Here's the problem. I am having a new clutch put in 3 days from now. I have until then to decide if I want to go with the lighter flywheel or stay with the stocker. I need real world experience here. As of now I'm running all the bolt-ons, street port and a PFC. I'm currently running seq, but may change to non-seq in the future. I do have plans to go single eventually, so that is also I concern. Will the lighter flywheel be too light for a T-04E to make it worth the money? Any and all advice is appreciated.

 

To decide light weight flywheel or stock weight it really depends on what you use the car for..

If you do more drag racing then you probably want to keep the stock flywheel.

If you do road racing then you might want to go with a lightweight one.

Lightweight and stock weight both have their advantages. The main decision on which one to get is again what do you do with your car?

 

BTW, I am in the middle of a clutch/flywheel job at the moment too and I am staying with a stock weight wheel. For 2 reasons, I do more drag racing/stop light racing than anything else and because I am getting hooked up on the price of a new stock weight one. I know some people told me a stock one can be resurfaced but Dave at KDR said pretty much "no" to resurfacing, and if it's not resurfaced right then you'll lose pedal pressure.

 

I am familiar with the give and take about drag and road racing. From a dead stop you're going to want the heavier wheel, but from a roll-on... what kind of difference are we talking? I will probably do a little of both; some friday nights at the strip and some scca track day stuff. Obviously on a short road course the lighter flywheel will be an advantage, but how much? I'm just trying to gauge "how much" of a difference we're talking both at the strip and lap times.

 

A post about getting "flammage" can get 48 posts, but I only get 2?

 

Come on guys, you're letting me down here.

 

Lost Time,

If you are going to do a bit of both, then think about the long run. you will probably not have to change the stock weight as quickly as the lightweight. Sometimes I like to go for more MTBF than have to drop the housing every year (if I can help it ) If you are not doning one type of driving over the other, then stock would probably work better for you as it will also stay a bit more "traffic friendly" -- at least that is my opinion, but hell, some of these guys have had both and could tell you more exactly.

 

Anyone else?

 

Why don't you go to a lightweight steel flywheel instead? This will be 3-4 lbs lighter than stock, but not nearly as light as the aluminum ones. This would be a good compromise to see if you like the effects of a lighter flywheel. You can get the light steel flywheels from:

http://www.rx7.com/cgi-local/3catalog.cgi?cat=2&part=4

http://www.rx7store.net/drivetrain1.htm

http://www.racingbeat.com/FRmazda3.htm

 

A light flywheel makes a dramatic difference (effectively 50-ish RWHP) in first gear, a bit of difference in second (15-ish RWHP) and then after that it doesn't matter much in terms of acceleration. It does make it easier to downshift, and reduces the penalty of not matching revs perfectly. I love the light flywheel, and think it was one of the best things I have done to my car. It "wakes the car up" in the lower gears -- gets rid of that sluggish feeling. But you do have to rev a little higher when starting from a stop (which has not bothered me much at all) and drag racing launches should be at like 5000+ RPM rather than 3000. You also get a little lug-a-lug when driving slow in parking lots that can be annoying. But, all things considered, I would do it again in a heartbeat. One of my friends with an FD stayed with the stock flywheel when he did his clutch and after a drive in my car he went back to the shop and had them swap one in.

I would say to go light unless the ONLY thing you do is drag race. The light flywheel is more enjoyable for everything else, and still works fine for drag racing with an adjustment to your launch technique. If you drag race a lot, you might consider the heavier steel ones (which still reduce the rotational inertia by about 50%), but otherwise a light aluminum one is great. I am not aware of light flywheels wearing out any faster than the stock flywheel, and you can always just bolt on a new $70 friction ring to rejuvenate it.

See my Racing Beat Aluminum flywheel and some additional details here:
http://www.maxcooper.com/rx7/parts_i...heel/index.htm

-Max

 

I would suggest you go a couple of pounds lighter but not too much. You would still get the advantage of a lighter flywheel but not really the disadvantages of a lightweight flywheel. Just like Rynberg said, it's a compromise.

 

I have the SR motorsports 9.5 lb flywheel and ACT clutch. I really love them both. I don't think you could go wrong with that combo.