replacing clutch...considering different flywheel

[justingeer82]

release bearing for my clutch started squeaking. i ordered a new clutch kit. i am considering changing the flywheel to a fidanza 17.5 lb while i have the transmission out. supposed to bump the lower rpm curve up 15hp. a friend suggested that a lighter flywheel will heat up faster and may not be good for street use. i want opinions from some like minded people.

 

[EllowViper]

Heat up faster or dissipate heat faster. Either can be a good or bad thing. Depends on what "street use" means and what type of clutch you are going to use. Heat can be a good thing for certain clutch disc compounds. I have had the Findaza on mine for quite awhile...used at the limits of the stock clutch with a supercharger. No issues with mine on the street. Going to move to a better clutch with it in the next month since I have to figure out what I just broke in the transmission anyways.

 

[Russ M]

Don't waste your money on anything other than multi-disc clutches. You can get the Spec twin disc which comes with a flywheel and is something like 33lb's lighter than the factory clutch, for 1100-1600 depending on the power levels you are working with.

 

[justingeer82]

pulling the transmission is straightforward or is there some horrid bolt somewhere? i do all my work myself and im starting on it tonight. this will be the 8 or 9th car that ive pulled a transmission out of so i cant imagine it being any different than anything else. then again dodge really thought outside the box on this car but it seems like most of it is geared towards being easier to work on. makes me wonder why places try charging more to work on them.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

The Viper is the easiest car I've ever worked on and my experience comes from the 60s when you could literally crawl under the hood with the engine on a lot of those old sleds. As I recall the worst thing about pulling the Viper tranny completely out is getting it past the tabs welded to the frame. I'm sure there's a trick but I didn't need to pull it all the way out to change the slave and clutch.

 

[FastMatt]

I have a RPS alum. FW, and a 6 puck clutch with about 500 miles on it for sale.

 

[justingeer82]

Im glad to hear that. I replaced the rack and pinion and it was a very straightforward.

 

[plumcrazy]

stock car, street driven...dont waste time or money with any aftermarket flywheels. clean up the stock one and slap it back in

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

What Plum said.

 

[EllowViper]

What Chuck said about what Plum said.

 

[DrumrBoy]

The Fidanza works fine....takes a bit of getting used to as the car revs much more quickly than stock. For road racing its not a bad thing because throttle blips with the side of your foot happen faster (a good thing). On the street, I see no benefit. I have one on my street GTS and it works fine.....but next time I change it I'm going back to OEM, no need for quicker revving on the street.

 

[justingeer82]

I decided to settle on the stock one. I believe I will get a short throw though. Thanks for your input everyone!

 

[justingeer82]

im resurfacing the flywheel. my pilot bearing was decimated. the clutch kit came with a chinese pilot bearing. tossed in the trash can and got a timken bearing. im going to start putting everything back together over the next few days.

You must be registered for see images attach

quick question...does the step on the clutch disk go in the pressure plate or in the flywheel? upon removal of the pressure plate the old one slipped and fell so i dont know which way to orient it. seems to fit flush with the step in both the flywheel and pressure plate.

 

[Venomiss]

im resurfacing the flywheel. my pilot bearing was decimated. the clutch kit came with a chinese pilot bearing. tossed in the trash can and got a timken bearing. im going to start putting everything back together over the next few days.

You must be registered for see images attach

quick question...does the step on the clutch disk go in the pressure plate or in the flywheel? upon removal of the pressure plate the old one slipped and fell so i dont know which way to orient it. seems to fit flush with the step in both the flywheel and pressure plate.

There is about 20 minutes left to ask an SRT Engineer live directly here on the forums. Post them here.
http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/645690-SRT-Engineering-Chat-HERE-on-June-21st!

 

[RapidTransit]

It should be printed on the clutch what side faces flywheel. Look hard, took me a while to find it.

 

[justingeer82]

Next step is my input shaft. Its pretty rough. I've read that the viper input shaft is different than the other t56 input shafts. I only found one place that sells the shaft and its out of stock. My next option is to repair the shaft I already have. Id like some input from other mechanics that faced this dilema.

 

[99 R/T 10]

Just in case you change your mind:

http://classifieds.viperclub.org/sh...itle=aluminum-flywheel-gen-2-brand-new&cat=47

 

[justingeer82]

I spent a few hours yesterday cleaning it up. It was bits of bearing caked on it. Polished it up and finished the job. Drove the car last night with no issues. I love how this car was designed to actually be fixed. Noticed I was missing some oil pan bolts. They were all loose! Is it common to tighten the bolts occasionally?