Effects of lightweight flywheel? [merged] light weight lightened aluminum ACT fidanza

[Fryguy]

All light weight flywheel newbie threads are merged here.

I'm looking for my car to be very fast at lower speeds; my main goal is very fast acceleration. Will a lightweight flywheel be beneficial to this? Or should I just save up all my money and drop a turbo on my 84k engine

 

[river]

if you like gaining anywhere from 40-60 HP from lighening up your drivetrain then yes, they are worth it (lightened flywheels). I would not have a car without it. standalones are complicated and hard to even get to baseline...go with dsmlink.

 

[Generation1JeY]

the reason why the boost drops from a lightened flywheel is not cause of the big turbo or anything like that. It doesnt matter what turbo u have the rpms are going to drop a lot faster when u let ur foot off the gas with a lightened flywheel.

This happens because its so light it doesnt have as much momentum or inertia to keep spinning. With a really heavy flywheel it will rev a lot slower, but when u let ur foot off the gas on a flat road the rpms will drop a lot slower just because its so heavy that it keeps itself and the crank spinning.

It doesn't make the biggest difference in the world, but u will waste a little more gas, and when driving up a steep hill the second u take ur foot off the gas the rpms will rocket downward.

Previously said though if ur willing to accept those downsides u can pick up faster revving and a few extra horsepower from a lighter flywheel.

 

[GSXRolla]

I was having a hard time stating exactly that If you're able to keep the turbo w/in the effective boost range, then there's no probs. If the RPM's drop too fast, it might be hard doing that.

 

[amp9211]

Before i got mine, I was told that the lighter the flywheel, the less streetable the car. I don't know how much of that I believe, though. I think that some people will use stockers when drag racing to keep the transmition speed up. A lightener one would give more throttle response if you were doing say SCCA racing. I went with the ACT Streetlite and am very happy with it. But unless you are doing clutch or tranny work on your car in the near future, I would just hold off on it until then.

 

[firefighter_637]

so i wanna get a new flywheel and i was wondering whether or not the fidanza flywheel is a really good one or not, i like the sound of it being 8 pounds and sending 25 horsies straight to the wheels let me knoe what ya think!!!

 

[Staytuned]

Loved mine the minute I took it out.

 

[paul s]

I had it on my car for the past 4 years and I love it.

 

[firefighter_637]

so one negative one good huuum????? need more input guys!!! thanks!!!

 

[Staytuned]

Loved mine the minute I took it out.

I meant I loved it the minute I took the car out ...it's awesome.

 

[Crazyjoker777]

i have to agree with these guys iv only had mine for a week though but its great engine revs much faster/smoother now only badside is that i lost the ability to blow off while parked but a small price to pay

 

[firefighter_637]

sweet looks like i made a good choice!!! will it work real good with act 2600 ya think???

 

[Staytuned]

Yes Paul S and I have ACT 2600's. Look into longer flywheel bolts as the Fidanza is 4mm thicker at the mounting holes. We didn't but wish we had ....no problems yet from them backing out, but the piece of mind knowing they won't would be great.

 

[oztofrdm]

hey guys i have a Q. about the flywheel to, I am more of a AutoX/roadcourse guy and what i have read the Fidanza is the right wheel for my aplication. But i still love going on the Strip everyonce in awhile just to see what the car can do, every post that i have read everyone says that because it takes more inertia to catch its not the greatest for drag and you have to launch at a higher rpm. that doesnt sound to much of a problem just because most of the time i will be autox/roadcourse and daily driver. Can someone decribe the launch to me???

 

[dsmpride]

I guess I like mine. I didn't really feel the effects of it on performance b/c I did so much to the car all at once. Is anyone else getting just insane clutch chatter with their Fidanze? I don't really care about it... but anyone else who would care about chattering issues should take it into consideration before getting the flywheel.

About lauching...my car still will launch like none other. Granted I had to learn how to drive all over again with such a lightweith fw and the pucked clutch, but I have absolutely no problem with launches.

Kent

 

[espinelli]

I like mine as well and yes its a nice piece. I'm not having any trans chatter issues, but I think thats normal. It all depends on the type of disk/clutch your running. (street disk 4puck, 6puck, sprung hub etc)

The only problem I've ran across is that on rare occasion my starter/plunger gets stuck on the flywheel and it won't turn over. Have any of you guys experienced this problem? FWIW, my bottom end is a 2.3 7Bolt.

