Lightened Flywheels (long)
Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2001 9:19 pm
Thinking about the subject of lightened flywheels that we were
discussion last week or so; I decided to throw one in the car since i
was rebuilding my tranny and putting in a new clutch.
A few weeks ago, i talked to Richard Buckner about rebuilding my
tranny with all new synchros and bearings. Other options that i had
been thinking about were the MRT Heavy Duty Syncho set and just
putting in a new set of synchros. The MRT set was just a shy out of
my price range, so for my piece of mind, i went whole hog and
replaced all the synchros and bearings. He advised that some of the
parts i already had may be salvageable; but again, i insisted on all
new bearings and synchros for the added piece of mind.
1st of all, about my tranny. 3rd gear was crunching EVERY time i put
it into gear and the 4th gear syncho was very dead. 2nd gear
sporaddically wouldn't go into gear AT ALL. It would only engage 4th
gear if it were under load and the tranny was cold; otherwise it
would pop out of gear faster then i could get it in. Upon inspection
of the tranny after we had taken it apart; almost all the bearings
needed replacement as well.
I was lucky enough to catch Richard with a spare 4.11 tranny that he
could rebuild for me while i limped around on the one i had. He would
rebuild it and when it was done, i would drive down and do the swap
all in one day. This plan worked according to schedule. At this
point, i was terrifically underbudget and decided to go crusing
around for a lightened flywheel just to see what they were all about.
Paul Eklund is the owner of Primitive Enterprises and
captain/owner/driver of Primitive Racing (http://www.get-
primitive.com). As I crewed for him for a couple of years, i decided
to get in contact with him in regards to picking up one of his
flywheels to justify his sticker on my back window. The price was
just right and i decided the day before the swap to go ahead with the
flywheel. Again, lucky me; he only had 1 in stock. BTW, it also comes
with a new pilot bearing.
Tranny went in no probs. The clutch, which we actually installed an
Impreza 2.5RS clutch, went in no probs. The flywheel went in, no
probs. Fit EXACTLY into the OEM location; only weighing in at ~15lbs
(we should have weighed the OEM one to compare, but we forgot about
that).
Gas milage: I know this is something most of you don't care about,
but for those who do My gas milage went up significantly. Now, there
are a couple other factors to consider here: A) My tranny was in a
lot better condition here and so less resistance. B) i'm using
synthetic fluid now, so less resistance (Neo Synthetic is good! get
it from Hairpin Racing http://www.hairpinracing.com/). and most of
all c: i have that lightened flywheel, less rotational mass, less
resistence, yadda yadda yadda. before rebuild and flywheel, i was
getting a steady 27.8 with the heavier WRX rims on my car. Now i'm
getting 30.7. 3 MPG improvement isn't too shabby.
Performance: I don't notice the flywheel much during stop and go. It
has good drivability. when i'm launching it from a light, it's got
more go. Just like in Gran Turismo it definitly revs faster. But the
freeway is where i spend most of my time in my car (2 hours+ a day
commuting). usual cruise is at about 65. When i lay the lead foot
down before it takes a while to power into it... Now, with the
lightened flywheel; it just wants to go. rolling from 65 to 75 is a
lot easier, it's easier pulling up higher in the rev range too.
Short and simple on the freeway: It just wants to GO.
If i had more power in the Non-turbo i'm sure i'd feel the advantages
even more. I like it, Given the chance (which i have with the turbo
when i get around to it) i'm going to get another one.
Questions, comments, tomatoes?
-Jason Grahn
'90 Non-Turbo 185,191 miles
Primitive Lightened Flywheel
K&N filter
generic wanna-be hi performance muffler
SPT Shortthrow shifter
'91 Turbo 176,something miles
project car
To unsubscribe from this group, please send an email to:
BC-BFLegacyWorks-unsubscribe@egroups.com
discussion last week or so; I decided to throw one in the car since i
was rebuilding my tranny and putting in a new clutch.
A few weeks ago, i talked to Richard Buckner about rebuilding my
tranny with all new synchros and bearings. Other options that i had
been thinking about were the MRT Heavy Duty Syncho set and just
putting in a new set of synchros. The MRT set was just a shy out of
my price range, so for my piece of mind, i went whole hog and
replaced all the synchros and bearings. He advised that some of the
parts i already had may be salvageable; but again, i insisted on all
new bearings and synchros for the added piece of mind.
1st of all, about my tranny. 3rd gear was crunching EVERY time i put
it into gear and the 4th gear syncho was very dead. 2nd gear
sporaddically wouldn't go into gear AT ALL. It would only engage 4th
gear if it were under load and the tranny was cold; otherwise it
would pop out of gear faster then i could get it in. Upon inspection
of the tranny after we had taken it apart; almost all the bearings
needed replacement as well.
I was lucky enough to catch Richard with a spare 4.11 tranny that he
could rebuild for me while i limped around on the one i had. He would
rebuild it and when it was done, i would drive down and do the swap
all in one day. This plan worked according to schedule. At this
point, i was terrifically underbudget and decided to go crusing
around for a lightened flywheel just to see what they were all about.
Paul Eklund is the owner of Primitive Enterprises and
captain/owner/driver of Primitive Racing (http://www.get-
primitive.com). As I crewed for him for a couple of years, i decided
to get in contact with him in regards to picking up one of his
flywheels to justify his sticker on my back window. The price was
just right and i decided the day before the swap to go ahead with the
flywheel. Again, lucky me; he only had 1 in stock. BTW, it also comes
with a new pilot bearing.
Tranny went in no probs. The clutch, which we actually installed an
Impreza 2.5RS clutch, went in no probs. The flywheel went in, no
probs. Fit EXACTLY into the OEM location; only weighing in at ~15lbs
(we should have weighed the OEM one to compare, but we forgot about
that).
Gas milage: I know this is something most of you don't care about,
but for those who do My gas milage went up significantly. Now, there
are a couple other factors to consider here: A) My tranny was in a
lot better condition here and so less resistance. B) i'm using
synthetic fluid now, so less resistance (Neo Synthetic is good! get
it from Hairpin Racing http://www.hairpinracing.com/). and most of
all c: i have that lightened flywheel, less rotational mass, less
resistence, yadda yadda yadda. before rebuild and flywheel, i was
getting a steady 27.8 with the heavier WRX rims on my car. Now i'm
getting 30.7. 3 MPG improvement isn't too shabby.
Performance: I don't notice the flywheel much during stop and go. It
has good drivability. when i'm launching it from a light, it's got
more go. Just like in Gran Turismo it definitly revs faster. But the
freeway is where i spend most of my time in my car (2 hours+ a day
commuting). usual cruise is at about 65. When i lay the lead foot
down before it takes a while to power into it... Now, with the
lightened flywheel; it just wants to go. rolling from 65 to 75 is a
lot easier, it's easier pulling up higher in the rev range too.
Short and simple on the freeway: It just wants to GO.
If i had more power in the Non-turbo i'm sure i'd feel the advantages
even more. I like it, Given the chance (which i have with the turbo
when i get around to it) i'm going to get another one.
Questions, comments, tomatoes?
-Jason Grahn
'90 Non-Turbo 185,191 miles
Primitive Lightened Flywheel
K&N filter
generic wanna-be hi performance muffler
SPT Shortthrow shifter
'91 Turbo 176,something miles
project car
To unsubscribe from this group, please send an email to:
BC-BFLegacyWorks-unsubscribe@egroups.com