matthewb223

Does anyone have any experience with the F1 Prolite flywheel for the 4.6 seen here

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/F1-PR...Q5fAccessories

After searching through tons of threads I have not really found too many answers on light weight flywheels. This one seems reasonably priced.

Any suggestions?

Jazzer The Cat

Some thoughts on lighter flywheels...

The specific reason that a stock fly is heavy is to help retain torque upon engaging the clutch. A lighter fly will spin up faster, but also slow down faster when leaving the line. You will need to "feather" the clutch a bit more to get going. This can shorten the life of your clutch, so keep this in mind. Once the clutch is fully engaged, the car will accelerate faster.

You need to do some research on the bolt pattern listed in the eBay ad. My car is an '02 and required a 6 bolt fly, NOT an 8 bolt! I even confirmed with the VIN and purchased an 8 bolt when I did my clutch several years ago. I ended up re-installing the original fly and swapping it out with a new 6 bolt when I did my trans last year.

Jazzer

matthewb223

I understand the function of a flywheel. In my case I should be a little better off because my engine is not in a mustang. It is in a 944 which will weigh about 1000 lbs less than a mustang and also has gearing for a 4 cylinder car. With those two things working for me I think I should be able to go with a somewhat lightened flywheel. Fidanza looks like they offer aluminum ones down to 12 lbs. The one in the add is still a 16 lb one.

I am installing a stroker crank in my engine and it does have the 8 bolt pattern but thanks for the heads up... looking through threads I see that about the only way to tell what you have with the mustang is to pull it apart and look.

After all that, does anyone have any opinions about the listed flywheel or any experience with it.

Z28KLR

I think you should keep looking. I say this because it looks like the one you have listed doesn't have a replaceable friction surface. Most others (SPEC, Fidanza, Ram, etc.) do, it usually costs less than $100. My vague understanding regarding this is that if you machine/resurface an aluminum flywheel you run the risk of compromising it's strength and having problems with it because of that (warping, cracking, etc.); the factory cast iron ones can usually be resurfaced a couple times because, well, cast iron is stronger than aluminum. If you don't care about that and plan on replacing this flywheel the next time you need a clutch, then go for it.

matthewb223

The flywheel in the link is chromemoly not aluminum.

Z28KLR

My bad, still waiting for my coffee to do it's job..... What exactly is chromemoly, like hardened steel?

matthewb223

Chromemoly is just a specific composition of steel. I think it has a high strength and is often used for structural type stuff like roll cages along with tons of other things.

98redstang

yeah they use it in bike frames i know too.