Hello everyone,

Just wondering if anyone had some real world experiences with ATI's Superglide 4's with their Lock up Converters. Their durability, functionality, maintenance , etc.

As most of you know we run an Power glide behind our Goodwin Hemi with a conventional converter from Neal Chance. We do very well, and have solved some problems with running conventional converters in truck pulling, but there is still one problem haunting us. On a really nice clay/horsepower track at the end of the run when the engine is being pulled down and the truck is "hooked" to the ground, the converter will start to loose efficiency and allow the tires to loose their "hook" causing the truck to spin out. This is where a truck with a clutch will pull further. On bad or even medium/good tracks this seems to not be a problem, but the Data shows this problem on really nice clay power tracks.

I've talked to a good chunk of companies about Lock up Trans and Converters, but not many know or have an idea the stress on parts compared to a Drag car. For the first 250 feet truck pulling is a lot like Drag racing where you are trying to build as much speed as possible, and there is not a huge amount of stress of parts, you are almost free wheeling. On good tracks the truck will go around lets say about 30-32MPH with the tires spinning a chunk faster than that.

The last 50-70 feet is where the stress hits, where the skid "drops" and all of a sudden you are dragging all the weight, the truck is stuck to the ground trying to spin and move the skid the same speed, but that skid is trying to stop you all of a sudden. The stress on parts in that moments is huge. To give you an idea, trucks like ours run 2 1/4 gun drilled axles in our rear ends and they "can" break/bend. We run SQHD (what is in back of dump trucks) center sections and they can strip R/P's.

Right now I am still pondering about being the test subject on trying to run a lock up style converter in the Modified 4x4 class. This is to lock everything up at the end of the track to be equal to a clutch. I guess my biggest worry is the clutch mechanism in these converters are not strong enough or efficiently enough to hold the stress of the truck pulling application. Of course all the companies I talk to say no problem cars with 3000+ horse power use these things with no problem, but it isn't the same type of stress.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kgnw9WlUtZ8

Doug

Link to set up im looking at.

http://www.atiracing.com/products/trans/pg/index.htm

I was told last year that FTI was and is the new best Company for building tranny and converters used like you guys are using them for.
There in Florida and really big in the mud bog racing groups down south
866-726-8358

Gave them and call and they don't do anything with lock-ups for real racing applications.

I have no personal use of lockups. What I have played with is staged converter exit pressure bleeds. That works quite well at either loosening up, or tightening up the converter through the run. Also very cheap add on to what you have now. Basically a few solenoids with restriction pills on the cooler circuit.