lightened flywheel

[Nismocha]

I was wondering what the advantages and disadvantages were to buying a lightened flywheel. I was going to buy one with my new clutch, but not sure if it's worth the money....

[JeromeS13]

upside....basically, takes weight off the drivetrain, allowing more hp to the wheels, allowing faster revving. downside....cost and installation. but, if you said you're going to be installing a clutch anyways, its not bad. expect to spend around $400 for a decent one. if i'm not mistaken, the stock flywheel is around 22-23 pounds. a good lightened one will weigh around 9-11.

[kilipo4]

Also, your revves drop faster so its easier to stall. It can also make your shifts smoother, if the revves currently don't drop fast enough between shifts.

[InstantRice]

ive heard lightened flywheels are unsafe is there any truth to this?

[Daunttless]

Nah, just the stalling your car part, if you count that as unsafe. : )

[Nismo241]

We just put a 9lbs flwwheel in my dads SE-R, thats half the weight of stock, and the revs rise and drop a lot faster than before. It takes some getting used to but it's not really a problem. The only way it could be unsafe is if the flywheel is unbalanced.

[InstantRice]

o thats all eh... I heard that they where kinda weak because they where lightened and they would break/shatter/go boom.

[Nismo241]

There is no reason why they would break or shatter. They are aluminum, they are not any weaker. I was very surprised with the difference between stock and lightened.

[Daunttless]

Oh, you're talking about lightening a stock flywheel. We're all talking about specifically manufactured aftermarket flywheels. As far as lightening your stock one, you can do it, however it reduces its structural integrity as it was not designed with those specifications in mind. A lot of them do break and cause damage when you have them lightened, unless they aren't lightened much and you have someone who specializes do it. I would suggest just buying an aftermarket one from the beginning, it costs way more but they're also built to be better.

[InstantRice]

:Werd

[Nismo241]

The biggest problem with lightening the stock flywheel is balancing it correctly. There is really no way to get it 100% balanced without a special machine.

[Nismocha]

thanx for all the reply's guys... I was also told that if you use a lightened flywheel, that your low end torque decreases. Is this true?

[SlowFiveOh]

a lighter flywheel does not necissarily reduce low end torque, but it will affect your launch, and shifting if you are drag racing. a heavier flywheel (i.e. stock) would be a better choice for drag racing because during a launch the car motor/transmission needs the extra inertia to help move the car and when shifting the extra inertia helps carry you into the next gear, where as the energy is spun off easier with the lightened flywheel so more effort is needed. auto-x is another story though being as the motor mostly sees higher rpm's so the lightened flywheel will help there.