I was just at a rx7 shop picking up a water pump gasket and asked the guy if he could order me a lightweight steel flywheel for my car and how much it would be. First off he told me that they were like $500-600CDN but that I shouldnt waist my money on one because they dont do anything.

It makes sense to me that with a lighter flywheel the engine would rev faster due to less weight that has to be spun and such, and also I heard that a lighter flywheel will transfer more power to the wheels and less will be loss at the flywheel itself.

Am I being miss-informed by you guys saying that they help the engine rev faster and help with top end or is this guy a crack pot?

Help me out here guys, I have to go back tomorrow to pick something up and want to know if I should order one or not...
Thanks

 

lightweight flywheels are good but pretty expensive you can spend your money better elsewhere.....

 

sorry dude.....it will be money well spent!!!

i have the 12lb aluminum f/w and in my opinion its the best mod i have done to my TII.

i would imagine that it will benifit the n/a even more!

if you have the seires 4 you should get one as they are 28 lbs i believe. well i know the TII is that much.

series 5 has a 20 lbs one, but i would still get one anyways!

lighter f/w = faster accelaration

 

Bottom line: you will DEFINATELY notice a difference. Unless you just jumped out of a torque-monster V8 (you do take a hit to your low-end torque), you'll probably fall in love all over again.

Whether it's worth the money or not.... It's a subjective question. I, for one, believe it is.

If your wallet is screaming, you'd do better starting off with the basics (intake, exhaust, ele. fan).

My .02

 

Yeah. I agree with grimlock and rotary miata. I'm very happy with my 12 pound flywheel. It's definitly pricey, but its also one of the best mods I've done. I bought an aluminum flywheel from mazdatrix about 5 years ago Along with a street strip clutch and PP) and had it on my 87 se. It was great, engine felt better, shifted cleaner/quicker, etc. When I got my GTUs, i swapped it on there and it made an even bigger difference. Less rotating weight on the S-5 engines, I guess.

If I were you, though, I would stick with the aluminum flywheel. The lightened steel ones arent that much lighter for the money than stock.

 

This may sound like an EXTREMELY stupid question but... would it be possible ( with correct drilling, etc ) to remove material from a flywheel ( keeping balance in mind ) and make your own "lightweight" flywheel? I, being a DIY'er, don't think it would be that difficult. But what do I know...

 

NO!!!!!! You'd NEVER get the weight exactly correct!!! Even if you did the best job you could possibly do by hand, the thing would shake itself apart!

Only a machine can be so precise...


DON'T DO IT!!!

 

i believe its worth the money also...........i got one, and i love it. i got the 9.5# one accelration is awesome now

 

What'd you think I ment? I was being a little crude with the "drilling" thing. I'm a DIY'er of many tools. A CNC machine and CAD software are WONDERFUL things

 

I've had the 9.5# flywheely for about half a year now. I love it. You will notice it with acceleration and downshifting. It's very streetable, contrary to those that don't one have will say. But it's not for everybody. I like autoX'ing and playing on the twisties. This is where it really shines. 1/4 mile might be affected as far as launching is concerned. I don't know. Mine feels great though. I had to change out my clutch so I figured I might as well do it while I had the tranny off. I've never regretted it.

jerk_racer@hotmail.com

 

Yes you really dont want to try to make one on your own, I have seen the affects on the legs when they come apart, was not the easy thing to see. And yes i would get on, go about 12lbs and dont forget the counter weight too.