Aluminum Flywheels

[martin'steg]

I have 90 integra and I'm building up the engine over the winter. One of the items on my list of possible mods is an aluminum flywheel weighing 9 lbs. I have been told several conflicting theories on these, so I thought i would ask the experts. This is a list of my current mods to help with the decision process on the flywheel:
- intake/exhaust/header
- port/polish head/intake (currently being done)
- ignition/wires
- aluminum pulleys
- enlarged throttle body
- fuel pump/pressure regulator

The following are the different "facts" I've been told about aluminum flywheels:
- they are only for turbo applications to help reduce turbo lag
- not for use on NA engines
- poor quality/wear out fast/never balanced properly
- work AMAZINGLY well on all applications
- for use only in race applications
... the list goes on

It would be extremely helpful if anyone could help shed some light on this issue. Thanx.

[whtteg]

I f you don't mind some constructive criticism then I will throw in my .

- intake/exhaust/header good, get a high flow cat like carsound.
- port/polish head/intake (currently being done) get some cams and valve springs to go with that, and new valves if you are thinking about big shots of N20 in the future.
- ignition/wires Stock ignition has been proven to be just as good as aftermarket ignitons on N/A motors
- aluminum pulleys Biggest waste of money and will destroy your rotating assembly if you change the crankshaft pulley
- enlarged throttle body good
- fuel pump/pressure regulator Not needed if you are not going FI, but if you do get one I would suggest the Walbro fuel pump and the B&M FPR.

I would aslo add some forged pistons while you have it torn apart, along with some rods if you can afford it. If you are gong N/A then i would also suggest a girddle for the crankshaft.

Now for the Aluminum flywheel, I have had 1st hand experience with them and I will never, ever, ever,ever as long as I live buy or let one of my friends buy one! Get a chromoly flywheel and it will last a long time and they (unlike aluminum) will be stronger than the stock flywheel. Exedy, and ACT both make some good ones.

That was my opinon, so don't get offened if you don't like anything that I put in there.

[martin'steg]

dude, no offence taken, thanx for the advice, any info i get is helpful. much appreciated.

[ibsixubnine03]

r the chromoly flywheels made light weight also?

[whtteg]

Originally Posted by ibsixubnine03

r the chromoly flywheels made light weight also?

Yep

[copasetic808]

Originally Posted by ibsixubnine03

r the chromoly flywheels made light weight also?

my question is how much do they compare in price to the aluminum????and where would you go about getting one..just on the internet???cause i was gonna go put in a new flywheel in about a month..

[whtteg]

http://www.groupbuycenter.com/buy.aspx?id=14128 come on guys use some searching skills BTW this is one of the best ones on the market right now IMO and you can also get them to put together a clutch/flywheel package too.

[Milliardo]

Looks like I made a good choice on the ACT flywheel then. I've heard aluminium flywheels warping, so I really thought hard before getting a lightened flywheel.

[Venge@nce]

Originally Posted by whtteg

Get a chromoly flywheel and it will last a long time and they (unlike aluminum) will be stronger than the stock flywheel. Exedy, and ACT both make some good ones.[/color]

That was my opinon, so don't get offened if you don't like anything that I put in there.

Don't ever get a steel flywheel. Stick with aluminum. Many people have been seriously injured from light wheight steel flywheels, and I'm pretty sure some have died. When steel(chromoly) is pushed to it's limits, it doesn't "give" or deform like aluminum does, it shatters. If you are going to be ignorant and still go with steel, then atleast get a scatter shield. Here is what can happen if you run a lightened steel flywheel. Good thing he had a scatter sheild...

[whtteg]

Originally Posted by Venge@nce

Don't ever get a steel flywheel. Stick with aluminum. Many people have been seriously injured from light wheight steel flywheels, and I'm pretty sure some have died. When steel(chromoly) is pushed to it's limits, it doesn't "give" or deform like aluminum does, it shatters. If you are going to be ignorant and still go with steel, then atleast get a scatter shield. Here is what can happen if you run a lightened steel flywheel. Good thing he had a scatter sheild...

