Lightened Flywheel... anyone uprated theres?

pugheaven

pugheaven

pugheaven

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Obviously I know the principal and theory behind this however, wondered if anyone on here had done it to their pride and joy and what benefits THEY seen as opposed to what the benefits should give?

The reason I ask is, the clutch is getting a little heavier on the RX8 and at some point this year thought I might swap it out... and while I'm at it, buy a new super light 9lb flywheel and counter balance... fitting at the same time... however, at around £800 notes, this is a lot to spend... the RX8 boys swear by these things... just throwing out the question on here...
 
Fitted a modded lwfw to my 16v golf. 5.5kg from 12kg.

The reduced inertia made the clutch pedal feel sharper. Not exactly on off switch but sharper.

Torque felt stronger earlier in the range. Response was better everywhere .

Ran mine for at least 60k miles
 
Revs lots easier and feels sharper all round, but makes it a little harder to pull away from a standstill without stalling (you get used to it)

Don't slip the clutch too much though as if you get them roasting hot they do tend to warp easier being thinner.
 
Fuzz said:
Revs lots easier and feels sharper all round, but makes it a little harder to pull away from a standstill without stalling (you get used to it)

Don't slip the clutch too much though as if you get them roasting hot they do tend to warp easier being thinner.
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Yeah I read that it makes slow traffic driving a little trickier... think the one in the RX8 is 17lbs default so down to 9lb is a lot of weight saved...
 
I don't know about on the RX8 but if you plan on some kind of forced induction I would look into the effect a lightened flywheel has on the revs dropping too fast when you shift.

Went in an Impreza with a lightened flywheel and a big turbo and if you didn't shift at lightning speed it was a very buckaroo like driving experience when it came back on boost again. The revs would drop down before I was shifting back in gear and then as I came off the clutch it would jump back up again into the boost.
Could have been not setup correctly or I am just a bad driver but I didn't buy the car!

Sure the engine would rev up quicker out of gear but other than that it was just a pain and I am not sure what the benefit is? Race car drivers?
 
I have one on my car, town driving feels like more of a pain in the ass, but you get used to it quickly. Worth it for the rest of the time. Would never go back. Mines on a dc2, so a very revvy car.
 
I have one no my pug 306 gti-6. You get the biggest gains in the lower gears accelerating if I remember correctly. Something like in 1st gear it is equivilant to your car being 20kg lighter then in 2nd gear 15kg lighter etc etc but by the higher gears it has little impact. In short your car will accelerate quicker from standstill. The weight I state is purely for example purposes and is determined by how much lighter the new flywheel is.

As others have said you just have to get used to it pulling away as it does make the car a little easier to stall. I like the quicker pickup myself and it works well for me on my NA engine.
 
Yup - got one in the Westfield - can't say what the difference is as it's always had one!

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Id love one on the BMW, it makes things rev even faster. i think its horribly frustrating to get into a car and the engine is so slow and lazy to rev. that response is essential to a fun car

 
Done it before myself, lost about 60% of the weight.

The engine does rev faster and feels maybe smoother but conversly they become more twitchy on lift off. They are just more sensitive basically.

If your modding and blueprinting or something seems silly not to affect one of the compenents thats key in delivering the power.
 
Had one on an old mini 1380 conversion and it failed. It was bleeding scary considering the position of it in the engine bay, and you legs are open in the drivers seat with only the thin 1980's bulkhead between you and your love life ruined.

Their was shrapnel everywhere, scared the living daylights out of me.

I would never choose ultra light spec again.
 
Matt82 said:
You sound really gutted that you dont have one or havent fitted one yet
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If I had a heart it would be broken. All that money wasted on silly things like turbos, injectors, etc, when I could have gone for a lightened flywheel.

Actually I discussed the idea with Paul Blamire, and he argued against it. Given that he would have been paid handsomely to fit it, and he used to race cars, I'll put his opinion above people on a BBS.
 
just because it doesnt suit you and your car and driving does not mean that it doesnt suit others

ask him if he'd put one in a lightweight NA screamer ... which funnily enough is what people in this thread recommending them are driving.

isnt really super expensive on some engines either , old one + lathe
 
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