Help w/ Flywheel Purchase

Well as a general rule, if your balancer or flywheel is lighter, the engine will spin easier. I read an article about this once - the alum. SFI Firdanza flywheel ( and corresponding balancer) picked up 7 hp over the stocker with no other changes. Of course this is a $400 flywheel.

If you car is stock but a FMS or summit replacement, if your engine is modded do with the middle of the road.

If you are looking for a power fain - go with alum.

Hope this helps.

if you go with an aluminum flywheel your torque may go down although your engine rpm may rev faster, I say go with a performance billet steel unless you've got a torque monster and it won't hurt you.

I vote billet steel. I got my RAM flywheel from Summit.

Another vote for the billet steel. Got a RAM here as well from summit.

i'd go with alum....even tho it costs more....less weight equals more power to the wheels.....

Less weight makes killer fast revs, but IF your hooking you will have to rev higher to launch!! the flywheel IS torque!! also just a thought... you can have you stock flywheel surfaced and a new starter ring put on for about 60.00 !!!! But I would go steel !! even though the cars of today dont see a lot of rpm, the steel wont come apart under extreeme loads!! and you CAN get as heavy as 40 LBS!!

just me..................................

Thumper

Agreed on the steel or a stock replacement for $99 from Summit. The steel was around $220 and a nice peice. Stocker 302's really need the heavy flywheel to get the car moving off the line and it'll drive smoother with the heavy wheel.

Jamie

The lighter flywheel would equall less rotational energy which has pros and cons:

Pros: Less weight to turn, like underdrives, the engine would rev easier, less energy to get it moving. Less stress on the trany when hard shifting.
Cons: Less rotational mass won't have as much momentum which may hurt you launch. I won't have as much punch between gears.

I would go aluminum because mine has no low end tq problems and I do nothing but spin if I go any higher than idle. If your car was set up for drag on slicks, where the launch is everything, the heavy steel one would probally suit you best.

Think of this. How fast is 6000rpm's, I'll tell you it's, it is really fast. Now take a 30-40lbs disc and try too spin it from 800 to 6000rpm's, that is going to take alot of energy, that is how much energy that could go to your wheels, BUT on the other hand, now that you have this disc going at thin ungodly speed, how much energy will it take to slow it back down? As much as it took to get it there, that energy could have been put into your launch.

Things like lightweight rotational parts don't show up on dyno's that much, but they do in a race.