Transmission Specialties first developed their Pro-Line 6000 Powerglide transmission and converter system in 1998 and offered it through 2004 when some prominent organizations banned the use of lockups.Ī lockup converter, just as the name implies, takes the traditional approach a step further and eliminates this horsepower-robbing slippage by completely locking the forces of the flywheel to the output shaft. TCI Automotive, perhaps the most familiar name in the driveline marketplace, has been supplying automotive enthusiasts and racers with transmissions and converters for some 40 years, and today offers a complete line of lockup torque converters for many of the popular street and strip combinations. Hughes is the latest company to throw their hat in the extreme performance lockup ring with their new XP5 unit.

Hughes Performance meanwhile, which opened its doors in 1971, is regarded as one of the top transmission and converter manufacturers in the drag racing market, with innovative products for race cars ranging from Super Street to Pro Modified. Pennsylvania-based Transmission Specialties was one of the earliest manufacturers of lockup converters for high-end drag racing purposes, and continues operation today with more than 30 years of renowned experience in the market.ĪTI Performance Products, which is virtually synonymous with the sport of drag racing, is well known for its line of Superglide transmissions and unparalleled quality, and has largely spearheaded the recent resurgence of the lockup converter. To learn more about the past, present, and future of lockup torque converter technology, we’ve sough out some of the top manufacturers in the industry who at differing times have put their own revolutionary touch on the age-old converter. That, however, couldn’t be any further from the truth. Over the last two years, lockup torque converters have become a rather popular conversation piece in the context of high horsepower racing vehicles, thanks in due part to record-setting performances and an NMCA Pro Street championship, leading some to the belief that such an approach is the just the latest magic trick of the week that the industry has pulled out of its hat. On one side, you’ve got the traditional converter design that operates on the basis of slippage, and on the other, the the lockup converter that’s clawed its way back into the fight. The battle for supremacy against the clutch-equipped cars isn’t the only front the torque converter is fighting on however, as an internal struggle between two differing approaches to converter design and methodologies for planting the power to the ground have ensued. And in a growing number of cases, the converter army has the clutch cars retreating from their stronghold. With an industry-wide push in the advancement of torque converter technology in extreme racing applications, the automatic combo is presenting an epic challenge to the almighty clutch. Unless you’ve been calling the underside of a rock home for the last handful of years, then the automatic transmission and torque converter revolution taking place in the sport isn’t exactly earth-shattering news to you.

Lock up converter