My Aluminum Flywheel Driving Impressions

[Ron]

<FONT face="Comic Sans MS">After much contemplation, I decided to follow the advice of many and take advantage of my rear main seal repair to put my flywheel on a diet.

It was a last minute decision and required soliciting the support of the Viper community for advice on:

Balancing
Bolt sizes
Need for flywheel bolt washers
and more...

First my thanks to the VCA members and Viper vendors & techs that sent me e-mails such as David Jenkins, Chuck Tator (aka Viper Wizard), Sean Roe and Bill Kaiser. All responded with valuable information that made the install go smoothly. Thanks also to Dan Cragin, who called me late on Friday with valuable information.

Special thanks though to Jon B @ Parts Rack, who as always spent all the time required to convince a skeptic that the AL flywheel was the way to go, plus explain in great detail every pro and con. He was dead on in every case.

The results:

Starting from a dead stop - I feared it would feel like I was starting off in 2nd, but it is no issue. It's more like 1.1st gear. Hardly noticeable.

Blipping the throttle in neutral - Much snappier. Nice

Acceleration - From a dead stop, no significant change. From a rolling start, livelier. More wheel spin, quicker. Hard to quantify, but feels good.

Deceleration - Haven't noticed a big change yet, but haven't really wound it out then let off yet. A bit stronger... perhaps.

Powershifting - Definitely not as impactful, but not something I regularly do anyway.

Low speed surging - No issue, same as stock for me.

Normal shifting - Nice, as you can quickly blip the throttle to synchronize rpm.

Neutral Gear Rattle - A bit louder, but who cares...

Idle Lope - A bit lopier, shifter wiggles a bit more. No complaints here.

The flywheel is a Fidanza unit (good people!). In conversation with them, found that SFI tests the unit to 9,000 rpm and they have been tested to destruction also. At 14,000 rpm the ring gear goes and at 22,000 rpm the disc goes. Wanna bet your engine (and stock flywheel for that matter) goes long before that?

Faceplate is 1050 steel, hardened throughout. Consumer replaceable for $75.00. Disc is 6061 billet CNC machined aluminum. Threads are rolled for strength, not cut. Weighs 17 lbs. vs 31 lbs. for the stock unit. Unit is not balanced, but since it's CNC machined is darn close. Most do not balance it or the pressure plate (I didn't either) and experience no problems or vibrations, however if time allows, the flywheel / pressure plate combo should be balanced by your local machine shop. (Thanks to Marv S for the balance instructions) I used my stock clutch and pressure plate as they were in perfect shape. I do experience a light chatter at startup, though it will go away as the clutch wears into the new plate. No vibration issues. You should purchase and use 8 hardened washers under the new (you should always use new) flywheel bolts. These bolts are lock-tite coated from the factory. The stock flywheel does not use washers. Stock pressure plate bolts work fine. Use non-permanent lock-tite on these. Torque all bolts to factory specs.

Conclusion, just as everyone has said, if you're in there, do it. It's worth it. If not, wait. You'll be in there soon enough......
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[red98GTS]

Hi Ron...Pete the ex glass guy here...just want to be sure I got this right, for those who sometimes bring up the subject of the aluminum flywheel. You say there's no real difference starting from a dead stop, no real difference in accelerating from a dead stop, the powershift was not as impactful, neutral gear rattle is more pronounced, the shifter wiggles a bit more, and the only real difference you notice is from a rolling start and when in neutral it revs more freely. Am I right there? Hmmm. Doesn't seem worth all the expense, etc. although I hear others say the car acts differently than what you describe. Now I really AM confused. Oh well. It's a natural state for me! Pete

 

[99 R/T 10]

Hey Ron,
Question, what kind of bolts did you use and where did you get them? Did you do the switch yourself? By the way, great info.

