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Fidanza 9.5 pound flywheel - good or not?

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montrreal, quebec
#1
hi, i need to change the clutch on the fiesta and i saw that fidanza has come out with a lightweight flywheel for our car and i was wondering if some one has tried it and if its good for our 1.6 turbo?

thanks!
 


kevinatfms

Senior Member
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#2
from my past experiences, going to an aluminum flywheel in a street car is useless. The stock flywheel is dual mass, i assume this isnt?
 


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#3
Well this is preference. I know on my FoST I would love to do a LWFW but you should know why. The simple answer is when shifting and to be perfect you have to be slow. Sometimes I don't like being slow and as in slow it can take over a second for the revs to come down. I usually rev every gear out it is just my style of driving. A LWFW would work for me and the drivability issues that come with it are not really a concern as in added chatter or stalling.

If you think the engine responds to your liking and would not like the negatives then I would not bother. The EB engine make really good TQ and not so much up top, a LWFW in terms of performance benefit the opposite like a N/A power band, or even a BT set up.
 


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#5
Nice. My brother has a z with light weight flywheel and I envy how fast his car returns to idle compares to the fist
 


LilPartyBox

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#6
I had a Fidanza LWFW on a 1.8t jetta and loved it. yea it chattered. I only really heard it when at a light and next to a wall or other car. And when releasing the gas, engine braking was more... pronounced? But the increased engine response was addictive. The only real "negative" was when cruising around town shifting lazily I'd fall out of boost between shifts. But being so light the engine would spin right back into boost quickly. I plan to get one for this car after a turbo upgrade.
 


M-Sport fan

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#7
Does anyone make any really small diameter, very lightweight, multi disc type clutches for this car BESIDES Spec??

They (Spec) do not have a very good rep in the community I came from, so if/when I ever have to change the clutch/flywheel in this car, I want a better, high performance, lightweight choice. [wink]
 


Sekred

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#8
This is a very light FW. I am using a moly steel SMFW, weights 5.1kg or 11.25 pounds. Stock FW is just over 25 pounds.
Positives of a light FW, revs faster, better throttle response, sounds race car, less weight on the end of the crank.
Negatives, increase vibration (single mass). Harder on the transmission, long term and during clutch release. (Really need a friction disc with a sprung center). Spins up faster once you break traction.
 


LilPartyBox

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#9
This is a very light FW. I am using a moly steel SMFW, weights 5.1kg or 11.25 pounds. Stock FW is just over 25 pounds.
Positives of a light FW, revs faster, better throttle response, sounds race car, less weight on the end of the crank.
Negatives, increase vibration (single mass). Harder on the transmission, long term and during clutch release. (Really need a friction disc with a sprung center). Spins up faster once you break traction.
I never knew of the drivetrain negatives of a LWFW before your post. Did some googling and have completely changed my mind. The extra wear and tear on the drivetrain just isn't worth it for my daily driver. Especially on a tranny that i consider a bit suspect due to reports of clunking and/or failing transmissions. My tranny clicks and clunks now. No need to expedite its demise, even if there's a good chance my tranny is fine.

Here's a couple of articles that convinced me to spend mod money elsewhere:

http://www.infinitegarage.com/light-flywheels-pros-and-cons/
Often times during a clutch swap, the car owner will decide to use a lighter flywheel than stock. In this article, we will take a look at the pros and cons of doing so, to help you decide if this is something you want to do in the future.

First, before we dive into it, we should answer what the flywheel does in the first place. On a car specifically, the flywheel rests at the end of the crankshaft on the outside of the crankcase. The reason for this is so that as the engine?s crankshaft turns, the flywheel is also turning at the same speed. This, in turn, is a source of stored energy, so that when you are taking off from a stop, there is instant torque applied once the clutch is engaged. The heavier the flywheel, the more angular momentum it will be allowed to store. Thus the more torque it will be able to apply when the clutch is engaged, without increasing RPMs.

So should you buy a lightweight flywheel for your car? The advantages of a light weight flywheel are the same as reducing the weight of any part of your drive train, you are going to get a quicker revving engine. This is fantastic once you are moving, because it means you will get to the higher RPMs, where the power is, much quicker. The down side of this is drivability.

A lightweight flywheel means you are going to have to get really good at clutch control really fast. The stock, heavier flywheel (usually 20+ lbs) means you can be pretty liberal with clutch engagement and still not stall. However, the lighter flywheel (sometimes 11 lbs or less!) means as soon as the clutch engages, the clutch, driveshaft, rear end, axles, etc that are at a dead stop can overcome the lower angular momentum of the light flywheel, thus causing a stall. The solution, of course, is very easy, you add more throttle while engaging the clutch. This can, however, cause added wear to your clutch and replacing clutches gets old after a bit and can be costly.

