TR6

First, I apologize for the long post, but if you have been on the fence about upgrading to a light weight flywheel, this will hopefully be useful. You guys may remember me posting this thread seeking input on whether or not to go with the stock DMF and clutch or upgrade to a light weight flywheel since my transmission was out for repair anyway. Well, I've had several people PM me asking me for an update since they are considering the same upgrade so I thought I'd post a new thread to give my impressions and experience so far.

I looked at different options including the very reasonably priced Fidanza LWF but opted to buy the Porsche RS light weight flywheel and clutch kit from ViperBob here on rennlist. What appealed to me was the fact that it is a complete and proven kit that includes all necessary components matched together. I didn't have to worry about whether or not the clutch would work ok with the flywheel or whether the bolts would be the right size, etc. Bob's got it all figured out for you. I'm told the weight of the RS LWF is 14 lbs (someone correct me if that's wrong). I do know that I was amazed at how massively heavy my old DMF felt when I picked it up after it was removed from the car! Its a boat anchor!

I got the car back from the mechanic on the Friday over a week ago just when the freezing rainy weather was moving into north Texas, so I literally drove it straight home from the mechanic and put it away waiting for better weather. Those of you here locally know that it was over a week before we got a break in the weather. So this Sunday, the sun came out, it warmed up to about 60 degrees, and I took the RS America out to try out the new set up.

First, it hasn't stalled at all. Not even once. I've done everything that your not supposed to do with a LWF including running at a steady 3000 rpms and then letting off the gas and pushing in the clutch to let the rpms free fall. I've even turned on the headlights and airconditioning to try to load it up. Worst its done so far is to drop down to about 400 rpms before recovering. It does it the worst when the engine is cold but once it warms up, its much better. But even cold, it hasn't stalled.

Also, I've had no problems at all taking off from a standstill even on a hill. One thing that is taking a little getting used to is that the clutch engages much more firmly and rapidly when you lift the pedal than it did with the DMF, so you have to be ready for that. But within a few minutes, I had it dialed in. I also noticed that the clutch engages much sooner as the pedal lifts from the floor. In other words, previously, the pedal had to come up higher to engage and now it engages closer to the floor. I don't know if that is just the nature of the LWF setup. Its really not a problem, again it just takes a few minutes of getting used to.

In terms of driving performance, I would have to say that now that I've driven it several times and drove it work today, it definitely feels like it gets off the starting line much quicker and accelerates faster through 1st and 2nd gears. I don't think its just my imagination, although I don't have any data to compare. The engine spins up faster in response to throttle input and, once you get the clutch feel dialed in, its much easier to use the clutch and throttle to launch the car quickly. It already feels very natural to me. The car feels very responsive from a standing start. In fact, it feels more like I can finesse the throttle and clutch together to manage rear wheel spin and slip better than I could with the DMF. Its hard to put that into words, but as an example, when I took a left turn from a standing start this morning, the rear wheels spun and broke lose on the dry pavement and the rear end starting swinging out. But it felt like I was able to finesse the clutch and throttle together (along with steering input) to control the drift of the car's tail through the turn and keep it pointed where I wanted. Its very subtle, but I swear that it all felt much more precise than it did previously in terms of the rpm's responding to my input. And launching the car from a standstill feels much more precise and immediate. Just squeeze the throttle like so while releasing the clutch just so, and the car just launches forward obeying your will. No muss. No fuss. It all feels very exact.

I have noticed a slight increase in noise transmitted through the shifter lever from the spinning components in the gearbox since I don't have that rubber center of the old DMF to act as sound deadening. But its not loud or annoying and honestly, if the car had always been that way when I bought it, I would have thought nothing unusual of it. My Triumph TR6 with its solid flywheel is noisier than this one. I would describe it as a very low "urrrrrrrrrr" sound that you quickly tune out. In fact, by the time I drove the car a third time today, I didn't even remember noticing it any longer.

I'll report more if further impressions and experience warrant it. Especially when I get some time sitting in traffic with it. Based on my early impressions, I give this upgrade two thumbs up!

aeroman

Now you got me thinking about it. How much did it run you installed if you don't mind me asking?

TR6

Hard to say exactly because my bill included a repair to my transmission that was unrelated to the clutch. Also, hourly shop rates vary from one mechanic to another (my total bill was about $3100 including the transmission repair). However, the RS LWF & clutch kit cost me $1350 and I would guess that the labor for installing the LWF and clutch including dropping the transmission would run you about $1000 to $1300 or so depending on your shop's hourly rate. Probably in the neighborhood of $2500 total incuding parts.

parsecnc4

This is tempting.... maybe I can wish for that for my birthday from my better half

Chris M.

