I was thinking about installing an aluminum flywheel in my 2005 GT.
Benefits- Lighter and less rotating mass, faster engine revs
Cons- I've been told that aluminum flywheels require resurfacing every 20K miles and are prone to warping. Also, I would imagine the less rotating mass would lower the rotating inertia dropping the engine revs during shifting too quickly, losing your power range.
Can anyone enlighten me on this subject or have anything to add?
I've run one in another application (1967 Pontiac GTO, 400 ci) and can attest to the fact that the reduced mass affected how quickly the engine changed RPMs. The effect the aluminum flywheel had on driving was also very noticable as in made the car more "fun to drive". Some warned me that the change from a steel flywheel to aluminum would made the car very difficult to get rolling from a stop. Nope, hardly any change at all there. Once rolling stabbing the throttle resulted in what felt like more power and I think there actually was more available at the rear wheels since the motor didn't have to use power to spin up a 30 lb flywheel.
I did not put enough miles on the car to test the theory that a resurface would be required every 20K but after about 12,000 miles the Centerforce clutch worked as good as new. I would think resurfacing would depend a lot on how hard the clutch was used.
If I were replacing my clutch I would opt for the aluminum flywheel too seeing that it would be all apart at the time and the additional labor would be next to nothing. Go for it, I think you would like it.
I just recently installed the new Mcleod clutch with the aluminum flywheel and I can say without a doubt it makes a huge difference in how quick the car gets up in the RPM range. it does decel quicker also. But, no problems getting going from a stop and its alot of fun to drive. I would recommend it.. let me know if I can help or assist with the Mcleod flywheel..
I'm no expert, but I would imagine that if you lighten anything in the drivetrain in terms of rotational inertia (like adding an alum driveshaft), will effect the performance of your car. I know a lot of people on this forum either have or want (like myself) a lighter DS, for what I would imagine be the same reasons as installing a lighter flywheel...quicker transmission of power, faster rev's to redline, etc.
So if you are doing a clutch swap or trans swap, it's probably worth it to replace the flywheel with a lighter one, as long as it can take the abuse. I'm not so sure that it's worth doing on it's own though...too much hassle/money to do it when the rest of the transmission "consumables" are fine. However, when I burn through my first clutch (OOooo I can't wait...), I will be looking at a clutch/alum flywheel package.
Now, if I can only find some more newbies to teach to drive stick...
BTW, forum members...Does anyone know how much the stock (I'm assuming steel) flywheel weigh? Can it be "lightened" by a shop? i.e. having non-essential material ground off of the wheel to lower it's rotational inertia?
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'06 Clearcoat Black/Dark Charcoal Leather/Parchment Vinyl Top.
C&L CAI, BrenSpeed Tune, Pro5.0 Shifter, Steeda Sport Springs, Tokico D-Spec Struts/Shocks, Eibach Caster Camber Bolts
EPA Estimates say 17/25...so why am I getting only 13? Oh...wait...nevermind.
A question from a non mechanic so bare with me here. If you put in a lighter flywheel wont you hit the rev limiter quicker and not nescerally be going any faster. In short your car will get to the rpm limit quicker ,but are you going any faster? Remember I not a mechanic.
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07 GT. Exterior mods n/a. Engine mods, see profile.
One of the more powerful cars around.
One of the slower cars around.
Makes me feel like a kid every time.
BTW, forum members...Does anyone know how much the stock (I'm assuming steel) flywheel weigh? Can it be "lightened" by a shop? i.e. having non-essential material ground off of the wheel to lower it's rotational inertia?
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'06 Clearcoat Black/Dark Charcoal Leather/Parchment Vinyl Top.
C&L CAI, BrenSpeed Tune, Pro5.0 Shifter
EPA Estimates say 17/25...so why am I getting only 13? Oh...wait...nevermind.
LOL......not a metal worker I see. Actually to remove material from the flywheel, it would be chucked up in a lathe (which would spin the part using a tool attached to a tool post that is fixed to a cross-slide that allows movement of the tool across the face of the flywheel, the cross-slide sits on a carriage that moves the tool into the face of the flywheel, the further into the flywheel the tool goes the more material is removed, and that proceedure is refered to as a turning operation.)
the method used to deck or machine the surface of the block or the heads is known as milling. When turning on a lathe the part moves, when milling the tool or cutter moves. The cutter that is used in milling the block or heads is called a face cutter, it will have anywhere from 2 to 20 cutting inserts depending on the diameter of the facing cutter.
Grinding is what is done when working with hard metals or when a very fine finish is desired such as multi angle valve jobs used in high performance motors.
Mick, again, I'm no expert (or a machining expert as Terry has pointed out...turning, got it...), but I think this is how I think of it: The less mass there is in the rotating parts going from the engine to the wheels (like a flywheel and/or driveshaft), the less force it takes to rotate the wheels. And also, the ratio of the engine spinning to the wheels spinning is a fixed ratio, in each specific gear. So the faster your engine is getting to redline, the faster your wheels are getting to speed...unless you are roasting the tires...and that isn't all bad either.
So, the question still remains, is it possible to turn the stock flywheel to lighten or reduce it's rotational inertia?
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'06 Clearcoat Black/Dark Charcoal Leather/Parchment Vinyl Top.
C&L CAI, BrenSpeed Tune, Pro5.0 Shifter, Steeda Sport Springs, Tokico D-Spec Struts/Shocks, Eibach Caster Camber Bolts
EPA Estimates say 17/25...so why am I getting only 13? Oh...wait...nevermind.
Ok thanks. If the flywheel gets up to rpms faster than so shall your wheels. ( either burning rubber or actually getting traction )
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07 GT. Exterior mods n/a. Engine mods, see profile.
