Aluminum or steel flywheel

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by DAVID GAGNARD

Nothing about stuffing a 600+hp engine in a 90" wheelbase car weighing sometimes as little as 2400 lbs. with no top or side impact bars, no airbags and very little driver protection to start with makes much sense to me........

but that's part of the thrill of having a having a car like that!!!!!!!!

In the grand scheme of things when spending big bucks for a car like a Cobra, a couple of hundred extra dollars is nothing......

it all boils down to whats best for the engine combo and the way the car will be used...

David

The Kirkhams have been putting their car on a diet for a long while. With the aluminum rear end, Quicktime bellhousing, aluminum flywheel, and an all-aluminum FE, their cars are under 2,150 lbs.

I talked with several FE engine builders before I picked one, but not one of recommended a steel flywheel.

[DanEC]

There doesn't seem to be a clear consensus here. The light car - light flywheel rationale makes simple sense. I guess I will go with the aluminum flywheel as recommended by the builder.

Thanks for the responses.

[DougD]

Originally Posted by DanEC

There doesn't seem to be a clear consensus here. The light car - light flywheel rationale makes simple sense. I guess I will go with the aluminum flywheel as recommended by the builder.

Thanks for the responses.

I've always used the formula one pound of flywheel for every 100 pounds of car. So a 2400lb Cobra would dictate a 24lb flywheel. Once again, it's the weight, not the material it's made from.

[CobraEd]

So then in a 4,300 lb Cadillac CTS-V you would need a 43 lb flywheel???? The factory flywheel is 26 pounds.

My son's 03 SVT Cobra Mustang came from the factory stock with a 17 lb aluminum flywheel and that car weighs 3,700+ lbs.


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[DougD]

Opinions are all over the board on this. I just offered one.

So why the difference in relative weights on the two cars you listed, in your opinion?

[CobraEd]

the 03 Cobra Mustang is (was) a very high performance car from the factory. Ford put an aluminum flywheel on it from the factory because high performace cars run faster/better with lightweight flywheels. Just as an fyi, it also came from the factory with an aluminum driveshaft for the same reasons, . . . less rotational inertia to drain horsepower trying to spool up = a faster more high performance vehicle.


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[601HP]

I first drove my 427 in 1994. The engine was and still is 427 cubic inches with a standard stroke crank. The original build used a steel flywheel that weighs 40+ pounds. At the beginning of this Cobra ownership I always thought my engine wound up a little on the slow side when I blipped the throttle for a downshift. I just figured it was normal.

Around the year 2000 I changed the clutch, pressure plate and flywheel. The new flywheel was an over-priced Center Force aluminum unit and weighs about 20 or 22 pounds. What a substantial difference that unit has made. Throttle response is noticeably faster. The engine has felt as though it spools up quicker at full throttle. The aluminum unit is a keeper for my car.

The original steel flywheel is still hanging on the wall in my work shop.

David