Aftermarket flywheel: is it worth it?
06-08-2005, 03:15 PM
#1
Aftermarket flywheel: is it worth it?
I'm putting a 5th gen tranny and 5th gen clutch and am debating whether or not I should put a Fidanza flywheel in as well. Does anyone have dyno charts or quarter mile passes that prove the flywheel is a worthwhile addition?
06-08-2005, 04:05 PM
#2
yes it will free up power, but with some drivebiliy differences. On launch you need to give more throttle to avoid bogging. on shifts the revs drop quicker, that can be good or bad, just depends on how you drive. All drivers are different, all cars are different. IMO its not really worth the $500 for one.
06-13-2005, 06:20 PM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 164
Originally Posted by THT
Thanks for the input. I will pass on the lightweight flywheel unless anyone has something to say in it's favor??
He has good points, but I drove w/ the stock flywheel for about 4 months until I got my Fidanza. I noticed it revs a lot quicker (UDP also) - and higher gears pull so much harder on the highway
The dyno didnt show any NUMBER gains...but the chart goes up FASTER w/ the fidanza of course.
Think of it like running 100 yds w/ a backpack full of bricks, and then running w/ out bricks. Without the bricks youll be faster, but not stronger.
UNC dood prefers his stock flywheel over the fidanza because he does a lot of track racing, and has his reasons for it.
Like he said, it differs from driver to driver
06-13-2005, 06:28 PM
#7
If the graph went up faster, wouldn't that mean more power production .. So x dyno lasts 10 seconds and y dyno lasts 12 seconds ... both same cars/gear ratio ... That would mean more power ... I'm not trying to flame or anything, just trying to understand, as I too am doing the 5M swap this summer.
06-13-2005, 07:08 PM
#10
From the illustration given and what I've gathered myself, there is no gain. But your car does get up there quicker. And the illustration that sp lit gave is perfect to describe what a lightened flywheel can do. It's lighter so everything in there spins up quicker, the RPM goes up faster, and acceleration goes up. I can see how this would deceive people because quicker accelaraton (0-60mph) should mean that you have more power. But really what changed in the engine that affected the combustion which drives the pistons up and down faster? Nothing. You didn't even touch the engine. You just alleviated some of the load the engine works under by lightening up a component in the transmission making those gears and such spin up quicker.
Another illustration would be why people gut the interior of their cars to lighten it up. The lighter the car, the faster the 1/4 mile run will be. Nothing changed in the engine as a result of that, so no gains but faster times.
Another illustration would be why people gut the interior of their cars to lighten it up. The lighter the car, the faster the 1/4 mile run will be. Nothing changed in the engine as a result of that, so no gains but faster times.
Originally Posted by NmexMAX
If the graph went up faster, wouldn't that mean more power production .. So x dyno lasts 10 seconds and y dyno lasts 12 seconds ... both same cars/gear ratio ... That would mean more power ... I'm not trying to flame or anything, just trying to understand, as I too am doing the 5M swap this summer.
06-14-2005, 03:58 AM
#12
I have no experience with a LW flywheel on a maxima, but i did put one on a neon 
once, so i'll add a little...
On that car, it made a significant gain in 1st gear acceleration, and a small gain in 2nd gear too. But, drag racing didnt really show any gains (keep in mind this was a mid-15 sec neon), maybe a tenth. why? Coming off the line was a little tighter window between bog and spin (street tires). On a more powerful front-driver, a lw flywheel would probably help drag times if there's a lot of traction. if its already traction limited in 1st (street tires 14sec maxima) then i am skeptical that the drag times would improve much...though i'd still be tempted to get one knowing how much it helped my old car (on the street, SOTP).... hmm my 130k clutch has to need replacing at some point.
once, so i'll add a little...On that car, it made a significant gain in 1st gear acceleration, and a small gain in 2nd gear too. But, drag racing didnt really show any gains (keep in mind this was a mid-15 sec neon), maybe a tenth. why? Coming off the line was a little tighter window between bog and spin (street tires). On a more powerful front-driver, a lw flywheel would probably help drag times if there's a lot of traction. if its already traction limited in 1st (street tires 14sec maxima) then i am skeptical that the drag times would improve much...though i'd still be tempted to get one knowing how much it helped my old car (on the street, SOTP).... hmm my 130k clutch has to need replacing at some point.
