Aluminium Flywheels

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highwaystar

highwaystar

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Here is a new debate topic. I want to hear from dragracers that have experimented going from a heavy steel flywheel to an Aluminium flywheel. Was there a significant pickup in trap speed and E.T. and 60 ft. times. etc. etc.

Also from what I understand the increases are basically going to come more from high H.P. motors (short stroke high rpm's), not necessarily the big torque motors, like the 360 and 4" stroker motors.

Let's here it guys, I need wisdom from the old gear jammers.
 
Lightweight flywheels are great for high RPM applications, butttt, they require a pretty decent break in period in which you need to shift higher

Friend put one on a subaru sti thats got a T4 style turbo and runs on nitrous and all forged internals
 
Good forum, I could spend hours on there. Did not see any info on the Flywheels tho. Not yet.. I believe most of those guys are hardcore drag racers, maybe not much info for the street/strip driver as well?

I will keep looking. I saw your discussion about the Quick time bells.

Thanks,

Looking for more comments on Aluminum vs. Steel
 
highwaystar said:
Good forum, I could spend hours on there. Did not see any info on the Flywheels tho. Not yet.. I believe most of those guys are hardcore drag racers, maybe not much info for the street/strip driver as well?

I will keep looking. I saw your discussion about the Quick time bells.

Thanks,

Looking for more comments on Aluminum vs. Steel
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yea most of them are serious racers, but lotsa them used to be street/strip so they know their stuff..wouldnt hurt to just post on there as well, since you'll probably get alot more opinions

good luck man!8)
 
I am running a Centerforce Aluminum Flywheel on the 410 Stroker. It comes up on the RPM's very quickly.....
 
Aluminum flywheel is best used on high power engines. The weight of the steel flywheel has an inertia effect at shift points...as does everything else in the drivetrain.
If you have tons of torque, lighter is better.
 
I had an 11 pound one in a 57 Chev shorty wagon with a 307 in it. I never did run that engine with a steel flywheel. It rapped pretty quick but did not have a lot of low end torque.
 
Pretty much. I have not seen any evidence to the contrary. A road course car may benefit from a lighter flywheel because you want the engines compression braking to work to it's fullest...the inertia fights that.
 
Burntorange70 said:
That does not sound right to me at all. Adding more weight will only make you loose HP and drag the motor down. It will RPM quicker with less weight.

http://www.tiltonracing.com/content.php?page=faq&view=3
Here read this link.
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your talking a race application here, where cars have enough power down low to get moving, or benefit from the quick drops in rpm...when talking a general purpose vehicle, more leaning towards a street car, it is proven that an aluminum wheel is not the ticket...just because it is lighter does not mean everything. So what a light flywheel allows quicker revs and a heavier does not or loses more power...without the energy that flywheel stores, the car is a dog off the line
 
Burnt....Correct, but the difference in neutral rev speed (out of gear) does not translate to the rear wheels.
The inertia of the 30 pound flywheel is greater than the inertia of a 10 pound flywheel. The same goes for every other component in your driveline. Obviously, there is a "happy place" for the amount of weight. In the end it is all a compromise due to the materials used and the strength needed.

Think of it this way...when you shift gears your engine has a moment when it is free and then it is slammed with the stress of pulling the next gear. The heavier flywheel helps keep the engine from slowing down. if your engine has tons of torque, it won't need this extra weight. the flywheel is the only part connected directly to the engine so it makes all the difference to the engine.
I can do a burnout and shift to 2nd casually without the tires losing much speed....that is the inertia effect of the driveline...as in everything downstream of the flywheel.

The engine does the same thing.
 
If your car don't have enough power then you don't need to be woring about this stuff any way. Just put the stock stuff on it and drive the sucker.
 
Burntorange70 said:
If your car don't have enough power then you don't need to be woring about this stuff any way. Just put the stock stuff on it and drive the sucker.
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i wouldnt trust a cast iron flywheel even at stock power levels...rev that 40 year old peice up and your asking for trouble in my opinion
with the price of quality of billet steel flywheels now a days, it makes no sense whatsoever to put in a stock peice imo
 
So I am wrong. The benefit of an Aluminum flywheel is for an engine with alot of torque, not so much a high H.P. short stroke motor? Does the rotating mass of a heavy Flywheel effect the H.P. like say the difference between a posi unit and a spool, or heavy 11" rear drum brakes vs. rear disc or 10" drums? Steel wheels vs. 2 piece lt. wt. Alum. wheels?
 
hi, I can see most you don't drive a stick car!! the aluminuum flywheel is better over a heavier wheel. i have ran one in a 265 55 chev on the street. now,true, it didn't have the power to break the tires loose like heavier wheels could. I could out run them and out accelerate them. when racing them, i could launch at 5500 rpm, andthey were held to bout 3000 max to keep from blowing tires off, I was long gone and beat them!! I use one in all my drag cars, the aluminuum wheel is two tenths and two miles an hour faster. simple physics, the lighter the rotating mass , the faster the acceleration is. mcleod makes an 18 # steel wheel for mopars. gives you best of both. just foodforthought!!
 
2 1/10th's is alot!!! I am thinking that is what I want, not blowing the tires off. Now do you have to leave at 5500 to keep the motor from stumbling when it hooks, or you you just getting in your optimum powerband. Alot of that I know will be determined by how much Duration you put in your cam selection, gear ratio and weight of your car. Right?
 
IMO running pro stock 3200# demon w/ a 426, we always ran a 90 # flywheel. The Motown Missle was Chyslers' proving ground and what they proved was the best set up they would past on to the factory backed teams. 90 lbs.
 
highwaystar said:
2 1/10th's is alot!!! I am thinking that is what I want, not blowing the tires off. Now do you have to leave at 5500 to keep the motor from stumbling when it hooks, or you you just getting in your optimum powerband. Alot of that I know will be determined by how much Duration you put in your cam selection, gear ratio and weight of your car. Right?
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more than likely you will need a high launch rpm like that otherwise it will bog
 
Back in high school there were 2 VW Beetles that raced several times over a couple of months. The yellow car was always just a tad faster then the blue car. The yellow cars secret was the aluminum flywheel.
Thats the extentent of my knowledge on the subject. It does speak to the troque, horsepower, aspect, being 4 cylinders. Or does it ? LOL
 
mopar340dave said:
That is what you should do, Burnt! LOL
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Thats what I am doing. Stock 340 with a stock flywheel. Works great. But when I do up my stroker motor I am going as light as posible with the clutch and flywheel. But thats just me. I am a crazy nut about weight loss.


I know my dad just loves his 16 pound clutch and flywheel set up. Here is a vid from a buddys car at the sand drags. Before the change in the clutch and flywheel this guy could keep up with dad. Now watch to the right as my dad flys buy with ease. Thats with just the new clutch and flywheel no other changes.


This motor is a high RPM HP motor. You have to reve it to 6000+RPM to get any power out of it.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyzbbRUpXSE"]YouTube- Going down the Glamis drags[/ame]
 
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