flywheel - replace or skim?

[texaxile]

Hi chaps
My Impreza is in for a new clutch, my mechanic mate gave me a call tonight and I dropped by the workshop. He showed me the flywheel which is in pretty poor shape even by my standards, it has several cracks due to the car probably having a bit of a hard life. He said he could mill them out, but asked if I wanted him to price up a new one as I intend to keep the car for long term.

I'm putting a good quality clutch in, so in your opinion(s), would I be better off stumping up the extra for a new one?.

Next question, There are lightweight options available for similar money, should I stick to standard ?. There is a chance I might map the car for a bit more power in the future, but would a lighter flywheel have a big effect on the driveability of the car (engine braking, power delivery etc)?.

TIA Pete

[stevieturbo]

Pictures.....without them, this post can go nowhere.

And if you do machine, not all flywheels are flat, so if there is a step even a small one, make sure this is kept.

[texaxile]

I'll nip over at the weekend with a decent camera and try to get some - I did try taking some but they came out all blurry, which serves me right for being a tightwad and having a crappy phone.

[stevieturbo]

ICP are listing a new flywheel for just under £200..

Not the end of the world really.

Or for aftermarket parts, clutch etc, Alyn at AS Performance can sort all manner of things.

http://asperformance.com/

Or Mark at Lateral

http://lateralperformance.co.uk/

ACT offer a range of clutches, and also flywheels. I wouldnt go for anything too light, but the likes of this could be an option too. Pretty sure Alyn can supply ACT.

http://www.advancedclutch.com/600175

As much as Exedy should be one to aim for....having had so many with driveability issues and totally hit and miss as to why...I'd have to say avoid a pink box Exedy with the organic/kevlar disc.

Other brands...Competition Clutch

http://www.competitionclutch.co.uk/csindex.php?vn=...

Clark Motorsport have a full range of Xtreme, and some of them can include a new flywheel

http://www.clarkmotorsport.co.uk/brands/Xtreme+Clu...

And although they dont list too much, I'm near sure TTV offer some Subaru stuff and are all UK made.

http://ttvracing.com/clutches/

Or the likes of Helix.

http://www.helix-autosport.com/home-page/

[texaxile]

Stevie I owe you a beer or three. Thanks for the links, I'll get to looking through them then make a decision after the weekend.

Many thanks, much appreciated.

[tapkaJohnD]

Cracks in the flywheel?

Even if someone says they "can machine them out", scrap it.
John

[227bhp]

tapkaJohnD said:

Cracks in the flywheel?

Even if someone says they "can machine them out", scrap it.
John

That isn't the case at all, many flywheels have micro cracking on the friction surface and are fine.

[stevieturbo]

Yup, very common when they've seen some heat. And I've never seen any lead to an actual problem.

But if it was very bad, with a stload of heat put into it then yes it could be time to replace. Hence the thread is useless without pictures.

Although if it is getting machined, any bad spots would be very obvious anyway as they tend to be incredibly hard to machine, again a sign it's maybe time for a new flywhheel

But a few small surface cracks ? usually no big deal.