Lighter Flywheel and New Clutch

[speedchangesyou]

Anyone have experience with a lighter flywheel we have been thinking about it and wanted to know if anyone could recommend one.

[Fatboy 18]

Fidanza Lightweight Flywheel. I love mine in my gen II, You notice the change at first as when you put your foot on the clutch the revs drop off fast, but you soon get used to it. Nothing wrong with the stock LUK Clutch :) I would not change back :)

[Fatboy 18]

All the usual Viper Vendors sell them :) Or look on the Fidanza website. :)

[daveg]

When I had Tator do some work to my car (fixed all the typical 96 GTS oil leaks) He told me to stay stock on the flywheel when he put my tranny back in. Not sure why and didn't press him on it since I prefer to keep my car as original as possible. I know Paul (capevettes) has the lighter flywheel and appears to like it.
Like everything, I am sure there are advantages and disadvantages to it.

[Steve M]

It frees up some HP at the expense of making it a little harder to get the car going from a stop.

Not ideal if you drag race or do a lot of stop and go driving...otherwise, not a huge deal. You'll learn how to drive around it within a couple of drives at most.

The clutch/flywheel assembly in my car saved me 20+ pounds over the stock stuff. It was very noticeable to me, but it has also made drag racing much more challenging because I can't seem to find a good sweet spot between bogging and spinning off the line. Some of that is the different friction material, some of that is the lower mass.

[GTS Dean]

I can let the Luk clutch out from a dead stop with no throttle and it will putt right away with the Fidanza and stock 3.07s. Stop & go driving on the freeway is something I noticed was worse right away. However, on the road course, or spirited back road driving, it is wonderful!

[thetalonguy]

I definitely love my Aluminum Fidanza with LUK clutch. I think you get used to it.

Agree with most sentiments above. It might be sort of a be pain driving at parking lot speeds as it'll be a little jerky and you'll be moving quicker from a stop. I guess if you plan on spending a lot of time in traffic and less time in spirited driving, then you could probably make the case against it. I spend a lot of time in traffic being where I am, but I guess once you're used to it, you're used to it.

Not sure I would've opted to put one it on it's own. I was in there anyway replacing the Clutch Slave Cylinder, so I figured what the heck. But everyone's tolerance is a bit different I guess.

[ViperPete]

I've got a Tilton chromoly flywheel and Spec Stage 2 clutch in my SRT10. I can't remember how much lighter it was than the stock one but it wasn't as light as an aluminum flywheel. It is the strongest you can buy though. Was designed for the GTSR racecars. Got it from Dan Cragin years back.

[Fatboy 18]

https://www.fidanza.com/search?type=product&q=dodge+viper

[Old School]

An old racers adage - "if it will idle, you got enough flywheel".

[speedchangesyou]

Thanks for all the information really appreciate it will consider everything before making a change. Thanks again

[Fatboy 18]

Thanks for all the information really appreciate it will consider everything before making a change. Thanks again

You won't regret it ;)

[Steve M]

Not sure I would've opted to put one it on it's own.

This is probably the most important piece of advice right here IMO.

Unless you already have to go in there to either replace the clutch, swap out the pilot bearing, or mess with the slave cylinder, it probably isn't worth your time/effort just to install a lightweight flywheel.

I needed a new clutch, so it was a no-brainer. I also used the opportunity to install a remote clutch bleeder line, as that mod also requires you to pull the transmission (since you need direct access to the slave cylinder).

I wouldn't have done either mod (lightweight flywheel/clutch or the remote bleeder line) until I absolutely needed to pull the transmission.

[Dan Cragin]

The lighter flywheel reduces the moment of inertia and builds rpm faster. It also improves shifting at high rpm. In the Viper, its not too light, so it does not really effect the driveability too much. Its still easy to take off.
Some people are more sensitive and notice tip in throttle at highway speeds is a bit clunky. It also increases the neutral gear rattle issue on the 708 cam Gen 2's, or cars with big cams. Really big cam cars tend to surge
a lot more with a lighter clutch.

I don't like them in the Ram SRT's as it gets tricky when you are stuck on a hill.

Hope this helps.

[daveg]

It also increases the neutral gear rattle issue on the 708 cam Gen 2's.
Thanks Dan.. Because of NGR, I am glad I stuck to the stock flywheel since I am in the 708 club. Maybe that's one of the reasons why Tator suggested I stay stock.

[Steve M]

The lighter flywheel reduces the moment of inertia and builds rpm faster. It also improves shifting at high rpm. In the Viper, its not too light, so it does not really effect the driveability too much. Its still easy to take off.
Some people are more sensitive and notice tip in throttle at highway speeds is a bit clunky. It also increases the neutral gear rattle issue on the 708 cam Gen 2's, or cars with big cams. Really big cam cars tend to surge
a lot more with a lighter clutch.

These are also great points for anyone to consider.

Cars come with heavy flywheels from the factory for a reason. While they do resist sudden changes in engine RPMs, that's not always a bad thing - it acts as a damper, so you end up with a smoother running engine. That's especially important if you want to run a big cam and actually be able to drive it on the street.