Glad it's working out for you. Your driving impressions as far as the clutch release point and stiffness are exactly what I felt when I drove BostonU's car. Much stiffer than a stock setup and it released almost right off the floor. Nice throttle response and no stalling. I wonder why some cars have issues and others don't.

Olcha911

Greg-

I believe I saw your car about 3-4 weeks ago on Saturday at the Old West in Denton the morning. That must have been you. Six of us were meeting there before we all went to Eagles Canyon Raceway to drive on the track and to talk about scheduling a couple of Maverick Region DEs there. We're all club racers and when I went in, I asked my friends at the table of it was anyone's car. They all said no. Jay hadn't gotten there yet- but he was with us. I see you took off the big wing after you bought it from Doug. That's why I wasn't sure it was the same car I'm familiar with.

I've had an RS America for 13 years, and have club raced one for 6 years. I recently changed my clutch disk (already have RS flywheel setup)- it blew at Daytona on the first lap of the sprint race which is why my qualifying doesn't exactly match my results. If you have any questions in the future and want to work on a few things yourself, look me up. Between four of us we're doing something evey weekend. For example- last weekend we corner balanced two race cars and one street car. I still have the scales- that might be something you'd be interested in.
-Keith Olcha

Steven C.

Kieth,

If Greg doesn't take you up on a corner balance I sure will

BostonU

Greg, My experience was the same when I recently installed the LWF. I love it, and as far as engaging the clutch at 3000 RPM, mine does the same. It will drop to 400 RPM and rise to 800 RPM. Great Post!! You said exactly what I was unable to write.

TR6

Hi Keith, Yeah, that was me there with my wife. I actually saw you guys sitting in a group at a table with a bunch of papers and folders spread out, but since I didn't know any of you and you guys were involved in conversation, I was hesitant to just walk up and interrupt. I need to be more outgoing, I guess. I think you guys may know Steve W (my brother in law) and, as you said, Jay who I've also known a long time. In fact, Jay's former engine is in my RSA (from the Zane era)!

Yeah, the big wing came off in favor of the OEM RSA wing. I had the opportunity since Steve was willing to part with his OEM RSA wing since his RSA is full race prepped. However, the big 3.8 wing definitely felt like it had more downforce than the RSA tail. But, visually, I thought the 3.8 wing was little over-the-top for a narrow body car.
Yeah, I'd love to meet up with you guys on the weekend to tinker around with the cars. I'm not familiar with corner balancing but would love to learn about it if you have time to get together. One thing I need to do right away is replace the front wheel bearings since the mechanic told me my left front is going bad (I have the new ones sitting in a box). Have you ever done front bearings?

Olcha911

Greg,

It's funny you mention front wheel bearings. I've had both front left and right wheel bearings go on the RSA. I have to do the right front on my Boxster S. Depending on how bad yours is, I was planning to do the Boxster S in a month or two. As with the RSA it's a matter of removing the hub, which means the caliper, rotor, etc. and then pressing out the old, and pressing in the new and then re-assembling. You do need to have a lot of torque to get the 340lb-ft nut off and then back on. I did them on the RSA a long time ago with a friend. When I tackle my Boxster S, I'll let you know and we can bring your car over. it is few-hour job because there is dis-assembly and re-assembly of the front hub. If it's not making a lot of noise, since it's a sealed baring, you can drive it for a while more on the street. I wouldn't take it to the track if you can feel the "groan' when you turn the steering wheel.

-Keith

fore!

Greg,

Thanks for the report. I got my RS flywheel yesterday and soon there'll be another RSA in TX with the LWF set up.

I'm thinking of adding a 5lb ring to the back per andial. May do the work myself of send it out to mike callas a sealy. Will let you know how it works out.

Kevin

If you guys are tracking your cars, you might want to consider the same package with the GT3RS clutch disk and Sachs Race pressure plate. I sell the complete kit for $1,895.00 It's a heavy duty version that we use with the turbocharged cars..

JasonAndreas

On a normally aspirated 964 the turbo pressure plates are a nightmare to drive with. I've tried the "GT2" pressure plate with the NA pedal assembly and it was no fun at all because of all the extra effort required to push the pedal down.

Steven C.

I have this set up on my car and it is very stiff! Ask Greg TR6. Only recomended for occasional use

Kevin

It is a catch 22 situation when you track your car.. The 965 boys including myself have had to deal with it. Guess you have to hit the gym and work those legs..