Racing Torque Converters

To achieve great results on a track or strip, it is paramount to equip your vehicle with a powerful engine and high-performance transmission. If stick shifting doesn’t excite you much, you can always go for a modern track-ready automatic gearbox. Instead of a traditional clutch, such setup uses a hydraulic coupling that transfers torque from the engine to the input shaft of the transmission. This coupling is called torque converter, and as its name implies, it converts torque received from the crankshaft into a hydraulic pressure which is then converted back into torque applied to the gearbox.

The pressure is created by the impeller that has curved blades. It sends fluid outwards. The higher the RPMs, the higher the centrifugal force pushing the fluid to the edges of the device. The flow is received by the turbine that sends the fluid back through the center of the converter to complete the cycle. If the motor is at idle, and the driver’s foot is on the brakes, the fluid flow is too slow to rotate the turbine. Between the impeller and turbine, splined on the transmission input shaft, the stator is installed. It also has angled blades. The accelerated flow of the fluid coming from the turbine goes through the stator thus multiplying the torque.

A torque converter has an advantage over its mechanical clutch counterpart. A converter can be tuned to match the needs of users with different driving styles. You can easily choose a setup that will suit your application best. The characteristics of the most efficient converter must depend on the engine displacement, compression ratio, the type of the air intake system, the weight of the car, tire size, transmission, and so on. Manufacturers make most of the adjustments to the stator, which is the heart of the converter. Depending on the number of blades, their size and angle, the way the torque is produced can be changed. Feel free to contact our specialists who will gladly help you choose the right product from our vast catalog of racing torque converters.