and far enough to annoy the neighbors, even when he wasn't trying to.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: torque converter sizing