 

[Staytuned]

hey guys i have a Q. about the flywheel to, I am more of a AutoX/roadcourse guy and what i have read the Fidanza is the right wheel for my aplication. But i still love going on the Strip everyonce in awhile just to see what the car can do, every post that i have read everyone says that because it takes more inertia to catch its not the greatest for drag and you have to launch at a higher rpm. that doesnt sound to much of a problem just because most of the time i will be autox/roadcourse and daily driver. Can someone decribe the launch to me???

I noticed the lack of inertia in the Fidanza wheel .....but what I gain in being able to spool the engine up is far greater.

 

[oztofrdm]

thanks for the responds sounds like i will be picking one up on my next paycheck along with a nice street clutch, maybe a 3inch down pipe if im lucky (my car is still basicly stock)

 

[ClevSilverEclip]

I'm also looking into this change.....

I'm on a ACT 2600 currently - previous owner of the car put down about 260whp on a Mustang dyno with the current setup, and I'm more than satisfied with the car's forward performance. I'm too old to street-race, and don't have time (nor the money, !) for the strip or AutoX, so basically, this is my daily grocery-getter.

As such, my question is mainly focused on streetability.

I know from researching previous posts and reading this one that spool-up will improve (not that I'm complaining about my current setup, which suits my driving habits - most of the time as an "old man"), but what will happen to low-RPM drivability?

Am I going to be cursing myself every time I get off the line at a stoplight or when I'm stuck in traffic?

Thanks!

-A

/

 

[Sean485]

ACT 2900 w/ street disk and 8lb fidenza... Left leg gets a bit tired in stop and go traffic from the clutch but the less inertia doesnt bother me.

 

[ClevSilverEclip]

Sounds good, Sean.

My legs are pretty strong, no complaints about pedal pressure at all. Just wondering about overall driveability.

-A

/

 

[leet]

It can be driven at parking lot speeds with a Fidanza, yes.Might be a semi-rough ride, but it's doable easily enough.

Regular street driving is not affected. Starting from a stop is just as easy as with an OEM unit.

I've used one for over a year now, with a 2600. Absolutely no complaints.

Make sure you replace your rubber clutch tubing with a braided steel piece, it also gets rid of the FCU (wierd fluid collector thing). Pedal feel is VASTLY improved.

 

[ClevSilverEclip]

Well, looks like when this clutch goes, another of the same plus this flywheel will make its way in!

Thanks for the comments.

-A
/

 

[Rice Killer]

I used this flywheel in my 12sec Talon, but I just removed it, it had about 18k on it. My friction surface is pretty much toast and the PP bolt threads are stripped out in 2 differient places, oh yeah one of the dowel pins also almost completely fell out. I say stick with ACT, that's what I'm using now, and it can be resurfaced unlike the Fidanza. Fidanza also wanted to charge me $125 just to fix my flywheel, they can kiss my ass.

 

[Attack Eagle]

I'm also looking into this change.....

I'm on a ACT 2600 currently - previous owner of the car put down about 260whp on a Mustang dyno with the current setup, and I'm more than satisfied with the car's forward performance. I'm too old to street-race, and don't have time (nor the money, !) for the strip or AutoX, so basically, this is my daily grocery-getter.

As such, my question is mainly focused on streetability.

I know from researching previous posts and reading this one that spool-up will improve (not that I'm complaining about my current setup, which suits my driving habits - most of the time as an "old man"), but what will happen to low-RPM drivability?

Am I going to be cursing myself every time I get off the line at a stoplight or when I'm stuck in traffic?

Thanks!

-A

/

SO far I have about 120 miles on mine... ONCE I got the clutch properly adusted
(ACT 2600 Pressure Plate + Street Disc added along with the 6 bolt swap and 3" dp) I loved it, and am loving it more and more.

You do have to be more careful when starting from a stop sign or in traffic as the lower inertia + clutch actually makes the car stallable, but you will adapt quickly. I also bumped my base idle to near 900 rpms which helped a lot.

I was going to install an SS line also, but the upper fitting was so siezed that it just rounded off even with a line wrench... With the Accumulator in place (for now) the clutch pressure is no worse than any other clutch i have driven on trucks or older sports cars...

 

[mokkema]

^what that says....


I'm heading to AMS today to pick up one or the other...just wondering if anyone had any particular preference between the two lightweights.

Let me know b4 12 noon today, hopefully I'll have had my mind made up.


(i'm leaning towards the ACT w/ my ACT 2100 clutch)