I have an Integra GS and i have a GSR 5 speed transmision with Limited Slip Diferential and i was wondering if i should get a lightened flywheel.........

I was wondering what the advantages and disadvantages of having a lightened flywheel would be, how is it different, is it worth 400 bucks, is it benifical, i drive in traffic everyday so how will it affect that, will i still be able to chirp my tires?

Would you do it?

Thanks for the response....i really need it.

 

its a lotta fun, rev much quicker. i have a clutch masters and i like it, something like 7.2lbs. only 300 i think.

 

I love mine. The revs come and go very quickly.

 

the lighter the flywheel, the more horsepower you can control (for lack of a better explanation). you will be able to accelerate quicker and decelerate quicker as well. you don't need to waste your money on an aluminum flywheel, you can just turn your existing flywheel to the minimum thickness and get the same result. just like turning your rotors to get the rust off, or to make them stop better. most flywheel's are a lot thicker than needed. it will only cost you no more than 50 bucks to lighten the flywheel - if you can take your tranny off and put it back together yourself, that is.


[Modified by crxplus, 3:15 AM 9/13/2001]

 

Question,

I've heard that if a flywheel is too light you can damage the motor due to the quicker reving. Why/how does this happen?

Thanks

 

thrombosis- I would say that a light weight flywheel would definitely be worth it if you put it in yourself or have it put in with your clutch when it goes out, but not if you pay someone to put it in specifically. It is different in that it reacts much more quickly to changes in engine speed, allowing the engine to rev quicker because it is not spinning as much weight. I have a CM 7.35 pound flywheel on my daily driver and it works just fine, though I also don't drive in bumper to bumper traffic. It basically just requires more clutch when starting off.

Christine- I am not sure about a lighter flywheel damadging the motor due to quicker revs. If any thing I would think it would extend the life of the motor because it is not working as hard to accelerate the motor. The only damadging effect I can think of is if the flywheel is off balance thereby throwing the rotating assembly of the motor off balance and causing excessive wear on bearings and other internals, but I am no expert. If I am wrong on any of this, someone please correct me. Hope this helps.

 

I had my factory flywheel machined to 11 lbs, i think... I was told it was unsafe to run NOS on it which pissed me off b/c I was planning on doing that one day. Is this true? I was informed that the flywheel could shatter and that would just be plain bad. Let me know if you can help me, thanks!

 

A lightened stock (cast iron) flywheel can indeed shatter, and yes, that is very very bad. You do not want 11 lbs worth of iron chunks ripping through the cockpit of your Integra. I don't know what the odds of this happening are, but I do know it is possible.

I have a JUN 10 lb flywheel which is made of forged cromoly steel. It is 200% stronger than an unlightened stock flywheel and not prone to warping like an aluminium flywheel. Driving is easy. It requires a bit more clutch slippage at launch, but it feels pretty natural. The improvement in acceleration and throttle response is amazing. It was one of the most worthwhile upgrades I ever made to my car.

 

Hwo much did that flywheel cost, and where can i get one?

 

They cost about $400 new.

I got mine from a company called "Generation Performance," but I think they went out of business. Any place that can get JUN parts should be able to get one though.

It may sound pricy, but I considered that I spent $320 on a DC header that made less of a noticeable difference in performance and figured $400 for a flywheel was OK.


[Modified by Mycroft Holmes, 7:36 PM 9/14/2001]

 

I got my clutchmasters from nrg-racing, for 280 shipped, like the flywheel alot, quick revs.

 

get a clutch masters 7lb. flywheel.................

 

If you're on a budget, just get the ITR flywheel if you haven't already. 14lbs. Not that light but it's lighter than most bseries honda flywheel.

 

It's well worth it. The engine revs quicker and it's really fun for heal and toe braking when you go into a corner. The only disadvantage is when your going up hill you will notice a drop in power, because their isn't enough weight in the fly wheel to keep it spinning. It has do to with the enertial energy (far to long a discussion in physics). Get your stock one machined, the one in my bros car is at 7pounds. This is right on the limit.

 

Ok the real deal with a lightened flywheel is you will see gains in horsepower, but you will see losses in torque.

 

"Ok the real deal with a lightened flywheel is you will see gains in horsepower, but you will see losses in torque."

Not flaming, but how can this possibly happen? Please explain yourself.

 

I would strongly discourage lightening your stock flywheel to 9lbs. or less. That is a lot of material being removed. The chances of damage are significantly increased. I suggest the Toda, Jun and Spoon flywheels (www.b17a.com) but they are pricey. They aren't aluminum are of strong high-quality construction. I wouldn't go as low 7.5lbs. A lighter flywheel does mean a lighter rotating assembly (less stress) but it is also very difficult to correctly balance. I wouldn't consider going lower than 9.5lbs.

You'll notice a large difference if you lightened you stock wheel to 11lbs-12lbs.

 

Bro it is just my experiance.....

 

Since you have lightned the fly wheel, there is not as much spinning weight/mass, thus you loose some of the torque.

 

No, you just loose the "torquey feel" of a heavy mass flywheel. You store energy there. And when you store energy you lose it to storage. Lightening the fly wheel means less energy stored there, more energy to your wheels.

 

It's impossible to lose torque & gain horsepower at the same time.

HP = (RPM X Torque) / 5252

 

heh i gots one for ya
im gonna be running 15+lb of boost eventually
what kind of flywheel should i get

 

"No, you just loose the "torquey feel" of a heavy mass flywheel. You store energy there. And when you store energy you lose it to storage. Lightening the fly wheel means less energy stored there, more energy to your wheels."

Do you know whether or not this is any kind of significant number?


"It's impossible to lose torque & gain horsepower at the same time.
HP = (RPM X Torque) / 5252"

Thank you.

 

I've been thinking about it more, and I should modify my statement. It is possible to lose torque & gain horsepower, just not at the same rpm.

If one were to get aftermarket cams which killed all low-end torque, and moved it higher in the rpm range, you would gain a lot of horsepower. And there is the possibility (like if you have a intake manifold that sucks at high rpms) that you will not make as much torque up high as you did down low. The VW VR6 is an example of where this might occur. In this instance, you would technically, "lose torque & gain horsepower".

If by "torque", you mean low-rpm pulling power (as is often the case when someone describes a motor as "torquey"), then losing torque & gaining horsepower is quite easy.

But there is no way a lighter flywheel would do any of this.

The only disadvantages a lightened flywheel might have are:
1) driveability
2) durability
3) loss of power going up hills (less inertia)