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The Automotive Flywheel

A breif look at what it is and how it works

Contributed By: Enginebasics.com

The Flywheel is very important in a car if you want a smooth ride. It is connected to the rear of the Crankshaft, and is about 12-15 inches in diameter. What it does is it uses inertia to maintain momentum and smooth out the power pulses that the car has, mainly in the lower gears. On a manual transmission car it is part of the clutch system, and on an automatic car it mounts the heavy torque converter. If you need a new Flywheel for your car make sure you get the right size because there are many different sizes with a different amount of bolt holes.

Light Weight Flywheel Advantages ( Pro’s)

The advantages of a lightweight flywheel are that the motor will have less mass to rotate and will therefore rev up faster, and have less power loses through the drive train. A light weight flywheel will also aid in engine breaking the vehicle, do to its rotational mass being less, allowing the engine to do more work on the wheels. Some racers also suggest that it allows rev matching to be easier, do to being able to rev the motor faster. You will be surprised how much faster a motor will rev with a lightweight flywheel.

Disadvantages of a Light Weight flywheel (Con’s)

The can be incredibly hard to drive on the street depending on the clutch used in combination with the flywheel. Having such a small inertia on the motor, makes engaging first and second gear smoothly very difficult. The motor must be revved excessively to engage the lower gears without stalling. While a lightweight flywheel can make driving a car on the track very exciting due to the quick revving nature of the motor, on the street it can be a nightmare.

If your in the market for a performance flywheel check below:

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Below are just a few of the articles found here on enginebasics.com

Reading Spark Plugs	Camshaft Understanding	Engine Timing	Intake Runner Length	Exhaust Flow Tuning	Camshaft Timing	Engine Cooling Basics	Compression Testing	Forced Induction
Tuning A/F Ratio Basics	Intake Manifold Basics	A look at cooling mods	Camber Caster Basics	Sequential Vs Batch Injection	Fuel Pressure Regulator	EGT Vs A/F EFI Tuning	Engine Start Programming	What is a fuel Injector?
Brush vs Brushless Motors	4-stroke motor diagram	Crankshafts Basics	Automotive Relays	EFI Tuning Basic Thoery Guide	Understanding Electric Motors	Water Meth Injection	Intercooler Basics	e85 Basics
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Exhaust Cutout Basics	Cold Air Intake vs Short Ram	Engine HP and Torque Basics	Intercooler Sprayer Basics	Turbo Manifold Design Basics	Cryo Liquid Co2 Cooling	Oil Cooler Basics and Installation	Boost by Gear Tuning	Closed Loop vs Open Loop O2 tuning
Changing your own oil	Static Vs. Dynamic Compression	Air to Air Vs. Water to Air Intercoolers	Vented vs Recirculating Blow Off Valves	Engine Intake Exhaust Valves	Wiring a fuel pump relay	Synthetic vs Regular Oil	O2 Sensor Repair Fix	Embrace the TURBO LAG

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