wide ratio = more rpm drop on shifts. tight converter = doesn't slip as much after the shift and mask big drop = worse shift recovery with a 12" 2000 rpm converter like he talking about vs. an 8" 5600 coan like I run. ask a converter guy if you don't believe me. that's what 'hurt you' meant. the converter multiplies tq with the gearset in the trans and the axle ratio. so its not 'just the converter', if that were the case we'd all be running a powerglide. having too much tq multiplication can be as bad as having not enough, especially in the light street car with a big motor that is just going to blow the tires off. not to mention that the lower ratio setups lower the tq capacity of the trans because the gear teeth in the planetary are thinner. ive got both a 2.4 aod planetary and a 4r70w 2.84 planetary in the shop to support this hypothesis. besides, how much first gear does a 4"+ stroke small block need in a 3200lb car? the effective total first gear ratio of a 3.55 with a 2.84 4r70 is the same as a standard 2.4 aod with a 4.20 in back, except with the tight converter the 2.84 is going to have a lot more rpm drop on the shift. with a 2000 rpm converter the bigger rpm drop between shifts with the 2.84 planetary will hurt the acceleration more than having a deep first gear will help based on my experience. if it needs to leave hard you put more converter, run a transbrake and let the converter do its job.