No Fly(wheel)s on us!

Lightening the flywheel – the flywheel works in a similar way to the wheel in the toy cars you used to rev up and release and let it zoom off. The heavy wheel located between the engine and the gearbox builds up rotational force with speed and momentum effectively storing the energy.

Drawbacks – it takes effort to get the wheel rotating and stops the engines revs increasing or slowing down quickly. A lighter wheel takes strain off the engine and allows the engine to rev more freely. You’ll notice a race-tuned engine increases and decreases revs a lot more quickly than a standard engine. The big downside to a lighter flywheel is that torque is reduced – most noticeably on a hill. Whereas the momentum in the engine is maintained with a heavy flywheel the momentum is reduced and the hill has a much more direct effect on the engine output. Best used in a race situation where the track is flat with a demand for fast engine speed changes and the engine has been tuned to output power matching the flywheel capacity (high revving) Various weight of flywheel are available allowing you to get the best torque/free revving capabilities.

Different grades of flywheel are available for different situations. If you feel tempted to make your own light weigh flywheel by drilling holes in it I urge you to reconsider. Even standard flywheels that are put into cars are balanced. A wobble in the flywheel can have disatrous consequences on the engine and will reduce your red line significantly. Off the shelf lightened flywheels are carefully balanced and made of various alloys blended for strength and lightness - some even come with holes and gaps like an alloy wheel. If you are replacing a clutch you may just as well get the flywheel sorted while you are at it. If you are serious about lightning bits and pieces to get a free revving engine try a carbon fibre driveshaft. These will rotationally flex more that their metal counterparts and reduce strain on the engine. If a metal driveshaft breaks you will soon know about it as parts are thrown through the car! A carbon fibre one is stronger but if it does break it will 'broom' into 'harmless' fibres and little damage will be done to the car.

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