Mike

 

[Ron]

<FONT face="Comic Sans MS">Pete;

Let me try to be more clear -

Starting from a dead stop - I was told by many the I'd have to "relearn" how to start off from a dead stop. This of course because of the lower rotating mass. This concerned me and was one reason why I was hesitant to make the upgrade. Turns out, the warning was overblown, on my car and in my opinion. (0)

Blipping the throttle in neutral - I've always felt that the Viper engine had a bit of jet turbine in it. Lots of power, but a bit of "spool up" time required. Turn out, as expected, the lighter flywheel almost eliminates this annoyance. (+1)

Acceleration - Again I was told that I would find the dead stop acceleration noticeably worse. Good news, I don't feel a significant change (0) BUT I do feel a noticeable improvement in over 20 MPH acceleration (+2). That's what I bought the thing for, and it works.

Deceleration - Was told it significantly increases deceleration force. I have not experienced that. Not why I bought it anyway. (0)

Powershifting - You do lose some "bang" on a powershift (-1) as I expected. No big deal for me as I hardly ever do it.

Low speed surging - Was told by many that this would be worse. I did not experience any change (0)

Normal shifting - As expected, a more responsive engine is more pleasant to shift. (+1)

Neutral Gear Rattle - Was warned and it is worse. (-.5) I could care less as I know it's a normal condition.

Idle Lope - Again, was warned it would lope more (like a hotter cam) and it does. I could care less (0)

Adding up MY EXPERIENCE on an arbitrary scale = +2.5. Worth it, to me. Must do, absolutely not. But lets be honest, how many "must do" upgrades are required on a 450 horsepower street car? We tweak here and there just because it's fun and I consider this a nice tweak.

Also remember Pete, I speak for my experiences only. If others experience something different, so be it. I'm only providing another data point, something that I value this board for more that anything else.

Mike;

I had my dealer order the new flywheel bolts from Dodge and had them covered on an earlier TSB. I certainly could have done it myself, but since the rear seal repair was under warranty, there was no reason for me to.

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[red98GTS]

Ron....yes, I hear you about these being your experiences. Interesting that there can be so many different "experiences" with the same upgrades, isn't it? I think it would be real interesting to now put a set of 3.54's in your car (not that you're going to) and see how that affected it. As a long-time hot rodder, I know the ability of a gear swap to completely change a car, especially with other mods! Fun to share our experiences with how mods turned out. The only thing I would consider not a real plus, as you did, would be the increased responsiveness in neutral. Revving in neutral just ain't my thing, but hey......
it's all good....it's all good! Pete

 

[Ron]

<FONT face="Comic Sans MS">You bring up a good point Pete. Trust me, I don't sit at the stoplight and blip my throttle all day. It's just a way of verifying the improved throttle response, which overall makes the car more enjoyable to drive.

And you are correct, I am not changing gears. I drive too many highway miles and like my 3.07's.

Now, why don't you share a few of your "experiences"? I'd love to comment on them!</FONT f>

 

[red98GTS]

Ron....I share my "experiences" here all the time, and I'm not the least bit bothered by those who care to comment. That's what the message board is all about, isn't it? I enjoy hearing everybody's opinion.

 

[Dion Fisher]

I agree with Ron on all the points but did notice decelleration to be more responsive on the roadcourse..

I have both 3:55 gears and the Fidanza flywheel and by F-A-A-R
the gears did more for quick acceleration than the flywheel but having both is a nice combo.. The other nice thing about gears is not having to use the clutch to roll through town at lower speeds.

Nitrous/gears is the biggest bang i've gotten for the buck bar none..

 

[SoCal Rebell]

I have the aluminm flywheel & 3.54 gear setup, add a full exhaust (good for 35 rwhp & 45 rwtq) and I thing it's the perfect combo. Anything more and you'll be spinning your tires all day.

 

[Makara]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by SoCal Rebell:
I have the aluminm flywheel & 3.54 gear setup, add a full exhaust (good for 35 rwhp & 45 rwtq) and I thing it's the perfect combo. Anything more and you'll be spinning your tires all day.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I seem to remember both of us spinning our tires all day at Famosa on Dec 2nd