Lightweight flywheel

[NewGenSTi]

With a lightweight flywheel how driveable is this car(1995 legacy) as an every day driver. Car will be turbocharged and I am doing a 5mt swap but not sure if I want to go the lightweight flywheel route. I enjoy tons of torque and I am afraid that a lightweight will rob alot of that away. and also would imagine it would make starting out on hills a pita.

[Huffer]

Quite a few of the local autox/daily driver group here in Ohio use lightweight flywheels. There are different makes, most people go for around the 11lb or 15lb mark - which is still a marked difference from 25lb.

You won't lose any torque - you will actually free up lost horsepower because of the AWD drivetrain loss.

[sheepdog]

yea, go with a 15lb. My buddy runs a 9lb on his WRX and the stock ecu + UTEC has trouble dealing with it at idle (well the utec doesnt kick in till 3k rpms) so itll die sometimes. And to be honest, we didnt notice that much of a difference. A 15lb er would do you just fine.

oh, and it doesnt rev noticeably faster, like in Gran Turismo lol. The only difference I've noticed is it takes longer for the engine to lose RPMs when you rev it up in neutral

[legacy92ej22t]

I run the ACT Streetlite for the WRX and I love it. It's 13.8 lbs. Revs are noticeably faster both up and down. Driveability isn't really effected too much. The biggest thing is rev matching is a bit different and will take a little getting used to. If you do slow lazy shifts you might need to blip the throttle to rev match. If you shift aggresively, it is actually easier to rev match.

It can effect idle slightly but really isn't not too bad.

[NewGenSTi]

yeah, well I am doing a swap form my at to a 5mt so I am not really worried about not being used to it because its going to be a whole new tranny all together for me. If it revs anything like my STi did thats great. lol

[jey]

I've got a 9.5-lb Fidanza flywheel and it definitely revs faster up and down - with the A/C on the revs down are REALLY fast. Definitely have to blip the throttle on shifts. But rev-matching is sooo much easier, faster, more fun, and believe it or not more precise because you don't have to wait for the slop to get there.

And like someone already said, it gives you more torque, not less.

It was great with the stock powertrain, but now that I have the EJ257 STi shortblock in there I think the light-weight flywheel has put it beyond some tolerance for balancing because things do shake around a bit more than normal, but that could be a combination of other things too.

My flywheel allows more entertaining rev-matching than even the STi's flywheel, in fact.

[Reason]

go with a 15lb

I agree, it would be more drive able.

[sheepdog]

That 9.5lb er is the one we run on my buddies WRX. I like it, however the idle issues really scrape my ass when I'm not driving it hard. I think that might be a combination of a lot of other things as well. Don't go too light, as I said, a 12-15lb er will do just fine.

[NewGenSTi]

Thanks for all the replies guys. now lets take this one step farther. whats a good brand flywheel at a decent price :D

[sheepdog]

ACT StreetLite Flywheel - 13.9 lbs - 02+ WRX

250 bucks, gruppe-s.com

[Huffer]

Fidanza make a range of weighted flywheels - they're popular with the autox-ers here in Cleveland. There's a 2.5RS that spanks STi's in similar classes, fitted with a 9.5lb one. They are a hardcore race team though, the car never gets driven on the street.

[BuruKid]

I heard some were that with a lightwieght fly wheel could see gains of 10-30 hp to the wheels. This seems a little optimistic. Any one have any numbers or butt dyno estimates

[Huffer]

I heard some were that with a lightwieght fly wheel could see gains of 10-30 hp to the wheels. This seems a little optimistic. Any one have any numbers or butt dyno estimates

There are no "gains" as such. There is a reduction in parasitic powertrain loss. The motors still put out 165hp +/-

On a stock car, the AWD sucks out around 20-25%. It's not uncommon for an 01 RS with catback and Cobb intake to show only 100WHP on a Mustang Dyno (which are very aggressive and tend to read much lower than other dynos).

So, given the drivetrain loss of 20-25%, you'd expect a theoretical WHP of around 110-115whp overall. Reduce the drag on the drivetrain and you might get that up to 125whp. You won't ever get close to 165hp, because that would be an engine running with no accessories, and no drivetrain.

[sheepdog]

Flywheels will not give you whp, well it will but it won't be astonishing as you say. You notice more differences in revving and gearmatching than in raw power.

[BAC5.2]

Lightweight Flywheels hurt launches.

Keep that in mind if drag racing is your bag.

[NewGenSTi]

Well, I wont really be donig very many drag races if any at all. This car is more my daily driver, I just was looking for some more power and fun out of it. that is why I built a turbo kit and I am doing a 5mt swap. other than that. I am in search of a wrecked wrx or sti as a project car that would be used for my fun weekend car. that would be the one I dragged, or auto x, or rally, or whatever I decide to use it for...

So as far as the take offs, I am not overly concerned about that on my legacy.

[Sarra]

Get the lighter flywheel, then. From what I've heard, the lighter flywheel makes shifting smoother and easier, especially if you like to rev-match while you shift (which means, longer lasting clutch).

I'd like to get a lighter flywheel and pullies for my Legacy, but I'm afraid I will be selling it soon.

[mr_choung]

just place my order for a primitive racing flywheel(14.9 lbs) and stage 1 exedy organic clutch yesterday :D i'll definitly tell you want will happen or the difference!

[legacy92ej22t]

Sweet, you'll love it. :)

[onefasazn]

Hi,

New owner of a few months, lurking on here as well. I've got a 95 L wagon and the clutch seems to be going out as well. I am looking to replace my clutch very soon with ACT bits. I just wanted to know what ACT clutches and flywheels will fit my trans. Im not 100% on what I can use from a WRX as far as transmission parts go. Also, should I buy the clutch sleeve repair kit while Ive got the trans out? I just dont want any problems as this car is driven 130 miles round trip every day.

Thanks for the help.

Jan

P.S. - Sorry for the sort-of thread jacking, but I think we have the same goals in mind...

[mr_choung]

onefastazn
-well from my POV, act bits really hard compared to my exedy.
if you really push WOT, and shift.....it'll bit really hard....if you
like hardness, then go for it. i drove my buddies GF8 impreza wagon
and it bits like crazy :evil: oem clutch are good also, i looked into that route before going into stage 1, but future plans might need a stage 1 or higher :twisted: so it's your call.. ;-) btw...whats your nationality? lao, combo, viet?

[onefasazn]

Im a Filipino. Yeah I think I may end up going with a OEM replacement if I cant end up getting a hookup on a stage 1 thru work. But a WRX flywheel will work with this cable trans? Just wanted to be sure. For sure I can get ACT...

Thanks for the help.

[onefasazn]

^^^

gotta find this out soon...

I need a clutch bad.

[BAC5.2]

Cable push style clutch, right?

WRX flywheel would work, but you should probably buy the lightweight flywheel that fits your car. Exedy makes one. It's close to 300 bucks though.