06-14-2005, 09:52 AM
#14
I guess i was trying to make 3 points...
- the light flywheel felt awesome in 1st and 2nd gear on the street, car felt faster but also peeled out easier
- drag times didnt improve too much because launching was harder to do right... car would either bog or spin depending on launch rpm. i think i went from 15.5 to 15.4. Not really a cost-effective mod from the ET/$ perspective.
- if you're close to the traction limit in 1st gear already on street tires (not sure if this is true for your typical modded 4th gen or not) - then a LW flywheel wouldnt help ET much... since the gain is mostly in 1st gear. UNLESS you get more traction with slicks or DRs. then you could use all the extra acceleration that it would offer.
why does it mostly work in 1st and 2nd gear? that's because the motor winds up very quickly in those gears - which means more energy is wasted spinning up the drivetrain. LW flywheels give you back some of this wasted energy.
- the light flywheel felt awesome in 1st and 2nd gear on the street, car felt faster but also peeled out easier
- drag times didnt improve too much because launching was harder to do right... car would either bog or spin depending on launch rpm. i think i went from 15.5 to 15.4. Not really a cost-effective mod from the ET/$ perspective.
- if you're close to the traction limit in 1st gear already on street tires (not sure if this is true for your typical modded 4th gen or not) - then a LW flywheel wouldnt help ET much... since the gain is mostly in 1st gear. UNLESS you get more traction with slicks or DRs. then you could use all the extra acceleration that it would offer.
why does it mostly work in 1st and 2nd gear? that's because the motor winds up very quickly in those gears - which means more energy is wasted spinning up the drivetrain. LW flywheels give you back some of this wasted energy.
Oh you're back 
. . . . Is it worth the .3-.5k?
06-14-2005, 11:48 AM
#22
Under Drive Pulley, you need to read the thread, and go through the 
motions .. i.e read the stickys in all gens ...
Read post #6, there he gives you a price of $320 and if you've done a little research, you have seen them for ~500 ..
Post # 9 answeres your post #17 ... Try reading the thread before posting ..,.
motions .. i.e read the stickys in all gens ... Read post #6, there he gives you a price of $320 and if you've done a little research, you have seen them for ~500 ..
Post # 9 answeres your post #17 ... Try reading the thread before posting ..,.
06-14-2005, 12:09 PM
#23
Guest
Posts: n/a
Iam, for obviou$ rea$on$, still on hold to get an Unorthodox Racing Lightened Flywheel as well as their UDP. that combo goes over $500 easily but i drove another 95spd w/ my same mods and damn that things pick up faster than mine. Oh well... i liked it. its getting put. Period.
06-14-2005, 12:47 PM
#26
I've done this also to one of my stock VE flywheels. They took 3lbs off. Unfortunately, that's not really enough to do anthing. Stock flywheel is about 20-22lbs. The Fidanza for reference is about 10-11lbs. So about 1/2. And that's about what's needed to make a significant difference in performance.
Don't know what bijan has against the Unorthordox unit. Should SPECIFCALLY state what are wrong with them. As with the ring gear etc...they end up weighing about the same or more as the Fidanza. As proved by Blackbird.
Don't know what bijan has against the Unorthordox unit. Should SPECIFCALLY state what are wrong with them. As with the ring gear etc...they end up weighing about the same or more as the Fidanza. As proved by Blackbird.
Originally Posted by goodbye15's
I took a different route with getting a lighter flywheel. I took it down to where they resurface flywheels and he took about two pounds off. Only cost me 25 dollars.
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