my Review of the 3500 Vigilante

[NBMA4V6]

i see all these edge threads going around so i figured id throw the PI name in the hat.

i recieved my converter a few weeks ago and we did the install ourselves me and some friends. well the converter install didnt go right and we broke the pump upon install..anyways i posted about it on ls1tech where i could get some help. i never contacted PI or anything cause i didnt think the converter was messed up, anyways im at school one day and i recieve a call during class ;) i walk out of class and answer it and its vicki from PI. she said she was reading the LS1tech board and saw my post. i had posted my phone number hoping to get some help about the condition of my transmission. anyways she says they would like the converter back to check it over and make sure no metal shavings or anything from the fubar install were in converter. they offer to pay for it to be shipped back and then they would ship it back to me. they give me a shipping number and arrage for it to be shipped next day air back to them. that was 80 bucks out of there pocket, they call me and tell me the converter was fine and they put the internals in a new housing and next day air it back to me. i sent it to them on a wednesday and i got it back sat morning. thats 160 bucks out of there pocket to take care of a customer. Hows that for service?

anyways heres the verdict on the converter

my specs: 3500 stall, 2.5 STR , 97% efficiency
PI hit the stall right on the head. RPMs jump to 3500 when i need the power. the throttle response is great. passing power much better than before. converter is 100 % streetable. it is very mild mannered till you get on the gas. when you give it enough gas coming from a stop the kumhos have no chance with more than 50% throttle. i can stall the car up to 2800 on the street tires so im pretty sure than with my BFG drag radials i can get to at least 3200. it flashes between 3500 and 3600 on the tach and the car ****in jets off rips through the RPM's alot better than before. the shifts are much firmer, there is no sloppiness when its shifts. however the car shifts at about 5500 now instead of the 5800-5900 it did before but i think thats just because of the faster/ more firm shifts. the car before the converter would shift to about 3700 on the 1-2 up shift. it now shifts down to about 4300 and keeps pulling instead of having to wait for the car to pull back into the power band. the 2-3 shift is down to about 4200.
ive been driving the crap outta the converter recently after i got over the fear of it breaking [img]tongue.gif[/img]

anyways thats my verdict on this converter, any comments or questions are welcome, just thought id go ahead and post this..

Jeff W [img]graemlins/evilgrin.gif[/img]

[Only4U]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>it flashes between 3500 and 3600 on the tach and the car ****in jets off <hr></blockquote>

to let you know for future references, when the stall appears to be flashing higher than the actual rated stall, remember this factor with efficiency:

[3500 (rated stall) / 97 (% efficiency)] x 100 = 3608 (re-rated flash stall)

that's just in case you were wondering why it stalls higher than it's "supposed to." efficiency plays a big part in rated stall :D

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>however the car shifts at about 5500 now instead of the 5800-5900 it did before <hr></blockquote>

not that it is bad, but that's a little strange; my converter seems to shift my car at the same rpms as before. no biggy though, just odd that it would be different with your car

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>i can stall the car up to 2800 on the street tires so im pretty sure than with my BFG drag radials i can get to at least 3200.<hr></blockquote>

i don't think it will be any different jeff, where the tires breaks lose is where the tires break lose, regardless of if they are streets or bfg's. but then again, i could be wrong here.

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>thats 160 bucks out of there pocket to take care of a customer. Hows that for service?<hr></blockquote>

i don't disrespect pi or yank at all. as far as customer service goes, it seems they are [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] but i have no experience with them. slowbraeater i don't think was surely not speaking for all of pi or yank when he said they had bad service, because from what i've heard, SUCH as experiences like this, they seem to be great with their customers.

all in all, jeff, i am quite glad you like it. sorry you had to go through what you went through to make it here, but i'm surely glad you are satisfied. i'm sure you'll pull low 14s, as i hope you do. enjoy! ;)

[scottblack]

Yeah baby!!! PI OWNZ!!!!!

Jeff bought his converter after he rode in my car. We have the same one. [img]graemlins/evilgrin.gif[/img]

What Jeff described in every way is identical to my car, except for the shifting? I dont remember it shifting at 5500, I'm pretty sure it does at 6k now. But with my stock one it sometimes wouldn't hit 6k. Too bad I can't go check right now since mine is at the body shop. :(

Scott

[SLOWBRAEATER]

Im sorry i didnt mean that jack and mike at yank had terrible service i just meant that mike was a hard guy to get ahold of and jack was sometimes hard for me to get ahold of. I just liked andres service better because he answered the questions i had and when i asked mike and jack a question it was difficult understanding what they were talking about because their answer really didnt answer the question i asked but yes they both are great guys, heck mike at yank payed 100.00 1st day shipping to send me a converter when i bought one from him in the past because he accidentally sent me an lt1 converter so his service was cool as well, man i told andre i sent the money order two day air on wednesday and he wrote me at 9:00 thursday morning saying he trusted me and knew he would receive the money order friday or saturday and he went ahead and sent the converter out thursday morning before he even received my money, that was very cool, he sent me the tracking number and he did send the tc out before he got my money and i checked the status of the money order and it showed he got it thursday evening so everything was cool. I cant wait to try this tc out :D

[BLUE]

I will still own you Jeff. Your slowmatic can never hang with the real man manual shifting fbodies like mine. ;) :D :D [img]graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]

[ravenp]

Thanks for this post! The spirit and content are both very informative and appreciated!

[img]smile.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]