Lightened Flywheel?

[Rob]

Been chatting to a mate of mine with a pretty powerful Focus and he was recommending I get my flywheel lightened.

Anyone able to tell me exactly what benefits I should see?

Also, how much ROUGHLY should I expect to have to pay an engineering firm to have the work done?

Cheers, Rob 8)

 

[Spoony]

The benefits are that it can knock nething up to bout half a second off ur 0-60 time but the car loses a bit of torque when pulling up hills!!

Is a good mod i wud say

 

[Gambit]

car will rev quicker, but will also drop the rev's quicker. so you need to get good balance on just how much to remove in order to keep that bit of normal drivability.

otherwise you can find yourself driving up a hill going to change gear and the rev's just plummeting

hence why its good for race cars cause they are generally always at 3/4 - full throttle so less chance of the rev's plummeting

can be good if done correctly

 

[Fast_CAV]

No point on a std engine at all...will cost u more in labout costs that actually getting it done...costs about £60 for ure average flywheel...
I have 1 And I assure u takes to torque what so ever away from the car...
But makes alot of diff to the speed the car picks up...

 

[Mr 106]

basically, it reduces transmission losses.

 

[Rob]

Fast_Cav, engine has a wee bit done at the min and I have a fair bit planned for it..

Is an engineering firm the kinda place I could trust with it or is it essential to take it to a race mechanic? Surely with the instructions from a good race mechanic, an engineering firm would be able to lighten the flywheel by their recommendations and then have it balanced so it doesnt wobble all over the place?

 

[Fast_CAV]

Smith engineering cookstown do all that sort of engineering...They know what to take off and what not to etc...

 

[Richy]

yeah, go to a place that knows what they're at, ive heard of ppl gettin too much took off and it flying out like a buzz saw

 

[MR2 super GT]

or get one thats already made for your car and that wont happen

 

[Rob]

or get one thats already made for your car and that wont happen

costs too much money!


Im unsure as to whether I wanna lose the pulling power up hills, will this be really noticeable? It kinda puts me off having it done... Will the gains outweigh the disadvantages? :?

 

[Dermot]

or get one thats already made for your car and that wont happen

costs too much money!


Im unsure as to whether I wanna lose the pulling power up hills, will this be really noticeable? It kinda puts me off having it done... Will the gains outweigh the disadvantages? :?

There is No real disavantages other than its £60-£120 to get it lightened
If your Not a Mechanic, You'll have to pay one to Remove the Gearbox, Clutch, and Flywheel... Then put it all back together again ... ( £100-£400)

And you'll Be without a Car for a few days....

 

[VEN©M]

the labour involved is indeed the killer here as dermot just pointed out.

lightening the pulley within reason is fine...usually 20-30% on most road application will do no harm.

 

[Rob]

Im pretty handy and have access to a wide selection of tools so I dont think labour would be a problem really, just do it myself along with a friend who is also a handy buck..


So if I take it out and get 25% taken off it and wail it back in, Ill be £60 lighter in the pocket roughly but should notice a good difference?

 

[VEN©M]

she'll be more responsive and the revs will pick up quicker.

worth noting that you won't gain any bhp, just reducing what youre engine loses.

 

[Dermot]

Im pretty handy and have access to a wide selection of tools so I dont think labour would be a problem really, just do it myself along with a friend who is also a handy buck..


So if I take it out and get 25% taken off it and wail it back in, Ill be £60 lighter in the pocket roughly but should notice a good difference?

Amm, At 25% (I cant imagine a 1.6 Flywheel bein that heavy) I wouldnt think you'll notice any Difference... The Car will be faster because you've less money in your pocket when driving it...

My V6 Flywheel, is 15KG ... Smith in C-Town Reckoned they could take it 12KG and Balance it for a Neat little £120... When I could have Bought a Brand new one weighing 3.4KG From courtnay for £240 ...?

Fast_CAV's flywheel is about 50% lighter and I only noticed it a slight bit quicker Reving up, and slowing down when you back off...

I Hope the 1.6 Gearboxes are nothing like the 2.0 Turbo 4x4 Gearboxes to get out or you'll be having ohh so much fun...

But if you get it done, Post up and let everyone know what ya think etc...

 

[Rob]

OK Cheers Dermott for that info, thats the kind of stuff I wanted to know

(btw shes a sporty 1.8 )

Ill have a chat with a guy in Scotland who has had it done and see if he thinks it will be worthwhile, and let you know what his thoughts are. I dont fancy parting with the guts of a hundred quid if it could be better spent elsewhere....

 

[al-sw20]

You are gonna get what you pay for in terms of quality.

If you buy an off the shelf item it will be usually made out of alumnium or cromoly, significantly lighter than the steel used in your current flywheel.

 

[Fast_CAV]

another solution take ure flywheel out...will rev really fast

 

[Rob]

Aluminium flywheel = $400 plus postage

I think Ill spend my money elsewhere and if/when the time comes ill look into it

 

[al-sw20]

Yeah its a good mod, decreasing the rotational mass is bloody affective, If I was you id change to a decent clutch at the same time if you want to get some power out of the car at some stage 8)

 

[Dermot]

Scrob - Is there Much Differences in the 1.8 Block and the 2.0 Turbo Block? Will the 2.0 Exhaust manifold fit your 1.8 ? ... You Could Probley Lower the Compression on your 1.8 and Turbo it Pretty cheap... Turbo's for impreza's are only penny's... and I mean pennys... £40 will buy you one from Mc Keevers... Manifold ? £50 at a Guess... Hmmm, Could be worth thinking about...

 

[Rob]

I was thinking about that myself Dermott, not sure if the RS manifold bolts on or not but is definately an idea to think about

Surely Id need a fair bit of other work tho to make it work PROPERLY? Stand alone management etc?

 

[Dermot]

Hmmm, Well you would want to go paying nearly a Grand for a set of Low Comp Pistons ... So You Wouldnt be running that high a boost anyway...

At the end of the day... And Turbo is just an Air Feed... It forces air into the cylinders.. Like Running stupidly low Boost Im sure you could see a 30-50BHP Increase

 

[al-sw20]

Will the ecu handle boost tho?

My guess is that as soon as it sees postive pressure it will go into limp mode or pull the timing negating any hp increase because of boost.

 

[Dermot]

Well if that was the case you'd have to get the ECU Remapped... But I Cant see it mattering on a Low boost? its just like having a Mental Cold air feed thats ramming cold air in?