The other downside of the lightened flywheel comes between shifts. Once the clutch is disengaged it means the engine is going to rotate slower, because the heavy flywheel is not there to keep the momentum going. This means a greater RPM drop between shifts if you shift at the same speed that you did with the heavier flywheel. This could mean your engine falls out of the power band between shifts. There is also extra stress on drivetrain components when the clutch is re-engaged.

Now, finally, we can answer the age old question of ?should I put a lighter flywheel on?? The answer of course is not straight forward. If your car is just a daily driver, then I say no. There are probably better, easier, and less expensive ways to make up the performance difference without the added headache of driving with a light flywheel. However, if your car is a racer only, then yes, it?s kind of a no brainer.
As always happy modding!
http://www.autos.com/aftermarket-parts/pros-and-cons-of-installing-a-light-flywheel
Dual-Mass

Most modern cars use a dual-mass flywheel. The dual-mass flywheel is comprised of two flywheels joined together by shock absorbing springs and struts. This reduces shock to the drivetrain when the clutch is engaged, which results in reduced wear to components as well as a smoother driving experience. Dual mass designs are simply the best choice for most drivers since they are the most forgiving in design. There are upgraded dual mass flywheels available for some cars that offer more responsive shifts for people with a slightly more performance-oriented style.

Lightened Flywheel

Lightened flywheels are the realm of drivers most dedicated to performance. Bear in mind that they are really not for cars driven on a daily basis. A lightened flywheel produces more responsive shifting and engine RPMs as well as generally improved acceleration throughout the gears. That is because the rotating mass is drastically reduced.

Lightened flywheels reduce drivability under most circumstances. Cars with lightened flywheels are more susceptible to stalling in traffic, are much noisier and will probably increase engine vibration, thus reducing engine life. For most drivers, a standard or slightly lightened single-mass flywheel gives the biggest performance benefit without the trouble of a these flywheel types.
 


BronxBomber

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#10
o yeah baby!!

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Let us know how you like or dislike it. I'm going with a LWFW and upgraded clutch once my stocker gives up. I've always had LWFW and never had any issues with longevity or stalling. To each his own. The stock flywheel is like a boat anchor. The thing revs way to slowly.
 


LilPartyBox

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#11
I've always felt the same way but after doing a lil research today, the nay sayers make the cons sound bad enough that I really don't know if I'll run one again. But let me just say again I loved it on my jetta. The FiST would be an absolute riot with one
 


OP
rastok
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Thread Starter #12
Drove the first 150 miles this week, first thought the car loves this mod, I'm still breaking in the new clutch and flywheel so I'm driving smooth but it really woke her up it feels like the car lost 500 pound it's really noticeable. Installed once it's a bit more delicate off the redlight specially now that I'm trying to be easy on it..

Will post upgrade after the 300 miles break in. :)
 


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Weymouth
#13
Drove the first 150 miles this week, first thought the car loves this mod, I'm still breaking in the new clutch and flywheel so I'm driving smooth but it really woke her up it feels like the car lost 500 pound it's really noticeable. Installed once it's a bit more delicate off the redlight specially now that I'm trying to be easy on it..

Will post upgrade after the 300 miles break in. :)
What clutch did you go with?
 


BronxBomber

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#14
Drove the first 150 miles this week, first thought the car loves this mod, I'm still breaking in the new clutch and flywheel so I'm driving smooth but it really woke her up it feels like the car lost 500 pound it's really noticeable. Installed once it's a bit more delicate off the redlight specially now that I'm trying to be easy on it..

Will post upgrade after the 300 miles break in. :)
Good to know. Let us know what clutch you went with. Brand and if its full face or puck.
 


M-Sport fan

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#17
^^^Thanks!

Did it have ap marked anywhere on the box it arrived in, or was it in a Ford labelled only parts box, and just the body of the clutch itself stamped with the ap logo? (Just curious, that's all. ;) )
 


A7xogg

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#18
I never liked fidanza flywheels because they have pressed ring gears. And you can utube the negative results for that
 


OP
rastok
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Thread Starter #19
cant anwser the ford clutch box question... whats the differance you made me curious!
 


M-Sport fan

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#20
cant anwser the ford clutch box question... whats the differance you made me curious!
There should not be any difference.

The factory clutch is made by ap, at least going by the stampings I've seen on people's post pics of their stock clutch, and I was just wondering if there was any reference at all to this on the FoMoCo box it comes in, that's all. [wink]
 


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