Light Steel Flywheel?

[rsimoes]

How do you guys feel about using a lightened steel flywheel? I always thought it was bad for the engine, though allows it to rev quicker. . . it also allows it to vibrate more.. . .

Which way do you recommend?

(I'm running a Ford Motorsport Crate 460)

[DAVID GAGNARD]

rsimoes;

Back 5 years ago when I was with a dirt track team,they outlawed aluminum flywheels,so one of our "helper/sponsors" ran a machine shop and the sponsorship was mostly in much needed machine work rather than cash. Well, the machinest told us to bring him some old steel flywheels and let him experiment with them... He got one down to within 4 pounds of an aluminum flywheel and I was very skeptical about the safety of running this flywheel,but the driver wanted to give it a try,hell,I was not driving it so I said go ahead.... We ran that flywheel two seasons,every saturday nite for 6 months for two years turning from 6,000 to 6,500 max rpms without any problems.... At the end of the season we would pull the motor and have it lightly resurfaced and put it back in, the driver said it made a lot of diference from a standard weight steel flywheel....

Just what I know,take it for what it's worth....

David

[rsimoes]

Any other opinions, ideas? What do you guys on on your 429/460/514's?

[Richard Hudgins]

rsimoes,

Virtually every sports car (Le Mans type) and formula car up until the last couple of years, have run a light steel flywheel. (The current stuff has no flywheel on the engine, the clutch and reaction plate is carried in the gearbox.)

I have never seen a flywheel failure in any of these cars. 9500 to 13k rpm is normal running range.

On a BB Ford engine, I do not have a clue.

Also, I do not see how a light steel flywheel can allow the engine to vibrate any more than a heavy unit. The heavy flywheel may well change the harmonic frequency a bit, but balance would not change.