lightened flywheel, is it worth it???

lightened flywheel, is it worth it???

Author
Discussion

V8FROG

Original Poster:

444 posts

160 months

Sunday 3rd July 2011
quotequote all
guys as the title said.i am replacing my clutch pretty soon so was wondering if i should go for a lightened flywheel???tks

Boosted LS1

21,167 posts

259 months

Sunday 3rd July 2011
quotequote all
You could take a couple of pounds off but don't forget that flywheel mass stores up energy which is very useful when blatting along the motorway and wanting to pass cars.

SILICONEKID340HP

14,997 posts

230 months

Sunday 3rd July 2011
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You don`t need to buy a new flywheel just take

it to a decent machine shop and get it machined down.job done..It will rev quicker but you don`t want to take to much off.
std sdi/tvr = 28ibls
our lightened = 21.5ibls
tvr 500 = 20ibls
You think your indecisive but your not sure now
.laugh

Marty V8

578 posts

185 months

Monday 4th July 2011
quotequote all
I'm sure Ive read somewhere that the flywheel was balanced along with the crank and front damper?

If you going to lighten the flywheel without looking to balance it with the crank and damper will you create vibration problems when it all gets put back together again?

scotty_d

6,795 posts

193 months

Monday 4th July 2011
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If this is for your chim 400 i would not waste your time or money you wont notice the gains.

Chimpafrolic

9,637 posts

178 months

Monday 4th July 2011
quotequote all
scotty_d said:
If this is for your chim 400 i would not waste your time or money you wont notice the gains.
Not true!

Having just fitted a lightened flywheel from V8 Developments I can assure you it made a very noticeable difference to the way the engine feels.

No great surprise actually once you pick up the original flywheel, it's ridiculously heavy, machining 6-7lbs out of it makes a massive difference.

The lightened flywheel has made my engine significantly more responsive and eager to rev, the surprise additional benefit is that it's also actually made the engine smoother.

I too had my concerns about the balancing issue, this was answered by Rob Robertson at V8 Developments who explained:

"Your flywheel will be neutrally balanced so no problem fitting a lighter one at all, certainly no downsides all positives as far as i am concerned, in the real world it feels like you have gained around 20 bhp"

I can confirm he was 100% right.

It's all explained here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...

It clearly includes my comments on the happy outcome, what I don't understand is why the OP is asking the same question again only a few weeks later, I know he read my post?

If he OP chooses to ask the question again I can only assume he didn't believe my honest review of the flywheel, preferring instead to get comments from people that clearly haven't fitted one.

Very confusing?????????

For me it's simple, listen to the comments from people that have genuine experience!

When I was thinking about fitting a lightened flywheel I was also unsure, so I simply asked Rob Robertson for his advice.

V8 Developments have built thousands of Rover V8 engines, it's not in their interest to give bad or misleading advice to their customers, if Rob Robertson tells me a lightened flywheel is a good thing that's good enough from me.

Why would you listen to the bar stool experts over someone with genuine proven experience, & why would you keep asking the same question when it has already been extremely comprehensively answered?

In summary, speaking as someone who has actually fitted a lightened flywheel I can assure you fitting one (that's been correctly balanced) offers fantastic improvements for very little outlay.

If you need a new clutch fitting a lightened flywheel adds about 10 minutes to a 4-5 hour job, so to me that makes it a NO BRAINER!

neal1980

2,574 posts

238 months

Monday 4th July 2011
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he is the king of repeat questions, keeps us entertained though biglaugh

spend

12,581 posts

250 months

Monday 4th July 2011
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A 'repeat' of flywheel lightening would certainly entertain rofl

Ascertain what weight your flywheel is FIRST wink

Chimpafrolic

9,637 posts

178 months

Monday 4th July 2011
quotequote all
Well my original flywheel weighed in at a mahoosive 30lbs.

Perfect for off roading.

Totally out of place in a 1060Kg sports car.

It could be all the 4.0 litre cars have the same super heavy flywheel as I had, but with TVR it's hard to be 100% certain until you take it out and weigh it.

Like Spend says it really needs weighing first, but I took a chance and got the lightened flywheel in before the gearbox came out so it could all be done in a day.

Every engine has an optimum flywheel weight depending on the type of work you are expecting the engine to do and the way you want it to feel.

Taking a 4.0 litre Chimaera flywheel down to 21.5lbs seemed to have absolutely no adverse effects on my car, just benefits.

Ribol

11,199 posts

257 months

Monday 4th July 2011
quotequote all
If you prefer revvy motors then a lighter flywheel is better, if you prefer lazy torquey type motors then you may as well leave it alone and not bother.

With 8/12 cylinder engines there is very little justification for a heavy flywheel in a car IMO.

Simon says

18,928 posts

220 months

Monday 4th July 2011
quotequote all
Ribol said:
If you prefer revvy motors then a lighter flywheel is better, if you prefer lazy torquey type motors then you may as well leave it alone and not bother.

