Hey all, i just wanted to know what are the pros and cons to getting an aluminum flywheel? I got my eyes on a Fidanza right now i just want to know what im up against.

Thanks,
Matt

 

Well, since most aftermarket flywheels are neutrally balanced, if you have the stock rotating assembly (which is externally balanced) then you cannot use it.

 

Take the Fidanza to a machine shop along with your current FW and they'll match-balance it. I think I paid ~$35 to get it done.

 

I installed a Fidanza on my LT1 right out of the box with no issues.

 

I have a Ram Al flywheel. Was balanced out of the box. Pics in sig showing weights. Drives fine imo. I believe it weighs alittle more than the other Al flywheels. I went with this one since it is thicker and less likely to warp. Never heard anything bad about either though.

 

well i know the flywheel was in the previous owners car for less than a season before he was hit and parted the car. knowing thats its been in a previous car i would assume its been balanced?

 

Yeah...to HIS rotating assembly.

Now you need to get it balanced to YOUR rotating assembly.

Since your current FW is already balanced correctly for your engine, you just need to locate a shop that can match-balance them, and you're good-to-go.

The Fidanza comes zero-balanced out of the box. The guys running them successfully on LT1s *without* match-balancing fall into 2 basic categories:

a. Those who happened to have a rotating assembly that was pretty close to zero-balanced.

b. Those who are experiencing some additional driveline vibration that may not even be noticeable.

 

Well im converting mine over from a4-m6 so the stock flywheel i have is matched to another engine as is the aluminum flywheel i just picked up.

Im confused on what to do

 

If you have the original flexplate, that's what you would balance to in this case.

If you *don't* have that flexplate, then you'd better hope that your rotating assembly is pretty close to zero-balanced.

 

yeah ill have the flexplate to work with... getting flywheels balanced can you go to pretty much any transmission shop and be able to do it or do i have to find a specialty shop?

sorry im new to manual world this will be my first stick car i dont know much about the tech stuff.

 

funny, thats not what they told me when i called them. to zero you remove the weight that is bolted to one side

 

When I picked up mine, the weight came in a separate bag, but regardless the only time you'd ever use it is if you were match-balancing an externally balanced engine, like the LT1.

95mysticta, you'll just deliver the old FW, & the Fidanza (with weight, whether or not it's already mounted) to your shop and they'll take care of it for you.

 

I used a local performance shop.


You asked about pros & cons of an aluminum FW...here's one of the better articles I've read on it: http://www.vortexbuicks-etc.com/spin_zone.htm

The entire article is worth reading, but "Item # 4: Measuring the Flywheel Effect" specifically discusses the FW topic.

 

hey sorry to bring up this thread again, but i just swapped a 383 LT1 into my firebird and picked up a new Fidanza aluminum flywheel in the process, and im wondering if the weight is that little black part held on to the back by three bolts, or if that part needs to be on there for zero-balance.
here is a pic of front and back:

 

Call Fidanza and ask them. They will know for sure.