aluminum vs steel

After responding to a question on Ford's Motor Sports vs the King Cobra clutch, I got to wondering about the flywheel. Specifically the aluminum vs steel debate. I've read articles and I've talked to a couple engine builders and the opinions vary as to which is best on the street and on the track. Also, does the level of performance come into play and favor one material or the other. I've always been a believer in the heavier steel flywheel but others say go aluminum. My experience has been quicker 60ft times with the heavier aftermarket steel flywheel but maybe there's more e.t. to be had down the track with the aluminum. Anybody actually compared the two?

The guy who helps me out from time to time when i get stuck with something i cant figure out on my Cobra thinks that the difference youll see in a aluminum vs a steel flywheel would be negligible, and the cost to install would be about 700 to 800 bucks including the parts. If your car is an all out race car, then maybe its worth it, but if you still drive it on the street, maybe you should spend that money on something that will give you more performance for the dollar, like a cam or intake or exhaust. just my opinion, i tend to agree with him.

Aluminum of course. Are you high?

First I would agree that your money would be better spent on other performance parts. This is really only something that comes into play when your trying to squeeze every tenth out of a set-up.

Next 5.0 magazine about a year or so ago did a large 5-6 page article on aluminium vs. steel flywheels or more accurately heavy vs. light flywheels and how they effect 60 ft's and 1/4 ET's. You should try to hunt down the article or order the magazine on back-order but I believe the end result as that the aluminium flywheel(lighter) basically beat the heavier flywheel in all facets(60&1/4).

My 91 GT already has a decent collection of performance parts and runs 12.40 at 111mph. I saw an improvement in 60ft times and 1/4 mile times when I switched to the heavier Ram flywheel from the factory piece but I was still in the mid 13's at that time. I saw a article and from what I remember the aluminum did out perform the steel but they had to launch at a higher rpm to achieve the same 60ft times. But the aluminum did ultimately outperform the steel. I do all of that type of work myself so labor costs aren't a issue. I see Summit has them for about $410. If I were getting ready to buy another flywheel I might consider spending the extra $180 and get the aluminum. If the car ran .15-.2 quicker I would consider it worth the extra $. But I have a relatively new steel flywheel already so its hard for me to justify spending another $410 for maybe 2 tenths.

Also, at what point or e.t. is a car considered a race car? With performance levels what they are today, the distinction between race cars and street cars is blurred.