Gearstar Performance Transmissions now builds every torque converter that ships behind its custom performance automatics in-house, under the Yank Performance Converters brand, and runs every completed transmission and converter package on a transmission dynamometer before it is crated. Converter production and final assembly share one floor in Akron, Ohio.
For builders running LS swaps, restomods, pro-touring cars, and street/strip programs, that means every Gearstar arrives specified for the combination it is going behind, and it arrives after it has already been run. Founder Zack Farah frames the work this way: "What we're building are horsepower transferring systems. Whether it's a Ford, GM, or Mopar transmission going behind a mild small-block or a blown big-block, we approach each transmission as if it was going into our own personal car."
Platform coverage spans the GM 4L60E, 4L65E, 4L80E, and 700R4, the Ford 4R70W, C4, C6, AOD, and 6R80, and the Mopar 727 and NAG1, each built with the hard parts and clutch packs its target power level calls for. Because Gearstar builds to order, there is no shelf stock to pull from. "We are a totally custom shop, so we don't keep any product on the shelf," Farah said. "We don't focus on meeting any quotas. We focus on quality."
Assembly is assigned to a single technician, who carries the build from case prep through crating rather than passing it down a line. That technician stays with the unit after it ships, answering the tech line when the customer calls during installation. Gearstar states the arrangement on its homepage as one transmission, one builder, from start to finish.
The torque converter is where most performance automatics either come together or come apart. Gearstar acquired Yank Performance Converters in 2022 and moved production from Reno, Nevada, to Akron, Ohio. Yank is now the converter-building brand behind every Gearstar automatic, built under the same roof.
Yank converters are built to manufacturer dimensions for performance applications rather than stock replacement duty, in non-lockup and single- or multi-disc lockup configurations across a range of stall speeds. Building in-house means the converter is matched to the customer's transmission, engine, and stall target before dyno testing. Through the Summit Racing distribution lineup, that pairing shows up in the crate as a Yank billet torque converter included with every Gearstar automatic.
Verification happens on the shop floor rather than in the customer's driveway. Each assembled unit, matched converter installed, goes onto one of the company's transmission dynos for the equivalent of 100 miles under varying loads and speeds, where line pressures, shift points, downshifts, converter stall speed, and lock-up operation are read and corrected before the unit is signed off.
"Our dynamometer simulates the stress and drag that the transmission and converter package will experience in the customer's vehicle," Farah said. Testing every unit means Gearstar can confirm the package is right before it leaves the facility "instead of using the customer's car as a testbed."
What ships is a driveline package rather than a bare transmission. Crated through American Powertrain, it carries the transmission, its matched Yank billet torque converter, transmission fluid, a trans cooler, bellhousing bolts, and torque converter bolts. Workmanship and parts are warranted for 3 years and unlimited miles on 2wd units, and 1 year and unlimited miles on 4x4 units, from the date of shipment.
About Gearstar Performance Transmissions: Founded by Zack Farah in 2001 in Akron, Ohio, Gearstar Performance Transmissions hand-builds custom high-performance automatic transmissions for GM, Ford, and Mopar applications, and builds its torque converters in-house under the Yank Performance Converters brand. Every unit is assembled by one master technician, tested for the equivalent of 100 miles on a transmission dyno, and backed by a 3-year unlimited-mile warranty on 2wd units and a 1-year unlimited-mile warranty on 4x4 units. Learn more at gearstar.com.
About Yank Performance Converters: Yank Performance Converters builds non-lockup and lockup torque converters for performance automatic applications. Acquired by Gearstar in 2022 and moved from Reno, Nevada, to Akron, Ohio, Yank converters are built to manufacturer dimensions and a higher performance standard and are matched and dyno-tested with the transmission they ship behind. Learn more at yankconverters.com.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED3eK-PXhZI
Michael McBride, Atelier Commerce, agency of record for Gearstar Performance Transmissions | michael@ateliercommerce.com | 929-416-0250, ext. 5
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For more information about Gearstar, contact the company here:
Gearstar
Zack Farah
+1-330-434-5216
info@gearstar.com
GearStar Performance Transmission
132 N. Howard St, Akron, OH 44308
