Is stall speed the point at which the transmission is about to switch gears. I already read the article on "how stuff works." I am just curious what stall speed is all about?

 

A stall delays when the converter will engage not shift gears.

 

the stall speed is the maximum speed the engine can turn at full throttle, without turning the tires. However just holding the brakes will normaly not hold it back, you normaly need a trans brake. Most stock convertors are around a 1600-1800 rpm unit.

 

So there is really no reason to change torque converters if I were to really beef up my engine performance for street or off road. I'm not talking more than 400 hp though. Stock torque converter should be fine right.

 

It all depends on the camshaft you select and the gearing.

 

Could you please explain why it is dependent upon the camshaft and gearing?

 

higher the stall speed, the faster it gets in the powerband.

what are the specs on your motor?
whats the weight?
what gears?
what size tires?
what tranny?

 

some cams need to idle higher than stock and you would need a higher stall converter to avoid some heat built up. also with some cams that make power at a higher RPM range you need a stall converter to let it rev up there before going.

 

alright I understand.
My :engine = 460
tranny=c-6 married to np203
rear=ford9"/373gears
tires=35x15x15
weight=?

 

Also it depend's on motor size.A 2500 stall is going to stall differently behind a big block as opposed to a small block.

 

well, your gears are going to hurt you alot, but with a big block you should be fine for low end. I would say a 2500rpm stall would help you out quite a bit. a 3500 would make it haul ***, but probably heat up going down the highway, because your cruise rpm is so low.

 

Like texan said the cam shaft is a big factor in selecting a stall. If you have a cam that has a power band from 3,000 to 7,000 then you would need a stall converter around the 3K range because that's where you power band starts. if you have a can that runs well from 1500 to 5500 then a stock converter will be fine but it would perform a little better with a little more stall than stock.

You do not install a stall converter to improve performance of a car or truck. That is not what they are design to do. A stock motor has a slight stall in the converter and a race motor will have a stall converer to fit its power band.

If you install a 2,800 stall in a stock motor you would have nothing for power because you are half way through your power band before you ever get moving.

The best thing to do if looking at or for a stall converter is to call the cam manufacture and see what they recommend. For the most part it may be listed already in the description of the cam.