lightweight flywheel good or bad?

mike12002us · 04-16-2013, 10:50 AM

So I was looking at upgrading my clutch and flywheel, however after talking to my stepdad who has raced for 25 years. He has only raced V8's though so a smaller engine might be different?? I was told that a lightweight flywheel will cause you to lose torque. I was a little curious so I did a little research online and found conflicting info on this subject. I was hoping that someone could shed a little light on this before I purchase anything. Also if anyone has one let me know how it feels performance wise. This is my first import car so im not sure how to tune these, sorry for the newb question. I come from a mustang background.

Chuck33079 · 04-16-2013, 10:55 AM

It'll rev up faster, but it'll be a little trickier to launch. It definitely makes the engine feel more responsive. If you're already in there doing a clutch, spring for the flywheel. Expect more noise.

kenchan · 04-16-2013, 11:22 AM

i think the stock flywheel is light enough for street use.

light flywheels are kind of a hassle to do congested traffic as it requires more rpm and/or longer slip.

Chuck33079 · 04-16-2013, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenchan

light flywheels are kind of a hassle to do congested traffic as it requires more rpm and/or longer slip.

I love my lightweight flywheel, but this is absolutely correct. It's a trade-off. Responsiveness vs. driveability.

MJB · 04-16-2013, 11:45 AM

I also love my lightened flywheel. It's 22lbs compared to the heavy 31lb oem. I haven't noticed any difficulty with drivability or anything, just a tiny bit more chatter when your stopped in neutral.

ZMan8 · 04-16-2013, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJB

I also love my lightened flywheel. It's 22lbs compared to the heavy 31lb oem. I haven't noticed any difficulty with drivability or anything, just a tiny bit more chatter when your stopped in neutral.

Does srm get affected by the lighter flywheel?

ShutokuZ · 04-16-2013, 12:11 PM

LW flywheels do not casue you to loose TQ, they just require you to keep the revs up, to stay in your required power band. As others have said, LW flywheels will rev faster, but they also drop revs a lot faster than normal FWs. If it was me, I would go with a good chromoly flywheel over an aluminum one.

MJB · 04-16-2013, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZMan8

Does srm get affected by the lighter flywheel?

Nope, none at all.

Chuck33079 · 04-16-2013, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZMan8

Does srm get affected by the lighter flywheel?

I haven't noticed any issues with SRM and my flywheel.

ZMan8 · 04-16-2013, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJB

Nope, none at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck33079

I haven't noticed any issues with SRM and my flywheel.

N1atmax · 04-16-2013, 04:11 PM

I had light weight flywheel with a street strip clutch on my old car. It would rev like a two stroke dirt bike with that light flywheel. It was alot of fun to drive hard but around town not so much, stop and go traffic had me swearing after a few minutes.

kenchan · 04-16-2013, 04:59 PM

yah, my buddy had a RX7 with a lightweight flywheel. he let me drive it. it was a chore getting that thing going in traffic especially up a long hill. heel & toe start each time.

Sway · 04-17-2013, 12:10 AM

I had a lw flywheel on my 2 previous cars, one a 9lb and the other a 13lb... the 9 lb was a pain when I first got it but I got used to it... anything heavier than that is easy now. Once you get used to it, it's no big deal.

In a nutshell without going into detail, the Z gets so much chatter because stock it's not a "single mass flywheel." So when you go to an aftermarket lw single mass, it throws everything off a bit and will make some chatter.

From what I've read, the following flywheel is the best way to shave off some rotational mass lbs and get your revs up quicker, without sacrificing too much Drivability, and out of all the flywheels, has the least amount of chatter, if any at all. Some people get a small amount of chatter with it, some get none. This is the flywheel I plan on going with.

ZSpeed Performance South Bend Clutch DXD Black Nissan Infiniti Flywheel

MJB · 04-17-2013, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sway

This is the flywheel I plan on going with.

ZSpeed Performance South Bend Clutch DXD Black Nissan Infiniti Flywheel

That is the flywheel I have

. Revs up quick, easy to drive, just a tad bit more chatter than oem. Zspeed's website has it listed at 24lbs, but they are actually 22lbs. According to Joe@Zspeed they are a bit lighter now since posted on the website and I weighed mine to confirm.

Japanjay · 04-17-2013, 12:52 AM

In my other car it is 7.5lbs paired with a stg4 unsprung. I DD it. No problems here.

