Aluminum or steel flywheel

[greg schroeder]

In my opinion and theory the aluminum is nice for 1st and 2nd gear as it carries less inertia on hard acceleration. In that it will adjust slightly better to road inconsistencies keeping better traction. Also I suspect the idea that the aluminum is a bit easier on the transmission because it has less inertia on shifts. Also there might be some value to forgive bad shifts a little quicker rather than having the mass of a really heavy flywheel carry the crunch and grind longer. The clutch will last longer with a lighter flywheel particularly if you’re in marginal HP values to the clutch ability.

Something heavier is an inertia push when you shift quickly to the next gear. If you have the traction to hook a 2nd, 3rd or 4th gear shift the heavy will give you a bit of go for an instant before it corrects to the next gear. The problem is you'll be hitting that gear and spin most of the time if you're on general road tires. The condition is exaggerated with a heavier flywheel, not fun. In that case the aluminum being lighter will hook the next gear faster as the RPM will correct lower to the next gear with less inertia.

I went from a heavy steel flywheel and replaced it with light weight aluminum. It’s more fun. There are no issues with street drivability.