ive been looking at the hughes torque converters and i was wondering if anyone is running them and how do u like them? where did u find them and what are we talkin for a price?

 

I have one. It's The XFM15 I believe. Have about 5000 miles on it. Works well for the price, but it's never going to be like a DTT converter. My old converter had so much slop in it the tach never moved during shifts. It just went up to 2200 rpms and stayed there no matter what I was doing. I got it directly from Hughes. The stock is low for rebuilds so you'll probably have to send yours in and they'll rebuild it to their specs. Paid around $350.

 

is there a better style cheap converter?

 

Considering stock slop-o-matic convertors run $150-200, I dont think $350 is a bad price for an upgrade. Remember, one gets what one pays for. My 93 has some aftermarket convertor- there is a noticeable difference in RPM between shifts, and it stalls the engine at about 1400rpm when sitting at a light.

 

I just put one in my truck a couple of weeks ago. seems to work fine for me.

 

What kind of MPG improvement are you guys seeing with the Hughes?

 

What kind of MPG improvement are you guys seeing with the Hughes?

 

I probably picked up a couple miles per gallon. Since my transmission rebuild I think I'm getting in the 24-27 range. I'll know more when I fill up soon.

 

I seen that 24-27 figure and got a little excited!... that was until I saw your in Canada!

I'm about an inch away from ordering one of those Hughes from Pace Performance, with a $25 discount the converter is $285. They also have an SFI approved flexplate for $124. Mine is probably still the original with 264,000 miles on it. Would it be a no brainer to upgrade the flexplate at the same time or don't worry about it-it ain't broke! I use it as a daily driver with some occasional light-medium towing(under 10k)

Maybe I won't worry about the flexplate for right now, I'll invest that money into a shift kit.

 

If you call hughes, they can actually tighten the converter additionally as an option. Not hugely recommended they said but would get the efficiency up around 92% at highway speeds. I would definatley go for the 1400rpm stall.

 

How hard is the install, is it doable in your driveway

 

Alright! I decided to break down and get a Hughes Torque converter! I have been doing research for months on end. I just don't have the $$ to get the "Rolls Royce" of converters from any of the top 3 vendors. I figured that the Hughes would be much better than stock and would allow me to pull my newly aquired 23ft 5th wheel a lot better. I don't expect to sledpull, drag race, or dyno the truck............so I believe the Hughes converter is the right choice for me at this time. I can't afford to rebuild the transmission, so at the very least.........throw in this converter, get a deeper pan, and service the transmission. This should, keyword: "SHOULD" make it possible for my 1st gen to pull a trailer close to the posted speed limit on the roads I travel.

I would really like to get more people's opinions on what they noticed in performance going from a slippy stock converter to a Hughes 15XFM converter.

 

Please make sure you update with your impressions.. I may go the same route.

 

I think they are a good deal as long as you don't have and future plans of big hp upgrades. I think they are only rated to around 350 before they start to slip. As some of the "better" name TQ's say 450 but can handle a little more before they slip.

Nick I think on the track you are going with your truck you would be fine with the Hughes but you could just sell your truck and buy mine .

 

Yeah, I am not planning to do any "hot" competition with my pickup. My goal is to hit 250hp and a ballpark of 600-ish for torque. I think these numbers are very achievable without going crazy on mods. I will keep all the 1st gen DTR folks updated as I get this converter put in and find out the results.