Just had my converter set up for my W8 motor its a tight converter 8".I know the difference between the two type but when should someone want a tight vs a loose converter? Whats the advantage of the two different converters? Just trying to learn something.

I will check it out but still like to hear from people on here

A good rule to remember when picking a converter is knowing what your shift point is. Picking a converter that will flash 1100-1400 rpms below shift point. About any engine you can see the dyno sheets this will show about right were peak torque occurs.

I heard the same that the converter should stall or flash 1500 below the shift point.My peak TQ was 587@5600 rpms and my converter is a tight 5000 stall

A tight converter would mean to me less slippage vs a loose converter.the difference i would guess in the question you asked me is it would take more energy to get the 5000 stall with a loose converter vs a tight 5000.You tell me!

Usually "tight" vs. "loose" is refering to the stall speed. I think what you're thinking is "tight" and "loose" is actually called efficiency.

Small diameter converters always tend to stall at higher RPM's. It's the nature of their output with only 8" diameter to work with. Larger diameter converters tend to stall at lower RPM's. However it is possible to vary the stall RPM of any diameter.

So when someone says "I have a tight 8 inch" they are refering to the fact that the converter they have is on what most would concider to be on the tighter (lower stall) side of the 8" converter range. While some one else could say I have a "loose" 10" converter, meaning it stalls on the higher end of what is normal for 10" converters.

For the most part, it is always important to try and make the converter as efficent as possible. For simplicity sake, that means the converter has as little slipage at the top end as possible. So your engine might be spinning 5,000 RPM at the stripe, but the driveshaft is only turning 4,500 RPM. That would be a 90% efficent converter. Obviously the less it slips, the more energy is transfered to the wheels.

There is a lot that goes into it, but... in general a converter that stalls at the low side for it's given diameter, tend to be more efficent. So a 10" converter that stalls at 5,000 RPM might only be 90% efficent, while an 8" converter that stalls at 5,000 RPM might be 95% efficent.

So for your converter 5,000 stall on an 8" is towards the bottom of the range (but not uncommon). So some may refer to it as a "tight 8 inch"

Hope that helps!

That works for me.thanks for the info