Those are cases where the stock flywheels are lightened at a machine shop. And also the stock flywheel and the Chro-moly are totaly different. The chro-moly flywheels "(quality brands) are at the least 2 times stronger than the factory flywheel and some times as high as 10 times. The aluminum flywheel is not near as strong as the chro-moly. Get some real info about why not to use a product or stop bashing it!


Go do some reasearch before you try to correct someone noob

[Venge@nce]

LMAO, it's funny how some people think number of posts means a damn thing. That being said...
High carbon steels tend to be more fragile than lower grades. The steel flywheels mentioned here are a good example. You might note that NASCAR only allows mild steel tubing for the roll cages in the cars. This is because they do not want contact to break a tube. It's much preferred that the tubing deform and "give".
When you make a steel part exceptionally light weight, you're going to sacrifice overall strength of the component, just as you'd do with any other lightened components.
If you take a look at damned near all the components that the Jap tuning experts sell, it should painfully clear that their "stuff" is designed for what "they" do in Japan.....run N/A race cars on smooth tracks. Their parts (including engine goodies) are know as 5,000 mile "specials" everywhere else in the world. They are not designed for everyday driving and repeated cycling.
On a flywheel, you can't have hi-grade steel contacting and wearing with hi-grade steel. This is just one of the incompatibility problems that exists between the flywheel teeth and those of the starter. Those components will destroy each other in a relatively short time span.
On the flywheels, once you have created a tiny fracture at the OD, the crack will continue to spread into the center, especially since there is considerable pressure (pressure-plate and disk) and rotational forces working on it.
This is a potential disaster waiting to happen.
An aluminum flywheel might be a touch heavier than the light-weight steel units. I suspect that, if you look where a flywheel's mass is relative to the center of the crank, the aluminum flywheel's mass is probably located a greater distance from center, so it's more difficult to accelerate (than light-weight steel flywheels).
The aluminun alloys used for flywheels are far more deformable and MUCH less likely to crack or break.

[whtteg]

Originally Posted by Venge@nce

The aluminun alloys used for flywheels are far more deformable and MUCH less likely to crack or break.

Ok I have removed 2 aluminum flywheels from people's cars that were cracked and some warped, and I have never had to remove an chro-moly flywheel from a car for any reason. The aluminum's down fall is that is does not disapate heat properly and it WILL warp and it WILL crack from the excessive heat that is not being disapated properly and it WILL cause problems. And for the "On a flywheel, you can't have hi-grade steel contacting and wearing with hi-grade steel" the ring gear is not made of the same material as the chro-moly flywheel it is usually the stock or stock replacement ring gear.
And yeah maybe the aluminum is a better choice for a car that is torn down and rebiult after every race but here in the more common practical world the chro-moly would be better.

Also the Japenese manufactors use aluminum huh, well Toda and Spoon use chro-moly so who are these "Jap tuners", because Spoon is the #1 honda/acura tuner in japan


And you just assume that because I have a high post count that I think I know something, well I don't know it all but I do know alot.

[whtteg]

Here is some more info for you http://www.todaracing.com/topics/art...el_design.html

Do you have any fisical info to direct people to about your opinon?

[SenseiAccord]

Yea i hear that chromoly is the way to go with flywheels. I dont have any experience cuz right now a lightweight flywheels costs to much money for me right now so i dont have one. I hear stories where the aluminum ones arent balanced well and warping and blah blah blah. In my opinion i would get a chromoly flywheel.

Oh yea i got a question. Does anyone ever hear that if u get a light weight flywheel that when u rev ur car and let it come back down sometimes the car dies out cuz it loses all its inertia so fast? Thats a story i heard but i never knew that could happen.

[whtteg]

Originally Posted by SenseiAccord

Oh yea i got a question. Does anyone ever hear that if u get a light weight flywheel that when u rev ur car and let it come back down sometimes the car dies out cuz it loses all its inertia so fast? Thats a story i heard but i never knew that could happen.

I ahve not heard of that happening but I can see where it might happen if you have a flywheel that is too light, but if you saty with the 12.5 ACT then you will be fine. However with any type of light weight flywheel you will notice that the motor will rev faster, well it will decend in revs quicker too, so you need to be a fast and acurate shifter.