04-16-2013, 10:50 AM	#1 (permalink)
mike12002us Base Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Charleston, SC Age: 40 Posts: 189 Drives: 2010 Sport 370z 6mt Rep Power: 13	lightweight flywheel good or bad? So I was looking at upgrading my clutch and flywheel, however after talking to my stepdad who has raced for 25 years. He has only raced V8's though so a smaller engine might be different?? I was told that a lightweight flywheel will cause you to lose torque. I was a little curious so I did a little research online and found conflicting info on this subject. I was hoping that someone could shed a little light on this before I purchase anything. Also if anyone has one let me know how it feels performance wise. This is my first import car so im not sure how to tune these, sorry for the newb question. I come from a mustang background. carlitos_370z likes this.

04-16-2013, 10:55 AM	#2 (permalink)
Chuck33079 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Houston Posts: 12,265 Drives: 2011 370ztt Rep Power: 29539	It'll rev up faster, but it'll be a little trickier to launch. It definitely makes the engine feel more responsive. If you're already in there doing a clutch, spring for the flywheel. Expect more noise. NismOrly22 likes this. __________________ 2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

04-16-2013, 11:22 AM	#3 (permalink)
kenchan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: N/A Posts: 76,801 Drives: N/A Rep Power: 141521	i think the stock flywheel is light enough for street use. light flywheels are kind of a hassle to do congested traffic as it requires more rpm and/or longer slip. Zoren 370 likes this.

04-16-2013, 11:45 AM	#5 (permalink)
MJB A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Tacoma, WA Age: 41 Posts: 1,498 Drives: a POS truck Rep Power: 496	I also love my lightened flywheel. It's 22lbs compared to the heavy 31lb oem. I haven't noticed any difficulty with drivability or anything, just a tiny bit more chatter when your stopped in neutral. __________________ 09 Nismo #0483 sold. Viper or C7 next time around.

04-17-2013, 12:10 AM	#13 (permalink)
Sway Track Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: TX Posts: 697 Drives: 2018 GTR Rep Power: 37871	I had a lw flywheel on my 2 previous cars, one a 9lb and the other a 13lb... the 9 lb was a pain when I first got it but I got used to it... anything heavier than that is easy now. Once you get used to it, it's no big deal. In a nutshell without going into detail, the Z gets so much chatter because stock it's not a "single mass flywheel." So when you go to an aftermarket lw single mass, it throws everything off a bit and will make some chatter. From what I've read, the following flywheel is the best way to shave off some rotational mass lbs and get your revs up quicker, without sacrificing too much Drivability, and out of all the flywheels, has the least amount of chatter, if any at all. Some people get a small amount of chatter with it, some get none. This is the flywheel I plan on going with. ZSpeed Performance South Bend Clutch DXD Black Nissan Infiniti Flywheel JARblue and ka24king like this. __________________ - White 2018 GTR FBO+E85 - Check out my old build thread: Sway’s Journal-Hitomi ~Live and let live!~

04-16-2013, 12:11 PM	#7 (permalink)
ShutokuZ Track Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Honolulu Posts: 512 Drives: 2013 PW 6MT Sport Rep Power: 14	LW flywheels do not casue you to loose TQ, they just require you to keep the revs up, to stay in your required power band. As others have said, LW flywheels will rev faster, but they also drop revs a lot faster than normal FWs. If it was me, I would go with a good chromoly flywheel over an aluminum one.

04-16-2013, 04:11 PM	#11 (permalink)
N1atmax Base Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 24 Drives: 2013 370z Nismo Rep Power: 12	I had light weight flywheel with a street strip clutch on my old car. It would rev like a two stroke dirt bike with that light flywheel. It was alot of fun to drive hard but around town not so much, stop and go traffic had me swearing after a few minutes.

04-16-2013, 04:59 PM	#12 (permalink)
kenchan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: N/A Posts: 76,801 Drives: N/A Rep Power: 141521	yah, my buddy had a RX7 with a lightweight flywheel. he let me drive it. it was a chore getting that thing going in traffic especially up a long hill. heel & toe start each time.

04-17-2013, 12:52 AM	#15 (permalink)
Japanjay Track Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Puyallup Posts: 856 Drives: 09 Nissan 370z MB M6 Rep Power: 14	In my other car it is 7.5lbs paired with a stg4 unsprung. I DD it. No problems here.

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