Hello all, I have been working 56+ hours a week for quite a while now and I have been saving up some money to put the ***** Thumpr cams in, reason being after the first video I heard with them I was in love.

Currently my 2006 GT auto has simple bolt-ons: Pypes O/R H-Pipe, Pypes Pype-Bomb axle backs, and S&B CAI (did not require a tune). everything else is stock.

Now currently I am planning on buying:
~***** Thumpr's
~Phaser limiters that are required
~new cam phaser bolts
~3:73 gear combo kit that comes with Bama X4 Tuner (here is the link to the kit: http://www.americanmuscle.com/373-ge...er-0509gt.html, just want to make sure that kit comes with everything needed to change gears from 3:31's to 3:73's)

Now heres my question (sorry it took so long to get here), the cams are advertised as only needing the phaser limiters and a tune to install and run, but ive read in my research that youll need a 3000 stall converter or else youre going to have big issues, will I need a 3000 stall converter?

what else might I have missed that will be required to make my car run good with these cams?

Really hoping to avoid the stall converter as it will cost me about $500 extra.
Thanks everyone.

 

It all depends on what you are looking for. The Gears and the Torque converter are not necessary for the cams but will make it work a lot better. Especially for Drag racing.

What are you looking to accomplish?

 

Well my stang is my daily driver so I just want to be able to run the cams and have my car running good in town and on the highway. Although if someone challenged me Id like my car to be able to perform well.

If im going to experience problems down the road because of not having the stall converter then ill save for it, but if my car will run good, as in everything in the car feels right then that's what I hope to accomplish

 

If you put cams in there you are going to be moving the power band higher in the RPM range and making it a little more narrow. You will lose some power down low. The converter and gears are to help you get into that power band more quickly. If I was doing anything but the mildest of cams, I would recommend gears and a converter, especially on a daily as you will be spending most of the time down low where you've lost some torque.

 

Hey Boss, thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. I've only found one torque converter for an 06 so far and that's the TCI one for $500. Any idea if there is anywhere to find one cheaper?
Also, I was already planning on buying the gears as I said above, is there anything else I'm missing for this install (cams and all) other than the converter?
Thanks again

 

What engine is this and how many miles are on it?

 

Unfortunately a 'really good' converter is going to be upwards of a grand or so. TCI is decent enough but if you want to insure longevity I might steer clear of them. They are decent I just would not want to run gobs of power through them. Circle D is real popular among the drag racers. I went with a PI (Precision Industries) triple disc unit.

 

No headers?? Where are you located OP?

 

You ain't the only one .... those and those FRRP Hot Rod cams ..... & then there was those Detroit Rockers

With the swap to 3.73s you'll get some back. Rest depends on how serious a hole shot you want. High stall TCs also further kill mileage but you won't care ..... but they also raise transmission fluid temps.

Just sayin' ...........

 

Its an 06 GT with the 4.6. Had 114k miles on it when i bought it (dont let that scare you as the car has never had any issues, it had VERY detailed service records, previous owners took great care of this car), has about 125k miles now and still running perfect.

 

Well i dont plan on doing any Forced induction so i doubt this car will ever see over 400hp, with all these things im buying im told ill see about 350hp. So there will be power but nothing too insane going through, plus i really dont have a grand to spend on that.

 

Yeah i still have stock heads, planning on pypes shorty headers not far down the road, I know long tubes are better but i have a full sized after market H pipe on and to have long tubes id have to replace the whole system with a shorty. Like i said mainly just going for sound and just want my car to run these cams nicely, I only race on rare occasions as south florda has no nearby tracks.

 

So are you saying the converter will cause more issues than its worth?

P.S. sorry for posting 4 times im not sure how to quote multiple people in one post, as you can see by my # of posts im new to the forum scene lol.

 

No .... it depends on what you are looking for? I've been down the road with cams and both manual and autos back in the '70s & '80s with cars. On a street car I never liked a loose TC even with a cam as trans temps climb and it always feels "loose" and I drove it different. Sure, they are fun out the hole .... but in a DD?

Not for me. Don't care about burnouts either.


I usually use quote, take and copy that quote without posting, hit the next and quote it, then paste the other quote and now I have two in one. Can even paste them as you go along in a document then copy / paste it all here when ready.

 

Alright, so do you think my car will run good with just the stock 1500 converter and just 3:73 gears? Ive just read that people have had problems without one, but ive also read that its all in the tune...and ill be getting a bama tune.
Ps thanks for the advice!

 

With that millage why don't you look at the Ford Crate motors? I was going to build a factory Five Hot rod and getting complete Ford Rear ends and Crate Motors proved to be the best options.

I have built many motors and race cars for the street. Some times it cheaper and better to go Crate.

Big cams for the street are a pain. Like others said you will have issue. Low end power is gone making it not so fun on the street.

Good Luck.

 

If i cant afford a $1000 converter then i definately cant afford an entire crate motor...thanks anyway for your input

 

Which phase limiters were you looking at? With that kind of mileage, you might want to look into the ones from Livernois. The comp cams limiters bolt onto the stock phasers, but the stock phasers are known to have a tendency to fail above the 100K. The Livernois ones are brand new OEM phasers that have been modified with limiter spacers inside. So you'd be killing two birds with one part.

 

If your not going with big power the TCI converter should be good. Needing one is a matter of opinion. personally I think your gonna want one. You're going to be limiting your cam timing so all the more reason to get one. I think you will find that you are going to be a little boggy on the low end when you try and jump on it. Gears will help but there is nothing wrong with being able to get into the higher rpm's quicker with a converter. A good converter without a really stupid high stall won't even be noticeable when just tooling around town. It won't slip unless you give it some throttle and there is load on the engine.