Steeda makes one of these; just curious if anyone knows the gain in torque one of these would provide?
dont really know, but i'd guess 3 or so horses and about the same in torque, but if im wrong go ahead and correct me...
Actually, you'd probably loose torque. Unless you have a BIG hp monster that you road race you would be better off with a billet steel flywheel. These big pig heavy cars of ours need torque to get moving and the heavier flywheel provides the inertia needed to get moving.
I'm confused. Then is there an application that the lighter flywheel would be beneficial? I do plan on road racing over drag, if that plays a factor.
i know Findenza (sp) makes one and i believe I saw a center force one that goes with their clutch kit The way I understand it that a lighter flywheel will allow you to rev faster and requires less force to get it going. Cars like the RX-8 that dont even get moving till 6000 rpm and are light cars (whith not much torque anyway) benifit greatly from a lighten flyywheel. Cars like the stang I was always told you should stay with in a few pounds of original weight due to the higher weight of the car and the potential energy in the flywheel itself when it's going full bore. please someone correct me if im wrong.
A freind of mine is having a performance clutch and aluminum flywheel installed in his car and 5.0 Magazine is covering the install. Ill let you all know what comes of it,.
Several years ago MM&FF had a comprehensive article on aluminum vs steel flywheels. If I remember correctly, aluminum was better. I just can't remember all the facts and figures. Doug
it is less rotating mass and that takes off stress on the back of the motor and it will rev faster it is like putting 20's on a car and keeping the stock brakes and will take longer for the car to stop
I don't think you lose torque, in fact with less weight to move you should gain a bit of torque. the engine should rev easier and feel more responsive but you might have to raise the idle because you would lose a bit of rotating inertia that helps keep the idle smooth. it probably won't feel as smooth at other rpm's as well and you might get more engine vibration. and in the event your running at top speed on a flat surface and then start up a hill you will lose speed a little quicker because you have less stored kenetic energy in a lighter flywheel.
Lighter is always better the only odd ball time that would come into play would be on a very heavy car with a very small motor that needs that rotating mass to get it moving off the line. One of the other benefits is that it lets the motor rev more freely allowing for quicker upshifts and ease of matching revs when downshifting. Going from say a 12" stock OEM style clutch with a steel flywheel to say a triple 5.5" clutch with lightweight flywheel you might see close to 20rwhp gain. Some of the really good Tilton style carbon clutches are down to less than 15lbs for the entire unit, flywheel and all. About the only down side to going to a really lightweight clutch setup is that you have to give a little more throttle input when taking off from a stop because you are loosing a lot of that 'stored' energy in the heavy flywheel. Also some of the more radical cars you might see a lot more 'bucking' in the lower rpm ranges because the motor can change rpm so much easier
