I too read that article, and it jives with what I've seen in the real world. One word of warning though. In our race car, we have a light assembly, a 7.25" ring gear, and a tiny clutch pack on a high RPM engine. Even getting a 2400 lb car moving is a challenge, and basically involves a 3,500 rpm tire burning clutch drop. I'm sure yours would be less impractical, but my thinking is if you remove weight in the assembly you probably want a light clutch as well.

Your car is rapidly heading towards impractical

 

For a drag/ street race car, i wouldn't really car about weight as much as strength.

When high rpms, long strokes are mixed for long periods of time, lightweight might be a good idea.

Personally, i'm hoping i dont have to WOT for more than 11 seconds so i'm not that concerned about it

 

I'd get your car out to Grattan Raceway - that straight should be long enough to keep you at WOT for longer

Let's keep in mind that the original topic was discussing internal engine parts and not flywheels, if I'm not mistaken. There's usually a lot more inertia reduction to be had in a lightweight flywheel (especially when talking about taking out 20+ lbs) than there is in taking weight out of the crank. My original comments stand - don't waste a lot of money trying to save a few pounds in the crank, especially when there's so much variety to be had in flywheel weights. I went with a steel flywheel in my McLeod because it makes my car easier to drive, and because a 4400 lb car has less sensitivity to flywheel mass than a 3500 lb car. Spending thousands more on a lightweight crank would be silly in this case.

 

great eric!
see you saturday in flint so you can help me yank the motor and trans?