ericdwong

Alright I both SEARCHED AND used the FAQ and came up with
"I had the stock unit lightened and balanced(with the pressure plate. Important!). Stock=19lbs lightened=16lbs. Not earth shattering but that's about how much you can safely take out. They took most of the meat out of the outer ring just under the ring gear. The VE needs to get to a certain rpm asap to activate the VTCs and get into the sweet part of the torque band(which is about 3300+ rpm) This thing is only 3 lbs lighter but I can tell the engine gets up and goes easier. Revs faster and keeps on revin'. Drivabilty has not suffered at all. Cost of the lightening/balancing/resurfacing = $160. Not bad considering aftermarket aluminum units cost $500+

Notes:
1) This mod was done on a VE30DE 1992 Maxima se with the following mods: Cattman Y, Random Technology cat, cat-back exhaust w/ a Y2K muffler, JWT cone intake.
2) Aftermarket units will weigh about 11-13lbs. That's another 3-6 lbs. less than the above mod.
3) This was done w/ a new OEM Nissan clutch(not Nissan Key Value). But aftermarket HD clutches would work fine or even better.
4) I'm happy with the mod and glad I broke down and did it. Something to consider come clutch replacement time."


As all of you might have gathered, I'm doin a clutch/flywheel job. This will be my first clutch/flywheel job, but I've dropped transmissions before so thats not new to me. I read from http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....tened+flywheel that the OE flywheel is NOT counterbalanced. However, I see that Jeff had his counterbalanced (with the pressure plate). If it is not counterbalanced from the factory, why does it need to be balanced now?

Also, I see the 3 pounds is the safe amount (I'm also assuming that the 2 flywheels are similar, as Jeff's is a 3rd gen and my car in question is a 4th gen-- but the ACT clutch kit I'm getting is used from 84-2001!). What is the translation here in terms of how many mm, or inches you had taken off? And, is counterbalancing necessary?

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

I'm not sure what you mean by counter balanced. ie.. some automotive cranks are counter balanced and some are not. Nissan flywheels are not counter balanced but when you take material off the flywheel, the unit should be balanced again(with the PP if possbile)

Put it this way, your wheels are not counter balanced but you still have to get them balanced as well correct?

As for the mm to be taken off where, Most of the material was taken out towards the outer edge where it would make the most difference. But not at the outer most edge! That would be the ring gear etc..!

If you plan to do this, make sure the place is a QUALIFIED MACHINE SHOP. I can't stress this enough.

Daniel B. Martin

A terminology problem has complicated this discussion. You seem to be using the terms balanced and counterbalanced as if they are synonyms. This is not correct. The two words are not equivalent.

A flywheel which is counterbalanced is deliberately unbalanced. It is out of balance to a specific degree and at a specific place in order to counteract an equal imbalance in a connected part.

The 400 cubic inch Chevy small block engine had such a narrow skirt that it could not accommodate the large counterweights which were needed to balance the engine. Chevy engineers solved this problem by making the crankshaft counterweights as large as possible, and then counterweighted the flywheel and harmonic balancer. In other words, the flywheel was deliberately unbalanced so as to counteract the imbalance of the crankshaft.

Now you can understand why the Nissan factory doesn't counterbalance the flywheel. They balance the flywheel.