Need to ask about Lighten Flywheel
07-14-2003, 10:45 PM
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Need to ask about Lighten Flywheel
Hi everyone,
My service is due and the clutch is worn out so I need to replace it. I heard that you can get the stock flywheel lighten...is this correct? How much would it cost? Would it be effective?And lastly who does it ? Thanks
My service is due and the clutch is worn out so I need to replace it. I heard that you can get the stock flywheel lighten...is this correct? How much would it cost? Would it be effective?And lastly who does it ? Thanks
07-15-2003, 12:08 AM
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So that it would rev faster and feel more responsive. At the bottom end it feels abit slugish and I just want to make it rev abit quicker that all.
07-15-2003, 12:36 AM
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So that it would rev faster and feel more responsive.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but a flywheel cannot make your engine rev faster ... at least not when your car is in gear. When the car is in gear, the speed of your revs rising is purely dependant on the the accelerative ability of the car. Let's put it this way - you are rolling at 10kph in 1st gear (ie. 1300rpm) and then floor it. (Let's say) you will reach 60kph (ie. 7800rpm) in 3secs. This will not change if you have a lighter (or heavier) flywheel. The engine is trying to spin as fast as possible, but the speed of the car is holding it back ... untill you accelerate to 69kph in 1st, you will not reach the redline. I don't see what the flywheel has to do with this?
Thinking about it a bit more I would pressume that a lighter flywheel makes the revs drop quicker when you release the accelerator and you're in neutral (or the clutch is pressed in). This would be handy if you're making very quick up-changes and the OME flywheel does not allow the engine to drop to the 'right' revs quickly enough. That way the gearchange would 'match' the engine and tyre speed better and hence be smoother and less demanding on the synchos.
Thinking about it even more, I can see how the engine would rev quicker while in neutral (or with the clutch engaged). So it could speed up the down-shifts if the revs were holding you back before (ie. if you had to wait untill the revs reached the 'optimum' range).
Though, I'm no fly-wheel expert so maybe someone else can chime in .... I just don't see (or understand) how it culd make the engine rev quicker in particluar when the clutch/gearbox is engaged.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but a flywheel cannot make your engine rev faster ... at least not when your car is in gear. When the car is in gear, the speed of your revs rising is purely dependant on the the accelerative ability of the car. Let's put it this way - you are rolling at 10kph in 1st gear (ie. 1300rpm) and then floor it. (Let's say) you will reach 60kph (ie. 7800rpm) in 3secs. This will not change if you have a lighter (or heavier) flywheel. The engine is trying to spin as fast as possible, but the speed of the car is holding it back ... untill you accelerate to 69kph in 1st, you will not reach the redline. I don't see what the flywheel has to do with this?
Thinking about it a bit more I would pressume that a lighter flywheel makes the revs drop quicker when you release the accelerator and you're in neutral (or the clutch is pressed in). This would be handy if you're making very quick up-changes and the OME flywheel does not allow the engine to drop to the 'right' revs quickly enough. That way the gearchange would 'match' the engine and tyre speed better and hence be smoother and less demanding on the synchos.
Thinking about it even more, I can see how the engine would rev quicker while in neutral (or with the clutch engaged). So it could speed up the down-shifts if the revs were holding you back before (ie. if you had to wait untill the revs reached the 'optimum' range).
Though, I'm no fly-wheel expert so maybe someone else can chime in .... I just don't see (or understand) how it culd make the engine rev quicker in particluar when the clutch/gearbox is engaged.
07-15-2003, 01:22 AM
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Go to honda-tech.com and do a search... I've seen the fly wheel discussed a million times 
I am sure someone's said somethign useful in some of those posts
I am sure someone's said somethign useful in some of those posts
07-15-2003, 01:31 AM
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More useful for rev-matching when downshifting. However if you go too light a flywheel you will lose quite a bit of torque. The main thing to look for with lightweight flywheels is where the majority of the weight of the flywheel is, whether it be close to the centre or the outside.
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07-15-2003, 08:16 AM
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Reducing the weight of the stock flywheel can be very dangerous. The only way to reduce the weight on the stock flywheel is to machine material off the flywheel and make it thinner. Because the flywheel sees very high loads at 9,000 RPM, this can be catastrophic and when the flywheel breaks at high revs, it usually goes right through anything in its way including transmission housing, car body, legs...
I would suggest an aftermarket lightweight flywheel. These are made of stronger/less brittle materials and won't break.
A flywheel can make a large difference in acceleration. Anytime you accelerate a car, you must accelerate all rotating parts along with accelerating the vehicle mass. It takes power to accelerate the flywheel, clutch, wheels... and this power is not being used to accelerate the car (think about a stationary exercise bike, it requires power to spin even though it's not going anywhere). The biggest difference is in throttle response and shift speed, but it will improve acceleration.
A lighter flywheel will not decrease torque. It will make it easier to stall when taking off because the engine has less inertia (less tendency to maintain a constant RPM, hence the quicker acceleration).
I highly recommend getting the lightest flywheel you can find. It is an excellent improvement to a great car.
I would suggest an aftermarket lightweight flywheel. These are made of stronger/less brittle materials and won't break.
A flywheel can make a large difference in acceleration. Anytime you accelerate a car, you must accelerate all rotating parts along with accelerating the vehicle mass. It takes power to accelerate the flywheel, clutch, wheels... and this power is not being used to accelerate the car (think about a stationary exercise bike, it requires power to spin even though it's not going anywhere). The biggest difference is in throttle response and shift speed, but it will improve acceleration.
A lighter flywheel will not decrease torque. It will make it easier to stall when taking off because the engine has less inertia (less tendency to maintain a constant RPM, hence the quicker acceleration).
I highly recommend getting the lightest flywheel you can find. It is an excellent improvement to a great car.
Gearhead.... thanks for the 'logical' explanation and it was certainly similar to the benefits I had heard about lightend fly-wheels, from other sources!! 