Light weight flywheels?????

[Turbodude06]

Just wondering what u guys think about light weight flywheels? I've heard some good and bad things about them. Some said they can hurt your motor cause the factory flywheel is part of the balancing of the crank, and they can actually make your car slower... Others have said that of course it being lightier that your motor will gain some good power, being able to spin easier.... I just want your guys opinions on them, good or bad.............

[HillClimbGuy]

a lighter fly wheel can be good an bad at the same time it does not balance the crank tho:D but if you do it you will notice it takes less gas to get the rpm's up but you need more rpm's to get going if that makes sense

in layman's terms it's like having a 16 pound hammer vs a 10 pound hammer it takes more force to get it moving but it carries momentum with it.

hope this helps:D

[Meatball546]

I know there's a harmonic balancer on my front crank pulley. The flywheel is just a big mass of metal. Get a lighter one, and you'll get better throttle response, easier rev matching and maybe a little more oomph.

[Turbodude06]

a lighter fly wheel can be good an bad at the same time it does not balance the crank tho:D but if you do it you will notice it takes less gas to get the rpm's up but you need more rpm's to get going if that makes sense

in layman's terms it's like having a 16 pound hammer vs a 10 pound hammer it takes more force to get it moving but it carries momentum with it.

hope this helps:D

Yea I knew about the taking off part I know its harder cause I drove a civic once with one, just had to give it some more gas to take off, but thanks for ur input....:goodjob:

[Master Shake]

just remember if you do lighten your flywheel there is a possibility to loose torque due to the light mass turning.

[scttydb411]

anything that reduces rotating weight is a benefit. revs will drop faster, so you'll need to be good a shifting if you don't want to fall out of your powerband, but acceleration is better. i've had a lightweight aluminum flywheel for 5+years.

[NOCLUE]

a lighter fly wheel can be good an bad at the same time it does not balance the crank tho:D but if you do it you will notice it takes less gas to get the rpm's up but you need more rpm's to get going if that makes sense

in layman's terms it's like having a 16 pound hammer vs a 10 pound hammer it takes more force to get it moving but it carries momentum with it.

hope this helps:D

+reps

[Athens_Red_Rexin]

anything that reduces rotating weight is a benefit. revs will drop faster, so you'll need to be good a shifting if you don't want to fall out of your powerband, but acceleration is better. i've had a lightweight aluminum flywheel for 5+years.

x2, yeah your rpm's will fall fast when you push in the clutch. Takes a little while to get used to. But I love mine, I have had one for 2 years now. :goodjob:

[Tech5]

Some cars do have balanced flywheels an flexplates...So some cars I would say no, then others I say yes...

< Had many many honda with no issues with positive results!!!

Think it like this, put a 300lb man on top of your motor and drive around for a month, it feels sluggish, right. Ok now when your ready to race take that fat ass off and run your car! Pretty quick huh ...lol

[hondaxpurt]

will a lightweight crank pulley have the same results?

[T34me]

definitely takes getting used to on dead stops. from personal experience, my 8lb fidanza was just to light, next one i get is going to be 10lb.

[Black4DrEK]

I hade a Flywheel on my D series... It helps alot!!

Get it,you wont be mad at yourself

[IndianStig]

had a light flywheel on my h22 lude and h22 accord, quick shifting is required but overall its a great benefit

[Atlblkz06]

You won't get any extra power from reducing the weight of the flywheel.

Throttle response will improve
Since you're reducing the amount of energy the engine is able to store, the way it rides under partial clutch conditions (high traffic) will get worse, and chatter may increase.

Choose the best balance for your type of driving and dont go too extreme.

[Atlblkz06]

will a lightweight crank pulley have the same results?

Reducing the mass of anything spinning in the engine should improve throttle response. However, unless you replace all pulleys and reduce a significant amount of weight, you wont really notice anything.

[Black4DrEK]

yea dont get a 8 pound one... stickwith the ones around 11-12 ish

[slimm]

been ridin a lightweight for a coupla years. never had any problems. you do have to know how to shift. somebody mentioned that already, but yea. u gotta be a true driver to have one.

[Humphrizzle]

I know there's a harmonic balancer on my front crank pulley. The flywheel is just a big mass of metal. Get a lighter one, and you'll get better throttle response, easier rev matching and maybe a little more oomph.


agreed. the flywheel does not balance the crank. but a 7lb or 8lb flywheel is a big pain in the ass for daily driving. It is mostly for racing. Heel toe shifting is needed to actually keep the revs from dropping between shifts.

if you do want to lighten up your 20+lb flywheel, dont go less than 12lbs.

that way it's streetable but you still get the good throttle response and easier to drive.

[AnthonyF]

Like others have said, it all needs to be balanced.

Yank the engine, if you need a new clutch, get one, get the fly wheel and get it all balanced at once. It'll rock your world.

-Ant.

[speedminded]

LOL! *Sigh* So much fail in this thread! I've used a Cusco 8.5lb one piece chromoly flywheel for 5 years and several sub 12 lb. flywheels on in-line 6 BMW engines.

How a lightweight flywheel works
http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/flywheel/how_a_lightweight_flywheel_works.htm


Pro's [from my personal experience]

▫ Increased throttle response is the number one reason to reduce the weight of the flywheel. Rev-matching is quicker and can be more precise.

▫ A lighter flywheel does not change the power output yet it still improves acceleration.

▫ Reducing a percentage of the weight from the flywheel acts as if a percentage of the weight from the entire car is removed. That percentage fluctuates depending on the gear the car is in since the flywheel is rotational mass.

▫ Gas mileage should not change much if any. Technically gas mileage would improve because of the theoretical weight loss BUT it takes more throttle to move the car the same amount at cruising speeds so anything gained is then lossed. I have no way to prove it but I would say city driving gas mileage would increase but highway driving mileage may decrease.


Con's

▫ For higher boost applications an extremely lightweight flywheel may not be desired. Since the rev's drop quicker between shifts because of the reduced inertia so does the boost pressure. It all depends on the application whether it will work for you or not. Drag racing with a larger turbo would not benefit from it. An engine with a smaller turbo with specifically sized piping can still benefit from a lighter flywheel. It all depends on the driving style and application.

[changaroo]

look at me im mr know it all.

[speedminded]

look at me im mr know it all.Told you to get rid of your dual mass!

Those things are 29 lbs on the BMW e36 24v engines! I REALLY want to go with a 4.5lb automatic flex plate/flywheel and a button type twin disc clutch for my N/A BMW M50 engine but that might be a bit excessive lolol! :ninja: I'm thinking a 10-12lb flywheel for the M52 turbo build would be perfect though.