One of the more powerful cars around.
One of the slower cars around.
Makes me feel like a kid every time.
Ok thanks. If the flywheel gets up to rpms faster than so shall your wheels. ( either burning rubber or actually getting traction )
Yes this is right if you think about it if your in first gear and the rpms jump up quickly so will that be transmitted through the transmission to the rear and out to the tires. Lets see if I can get this right. Alum. flywheel will let you accelerate faster, but also the rpms will drop off quickly. With a steel flywheel it will accelerate slower but will sustain the rpms easier because of the rotating weight and drop off slower.
Quote:
Originally Posted by C5D
Mick, again, I'm no expert (or a machining expert as Terry has pointed out...turning, got it...), but I think this is how I think of it: The less mass there is in the rotating parts going from the engine to the wheels (like a flywheel and/or driveshaft), the less force it takes to rotate the wheels. And also, the ratio of the engine spinning to the wheels spinning is a fixed ratio, in each specific gear. So the faster your engine is getting to redline, the faster your wheels are getting to speed...unless you are roasting the tires...and that isn't all bad either.
So, the question still remains, is it possible to turn the stock flywheel to lighten or reduce it's rotational inertia?
As Terry has pointed out you can but you loose the strength of the flywheel. If you would cut it down and missed a shift at say 6500rpm you take the chance of the flywheel coming apart and thats not a good thing when you don't have a scatter shield. I never heard of anyone doing that just resurfacing it.
This is just a quick explination for it. If your racing thats completely different altogether.
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07 REDFIRE GT 5 SPEED 3.55 gears
C&L Racer CAI XCAL2/Seq signals/GTAs/Steeda UDP/CHE K Member Brace W/Torq Links/J&M LCA/Spider DS/PRO.50 Shifter Hurst handle & "T"/Meziere EO2/ARH LT catted H /Prothane MM/Delet Plates/SLP BOSS 429 Scoop/Accel COP/PowerSlot/Hawk Pads/Tokico D-Spec/CHE Panhard Bar Brace/Steeda Adj. Panhard Bar/BMR F/R Sway Bars/Cervini ducktail spoiler/BMR UCA Mount/CHE UCA/GT\CS Rear Cover/AMChrome Bullets 18x9/10s/Nitto 255/45&295/45
Tillman Dyno Tune 307HP/322TQ
I was thinking about installing an aluminum flywheel in my 2005 GT.
Benefits- Lighter and less rotating mass, faster engine revs
Cons- I've been told that aluminum flywheels require resurfacing every 20K miles and are prone to warping. Also, I would imagine the less rotating mass would lower the rotating inertia dropping the engine revs during shifting too quickly, losing your power range.
Can anyone enlighten me on this subject or have anything to add?
-cheers
I have had the aluminum flywheel in the car for nearly a year now and I have not seen any negative effects. I can drive the car as calmly as I wish and as agressively as I wish with no ill effects.
It is obvious that if you do 5-6 1/4 mile runs in te span of 1/2 hour that you will overheat the clutch and flywheel but I have done exactly the same thing with the factory flywheel.
The Aluminum flywheel has a steel friction surface so it should last just as long as a factory flywheel. The added advantage is that it has a replaceable friction surface so for $60.00 it is like new again.
The other advantage is that it is SFI certified so it can be used on a car running sub 11.50 in the 1/4 mile.
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05 White GT Premium 5 Sp. IUP, Active Alarm
BMR, C&L, Centerforce, Fidanza, FRPP, GI Joe, JBA, JDM Engineering, LPW, Saleen, SCT, Steeda, SOS
Just a side note, one of my first cars was a Saturn SC-2 that I put an intake, header and TB on to give it a little more punch. When it came time to do the clutch I had them shave almost 5 pounds off the existing flywheel and it made a very nice difference just those 4.8 pounds less of rotating mass. You would not see it as HP to the wheels but it will improve in how quickly you can run through the gears. It's like instead of 1st taking 2 seconds to reach redline it now takes 1.7 seconds. This does mean faster 0-60 and so on.
Also from what I have read lightweight flywheels are especially useful on the track, you can stay in gear just that bit much longer before downshifting and as I mentioned get to that shift point that much quicker.
But when it comes to serious drag racing lightweight is not what you want, actually many put heavier flywheels on for that insane launches. When you need all that mass....dropping the clutch at 6000 RPM. God knows I would never dream of doing that to my car....lol
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2006 GT Premium 18"
JLT 2 CAI, SCT 2 Evo tune, LT Kooks headers, X-pipe, High-flow Cats, Borla S-type, Hurst Short Throw, Sequential, Tint, and 12" Stripes.
"All of us who are human beings are in the image of God. But to be in his likeness belongs only to those who by great love have attached their freedom to God."
I have had the aluminum flywheel in the car for nearly a year now and I have not seen any negative effects. I can drive the car as calmly as I wish and as agressively as I wish with no ill effects.
It is obvious that if you do 5-6 1/4 mile runs in te span of 1/2 hour that you will overheat the clutch and flywheel but I have done exactly the same thing with the factory flywheel.
The Aluminum flywheel has a steel friction surface so it should last just as long as a factory flywheel. The added advantage is that it has a replaceable friction surface so for $60.00 it is like new again.
The other advantage is that it is SFI certified so it can be used on a car running sub 11.50 in the 1/4 mile.
thump_rrr - thanks for the info, you hear 1000 different opinions from people around you, I wanted someone who has actually run this application, sounds like after a year in your car, this would be a good mod.
Aluminum flywheel for 2005 GT pros and cons? 
