Steady state tuning with a hi-stall torque convertor

Hey guys, As you can see from my topic title I have a question about steady tuning a high powered car with a hi-stall torque convertor.

I've just about completed the HPA starter package and am ready to have a go at re-tuning my own car.

In all of the courses the cars being tuned where manual so obviously easier to use the 2 foot method, I was wondering how I would be able to keep the load and revs steady through all the load an map sites while road tuning a car with 450rwkw or 600rwhp with a 3500rpm convertor because at any speed and in any gear once on boost the car will just wheel spin.

I'm also worried about torching the box and convertor while using the 2 foot method due to the heat an stress placed on them while doing this.

Cheers guys

If you're running a high stall convertor this does present problems. Having said that, you tend to see the same issues on the dyno or on the road - At low rpm the convertor will slip making it impossible to reach the low rpm, high load areas of the mapping.

I know a lot of tuners worry about the areas they can't reach, but the reality is that if you can't reach them while tuning, the chances are that you won't be able to reach these zones while driving the car normally either. I tune what I can reach and then translate the shape of the tables into the areas I can't get to.

Generally if you're either on the dyno or the road and loading the engine up to achieve steady state, the you're going to be operating in the region where the torque convertor is relatively locked up - It will just slip below this point. In this case you shouldn't need to worry about the trans temp any more than you normally would however a temp gauge and allowing the trans to cool between runs is obviously wise.

If you're struggling with wheelspin then there is no easy solution on the road and this is where sometimes a dyno is the safest and easiest solution. A higher gear will tend to reduce the chance of wheelspin at the expense of a higher terminal speed. You can also ease into the throttle as the rpm rises to maintain traction although this won't give you a proper idea of what's happening at lower rpm and high load.

One thing to keep in mind though - You're tuning the engine in the same exact situation it's going to be driven and if you can't maintain traction while you're tuning, chances are you're going to have the same issue while using the car on the road. The only situation where this differs is if the car is to be used on a drag strip with a set of slicks.

Thanks a lot for the reply Andre. You basically confirmed exactly what I was thinking but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

Thanks again an keep up the great work guys

No problem! Happy to help :)