Dale Gribble

I'm looking at 3 options.

These two being sold by vivid racing:

Fidanza

Our aluminum flywheels are made from the highest quality 6061 T6 aluminum. The material is fantastic for strength, heat dissipation and of course reduction in weight. The friction surface we use is an incredibly strong 1050 steel. The plates are milled to meet our high specifications. A Fidanza flywheel can mate with any type of clutch material, including organic, kevlar, ceramic, metallic and sintered iron. We attach the friction surface with military grade aerospace fasteners. The ring gears we use are also made from 1050 steel and are heat treated for durability. The gears are heated then pressed on and secured with grade 8 button screws. We were the first to utilize a stepped dowel system in most of our flywheel applications. This doweling method ensures that once the pressure plate is installed the dowels cannot be removed because they become locked into place. Fidanza designs and builds flywheels with extreme precision. We give tuners, racers and builders the high performance and unmatched power they’re seeking.

Flywheel weighs 12.5lbs.

SPECS
6061 T6 BILLET ALUMINUM
GRADE 10 AEROSPACE FASTENERS
EXCLUSIVE STEPPED DOWELS
REPLACABLE 1050 STEEL FRICTION SURFACE
1050 HARDEND RING GEAR
CNC MACHINED AT CONSTANT SURFACE SPEED

PRICE: 404$US


Stillen

Aluminum Flywheel. In road racing, being able to match road-speed to engine speed is critical for fast shifting and ultimate mastery of the transmission. This is made far simpler by optimizing the weight of the flywheel. These billet aluminum flywheels are typically just over half the weight of the stock iron unit. With the reduced weight, less power is needed to overcome flywheel inertia. The result is a quicker revving, more responsive motor. Sold outright, no exchange. *Note: *Actual product may vary from image.

Flywheel is 14lbs which is a 50% reduction. The flywheel is 100% rebuildable

800$US

this one by evoms:

EVOMS unit (is this a sachs or clutchmasters flywheel, i'm not sure)


The OEM 28 LB. dual mass flywheel is replaced with this solid 12 lb. CNC Machined aluminum and steel flywheel. The weight reduction allows the motor to rev quicker for better acceleration and incredible throttle response. This stronger clutch kit will support any modified Boxster. Offers 100% daily drive ability with little increase in clutch pedal effort. Smooth engagement for everyday use.

1200$US

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please reporton experiences, advice and anything which could help me make a good decision.

what is the difference between single mass and dual mass? which are those?

the fidanza almost looks too good for the price. what are the chances of one shattering and tearing my engine/tranny to pieces?

also. how many labour hrs to install? 6 or 7 right?

penguinking

IMO a 12.5lb flywheel is too light for everyday use - it makes it really easy to stall out the car when starting from a complete stop. in addition, i'd also be worried about the vibration dampening effect you lose from such a light flywheel. btw, fidanza makes good stuff, but for daily driving might be too much.

bowmanm98

Great thread, I'd have to go Fidanza. I mean it's clearly the best bang for your buck and I doubt the 1.5 lbs the Stillen weighs more is going to change driveability that much.

RayGT3

Used Fidanza in my C5 Corvettes, went from 38 lbs to 12 lbs., absolutely no driveability or vibration issues in daily driver. Priced reasonablly, quality product. Just my 2 cents.

evolvedaz

we actually have 1 of each coming in for 2 different cars. will have a complete write up. The fidanza is what we mostly use. Definitely not to light, we use that weight flywheel in alot of other cars. Yes it will be sensitive, but the increase in throttle response and the weight savings from the lighter rotating mass is huge!!!

TT Surgeon

There is a reason porsche uses a dual mass flywheel you know. There was a thread several months ago from a guy who was having all sorts of trouble with it on the street.

karlooz

hope you don't think that guy was me

i ordered the fidanza unit for my 3.4L and got one that looked like it was for a turbo. the fidanza had 9 bolt holes where the 3.4L has 8. called fidanza and they said they only made the flywheel for the 3.6L. back it went. my local speed shop (thx akkurat) ordered and installed an aasco unit. made just like the fidanza with the replaceable friction surface. this is the same unit FVD uses (that's what FVD told me) and appears evo uses this too. unless dan@vivid can verify that it has 8 bolt holes then stay clear if you have a 3.4L. it is an awesome price, that's why i got it in the first place.

initially, i did have to get used to the added NVH (noise vibration harshness). the LWF is aluminum and transmits more noise. also the mass is cut in half further lessening the dampening effect. the NVH seemed to get mellower as it broke in. i'm not sure if that's the case or i just got used to it. mainly it would be at it's loudest when lugging the car in a higher gear at low revvs. it was loud with heavy engine braking. at speed i cannot hear it, or maybe the road/wind noise is louder than the gear noise .

as far as drivability, penguinking doesn't know what he is talking about (no offense!). my '99 is my daily driver. no probs here. there were problems with LWF on 993s. the ECU had to be remapped so it wouldn't stall but this is not the case with the 996.

on a NA 996 i think it is a GREAT upgrade. gear noise is not unbearable but you can hear it. if you are the type who gets upset with little creaks and moans from the chassis, or get's bent from niggles here and there, then get a lexus (just kidding... not really ). this a purely performance enhancement. the reduced rotating mass gives you sharp throttle response and acceleration. it's not like adding 50HP but you can feel it.

i, however, would only contemplate this mod if you need a new clutch. mine was down to the rivets and was making strange noises so i thought this the perfect time to upgrade the clutch AND the flywheel. i ended up pairing the aasco with a clutchmasters stage 3 clutch. clutchmasters told me their fx300 (stage3) kit would be good up to 420HP. it has a segmented kevlar friction surface and upgraded pressure plate. doesn't come with a pilot bearing though. akkurat had to scramble and get an appropriate one. good thing it uses the oem pilot bearing.

click on my sig, then click on "lightweight flywheel"

labour is 5~7 hours

sorry, can't talk about longevity but aasco motorsports uses them in their porsche race cars

here's a link for the aasco motorsports lightweight flywheel

mightytaco

I was in the exact same boat as Karlooz: I got the exact same flywheel for my 3.4L ('99 996) and only found out that it wouldn't fit the 3.4L when my car was up on the hoist and they had taken apart my engine (and was told by my mechanic that it was either the flywheel for a 993 or a 3.6L. I tried to confirm with Fidanza, but they weren't able to provide any useful information).

I ordered it because I know other people with corvettes that use a Fidanza and love it. The shop where the flywheel was originally ordered wouldn't take the flywheel back, so I'm stuck with it. If anyone is interested (and has a 3.6L), please send me a PM.

TT Surgeon

Carlos, I remember your tale of whoa, glad it worked out for you, but the one I had in mind was a guy with a C4S from europe someplace that was having all sorts of trouble( stalling, etc). He might have got it from FVD, I believe the post was on rennteam.
Chris
Taco, pm me, might be interested.

wyo996

I just had the EVOMS LWF and stage II clutch put in by Todd and what a differance, quick. It does rattle if you lug down and you do need to downshift earlier but that is not a real driveability problem. I also have the Fidanza flywheel in my son's 3000gt VR4 550 hp monster and when the high torque fried the organic clutch durring a dyno run the face was heat checked and it was cheap and easy to replace the faceplate that just unbolts. Now we have a Kevlar clutch and it works well. No real diveability issues with that set up either. Will