Has anyone done this or knew someone? I recently found a shop that will do it for cheap. I read somewhere that for every lb shaved off your flywheel is equivelant to dropping 50lbs off your car. anyone know of the drawbacks, if any? any assistance would be appreciated. peace
I’ve got a clutch masters 9lb aluminum flywheel. I can tell you that it makes a huge difference in how freely the motor can rev, it feels like a motorcyle engine. It feels faster at high rpm as well, although I never ran my car with the stock flywheel so I’m not sure of the et difference. If you autocross, it makes heel and toe downshifting a real breeze because the motor responds so quickly when you tap the gas pedal.
As far as the reason why, it’s analogous to heavy 17 inch wheels versus the stock 14 inchers. If you have more rotating weight, you have more hp loss due to the need to accelerate that additional weight. The actual hp per lb is widely debated, SCC did a mathematical analysis a while back but didn’t really come up with a firm answer. The bottom line is that it definitely helps, and I think that it is definitely worth it, if only because it makes heel and toe downshifting so enjoyable.
If I were you, I would buy a lightened flywheel rather than have half the weight shaved off yours because of the risk of weakening the flywheel. I have seen pics of shattered flywheels and what it does to the car, and it’s not pretty. Just my opinion though, and I know people that have shaved it and haven’t had any problems, yet . . .
flywheel
Get a Mueller flywheel. They have replacable contact plates.
I’ve got one, and my friend also. We’ve had no problems.
My friend burned a Clutch Masters Clutch and now he’s on his second ACT even though he didn’t have to replace the first one in the first place.(tranny arm that cable connects to was bent)
Anyway, his flywheel has gone through that much punishment and is still on it’s original contact plate.
So maybe a non-changeable flywheel wouldn’t be so bad? Never though of that.
Oh well I plan on keeping my car for quite some time so I’ll stick with something that I can replace for cheaper.
Shoots
my friend has a 300zx TT with JUN dual exh, downpipes and an ACT street clutch, his replaceable faceplate or whatever flywheel broke inside his tranny. he said he knows ppl with hondas who have had this problem and says get a 1-pc, bc its safer for your tranny.
had a cm clutch and9 lb flywheel 2 weeks later the complete lining from the clutch was in the housing and the flywheel was burned up was told it was a defective disc. now got a ACT and a 11 lb fw. yes you will love the feeling, revs faster and you get way better engine response but don’t just get a fw get a GOOD clutch too.
If my clutch ever goes, I’ll probably get a CM Stage 3 and lighten my stock to about 14 lbs. A 7.2 lb flywheel seems a little light for daily street driving, the revs must fall faster than a pound of feathers. Err, make that a pound of nails. I’d really like to drive a car with a clutch/flywheel combo though, just to see how a 7 or 9 lb flywheel feels. I’ve also heard it hurts when dragging, cause the clutch has a much harder time grabbing the flywheel.
what about the issue of the heavier flywheel being necessary as a vibration dampener. I understood that the fly on one end and the heavy crank pully on the other keep the crank spinning smoothly and shimmyless. I’ve heard stories of cranks wearing out too quik when people put those lighter underdrive pulleys on…??
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