With 8/12 cylinder engines there is very little justification for a heavy flywheel in a LIGHTER car IMO.
EFA but sums things up thumbup nothing like age old wisdom Ivan whistle

domV8

1,375 posts

180 months

Monday 4th July 2011
quotequote all
I run a very light flywheel in my Tomcat Turbo (~5kg)...

However, I think there are a number of factors relating to lightweight fly's that are worth mentioning IMO...:


1. If possible, buy a lightweight flywheel made from billet steel or similar, rather than lightening an OE one - search the net for instances where lightened flywheels have "exploded"...

2. A heavy flywheel counters engine braking (inertia/moment vs friction?) - losing a lot off your flywheel may make engine braking more prominent (esp. in an RV8/lightweight car scenario)

3. Can increase the tendency to stall upon take-off for those who are unused-to-it. Embarrassing etc...


HTH


Dom

Ribol

11,199 posts

257 months

Monday 4th July 2011
quotequote all
Simon says said:
Ribol said:
If you prefer revvy motors then a lighter flywheel is better, if you prefer lazy torquey type motors then you may as well leave it alone and not bother.

With 8/12 cylinder engines there is very little justification for a heavy flywheel in a LIGHTER car IMO.
EFA but sums things up thumbup nothing like age old wisdom Ivan whistle
redcard

I obviously wasn't talking about the flywheel in an LM002 (although you are probably too young to remember one of those) hehe

V8FROG

Original Poster:

444 posts

160 months

Monday 4th July 2011
quotequote all
very funny i keep asking the same questions cause the answers i get are not good enough ok.why dont u come over to malaysia with ur TVR and ask around how to fix this and that and see their faces!!!chimp i know u were happy with it but is it a crime to ask more people???oh sorry i forgot this forum is only for making jokes is it???and when i called V8 they didn't have the flywheel for my car and rob wasn't there.sorry again if i ask questions but i need answers not bad comments.we share the same passion about TVR me maybe even more than u as this is my 3th CHIMAERA in the country where only 10 units were sold.i guess will have to buy the last 7 to complete my collection!!!now last question.how about a 500 standard clutch with a lightened flywheel???cause i was quote 5++over pounds for the helix and shipping
neal1980 said:
he is the king of repeat questions, keeps us entertained though biglaugh

Ribol

11,199 posts

257 months

Monday 4th July 2011
quotequote all
V8FROG said:
cause i was quote 5++over pounds for the helix and shipping
Serious question - can you not get clutches remanufactured to a good standard over there? In the UK there were several people doing them to the same quality as new ones but the savings didn't make it worthwhile.

In your case it probably would be if done locally.

V8FROG

Original Poster:

444 posts

160 months

Monday 4th July 2011
quotequote all
i really have no idea.i prefert to get from someone famous like V8 who knows what they are doing.i sent 2 emails but still no reply.i called once and had a very friendly person on the phone.not the famous ROB but someone very friendly.i guess they didn't get my email.will have to call them back for final quote.
Ribol said:
Serious question - can you not get clutches remanufactured to a good standard over there? In the UK there were several people doing them to the same quality as new ones but the savings didn't make it worthwhile.

In your case it probably would be if done locally.

Ribol

11,199 posts

257 months

Monday 4th July 2011
quotequote all
V8FROG said:
i really have no idea.i prefert to get from someone famous like V8 who knows what they are doing.i sent 2 emails but still no reply.i called once and had a very friendly person on the phone.not the famous ROB but someone very friendly.i guess they didn't get my email.will have to call them back for final quote
TVR Power are also famous, as are countless other people who stock them and can send them out to anywhere the next day.

SILICONEKID340HP

14,997 posts

230 months

Monday 4th July 2011
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SILICONEKID340HP said:
Looks like you will be driving the good old faithful until you sort your clutch out ...anyway it looks like your not doing to bad laugh

Chimpafrolic

9,637 posts

178 months

Monday 4th July 2011
quotequote all
Another nice mod for V8Frog & Daz the Plumber only.

When you fit the lightened flywheel, smear driven face with LM grease.

This Lithium based, high melting point grease is specifically designed to lubricate your clutch friction plate.

In Malaysia the high temperatures will actually help the LM grease bond with friction material to produce a much faster spin up.

Well worth doing, you can buy LM grease from 2CV Developments in Smolding, Loncinshore.

Just ask for Bob Bobertson.

V8FROG

Original Poster:

444 posts

160 months

Monday 4th July 2011
quotequote all
chim u are the man!!!i will need soon some advises from u and others as i found a 4.6 range rover HSE for sale here pretty cheap.so no sure what i will need to make it run.it ll be cheaper than shipping a 5 litres from the UK.next topic soon
Chimpafrolic said:
Another nice mod for V8Frog & Daz the Plumber only.

When you fit the lightened flywheel, smear driven face with LM grease.

This Lithium based, high melting point grease is specifically designed to lubricate your clutch friction plate.

In Malaysia the high temperatures will actually help the LM grease bond with friction material to produce a much faster spin up.

Well worth doing, you can buy LM grease from 2CV Developments in Smolding, Loncinshore.

Just ask for Bob Bobertson.