Ultralight flywheel for 2.2 TE

[f1karting]

Hi all.. curious about what is available in lightened or ultralight FW's. I know R Jenvey had some drawings for the one he made for his g-racer in the 80's, but Im just wondering if there is something already on the market?

Weight of OE?

How much weight can be removed, and what are the limits to machining, if one were to modify the the OE FW?

Experiences...?

Jan 83TE

[lotusguy]

Hi,

There used to be an aftermarket lightened flywheel on the market, but as I understand it, they have discontinued production.

So far as machining an OE flywheel to shed weight, I'd be very leery of doing so. If too much material is taken away, especially from a used flywheel, the potential for it to shatter is pretty good. Considering all the consequential damage that would occur to other parts if it ever did, I think I'd pass on that option. Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE

[superdave]

Hi, I heard PNM talk about this yesterday and they've found an aftermarket flywheel that's a fraction of the weight of a standard wheel. Not sure if they said it came from the states or not. You need to speak to them on [phone].

Cheers,


Dave

[5150neo]

The flywheel I purchased from JAE is lightened and heat treated to a much higher standard than the factory wheel. When installed and seated, the difference is quite noticable especially at mid range acceleration.
Need a part number and price?
John

[rlearp]

The stock flywheel is quite heavy and in my opinion, much heavier than it needs to be. Jim is correct in not wanting to remove too much weight, but the stock piece is a porker and you could pickup quite a bit of engine responsiveness by lightening it. The Lotus engine is one of the slower revving 4 pots I've fooled with and the flywheel weight influences this sigfinicantly. Having said that I haven't done it and don't plan to right now unless the engine requires a tear down. To me the gains would be minimal, but if I was after a clutch or internal engine but I'd probably do it.

>> Edited by rlearp on Saturday 31st July 11:39

[dr.hess]

These folks:

www.fidanza.com/

do wonderful work and can make you about anything you want. I bought an aluminum flywheel for my 4AGE 20 valve from them and it is a work of art. 9 lbs versus the factory 18 lbs. If I needed a new flywheel, I would defintely consider getting one from them. If they don't have the specs for a motor, they will need to borrow your old one, but they list the 9XX motors as part number 122961 at 8.5 lbs, although it says non-turbo. Might be for Citroen boxes. I would call them and ask. They are likely much cheaper than an OEM flywheel as well.

Dr.Hess

[lotusguy]

dr.hess said:

These folks: www.fidanza.com/ do wonderful work and can make you about anything you want. I bought an aluminum flywheel for my 4AGE 20 valve from them and it is a work of art. 9 lbs versus the factory 18 lbs. If I needed a new flywheel, I would defintely consider getting one from them. If they don't have the specs for a motor, they will need to borrow your old one, but they list the 9XX motors as part number 122961 at 8.5 lbs, although it says non-turbo. Might be for Citroen boxes. I would call them and ask. They are likely much cheaper than an OEM flywheel as well. Dr.Hess

Doc,

This is who was making them. I have a friend who was told that he got the last one they have and that they'll not make any more, but whp knows. Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE

[dr.hess]

Humm. Well, I guess if their business is so good that they can afford to turn away customers, that must be nice.

I got my 20v flywheel as part of a MR2 group purchase back in 1999-2000. They had never made a 4AGE, 3SGTE or 5SFE flywheel before, so we (in the group) had to send them one of each to duplicate, including two different kinds of 4AGE (there are 3 different 4AGE flywheels: early, late and gze). They had no problem then with making small orders or even one-offs. It is all CNC, after all. Put the blank in and press go. The price was around three bills.

I bet if you called, they would still make you one. I fortunately don't need one, so I am not going to trouble them.

Dr.Hess

[f1karting]

Great info guys.. thanks a lot! Jan

>> Edited by f1karting on Tuesday 3rd August 18:36

[f1karting]

Hi guys.. Fidanza havnt returned my requests for information, however QED Motorsports in UK can supply one. They are Vauxhall and lotus TC tuners (nice stuff BTW). My question is, are the 2.2 Turbo FW the same on all cars or are there some differences I should know about when order one? I will be fitting one to an 83TE.

thanks again..Jan