wondering if i should do anything with my flywheel when i replace my clutch. Is it a noticable difference to lighten the stock flywheel? or should i buy an expensive aftermarket one? are the gains nice and does it affect drivability at all?
also, should i go with stock oem clutch, or is a stage 1 racing clutch better? My car is a 96 vtec, and will never be upgraded too much, just wondering if i could improve drivability and performance a bit while i'm replacing the clutch. any info appreciated, thanks

 

well, it depends what you want to do with your car? drag, auto x, etc. if you want drag, a heavier flywheel would be preferrable because it creates more inertia transferring more power to the wheels. if you want auto xing, a lighter one would be ideal because you can rev match easier and much faster. now for the clutch, i have an exeddy stage 1 clutch for daily driving and it's fine. very easy to engage clutch compared to the higher stages plus you'll have more fun with it

 

bump

 

I got a Jun (12 lb) flywheel during a clutch repair. It was the best upgrade I made, almost as good as the suspension improvements. It makes the car feel about 300 lbs lighter. It's just more fun to shift gears. The engine revs a bit faster under acceleration, as it doesn't have to move the stock 20 lb plus flywheel's centrifugal inertia. If you downshift under braking, you'll lose some braking effeciency with a lightened flywheel. You just have to use more brakes and have good tires. Be careful of aluminum flywheels. Under extreme conditions (racing or plowing through puddles of water with a hot flywheel) they can warp. Chrom Moly is more expensive, but won't warp.

 

its feels like a whole new car with a lightweight flywheel, accelerates alot faster.

the idle and stalling problems you hear about are just stories, yeah you will need to adjust the idle to get it right, and yeah you will probably stall out the first time driving on it, but the end result is a happy face

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by wannabe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> It was the best upgrade I made, almost as good as the suspension improvements</TD></TR></TABLE>

huh?

 

i don't think they're worth it, personally. Especially in a lightly modified street car. No real improvement in acceleration, it is easier to rev match--which is only truly useful on a road course (though i heel-toe everywhere now).

if i were to get one, i'd lighten an OEM one. 300 bucks is a lot of money to pay for a flywheel.

as far as clutches go, i'd go OEM. you don't need the extra holding power of a race clutch, and having lots of pedal effort is fun for 5 minutes, after that it's just a PITA. though, eventually you'll get used to it. the biggest thing for me is clutch chatter, but that's something people can live with.

 

I have had my Exeddy Stage 2 clutch and ACT prolite flywheel for a month now, wow what a difference it makes. The car seems to accellerate alot faster. Money well spent I think.

 

i also run the ACT Prolite flywheel on a turbo car. Usually people say dont use lighten flywheels on turbo cars and they can be a pain sometimes but i am having no problems.