Quote:
Originally Posted by CobraEd
The motor winding up faster is not just some interesting anecdotal side effect. If the engine winds up faster when running full throttle in gear as it will with an aluminum flywheel, that means the car is accellerating faster. It is a waste of hp trying to spin up a 30lb disc from 1,000 rpm to 6,500 rpm as fast as possible. It takes a lot of HP that could be going to the rear wheels. It is a parasitic loss. Think of all the time, money, and effort spent in building up our engines for maximum power. The $100 differnece to get an aluminum flywheel over steel of cast iron is a small price to pay for 1/2 second off your 1/4 mile times as indicated in one of the posts above, or for blowing off the competition on the street. It is free hp that is no longer being wasted trying to rotate a 30lb mass.
.
|
I wont dispute the above graph showing 1/2 second in the quarter mile runs, but look at the dates on the graph, one year apart.....Assuming all things were the same, that's some big gain....I'd have to get more info on the car, yes, it had the same engine, what what about tires, were they the same, weather conditions, same or not, weather alone will play a factor in 1/4 times. driving will also.... One could assume the driver was a better driver a year later and that alone could account for some of the lower ET.......
I've run both flywheels on the street and on a road race car as well as a dirt track car and never saw more than 2/10's or so better times......definetly something you could not feel by the seat of your pants.......
Quote:
I'm having a 460 CI FE built for my ERA with 428 block and steel heads. It will be a torquer and not a radical motor. The builder is suggesting an aluminum flywheel - but mostly because that is what everyone wants. This car is a street roadster recreation and will be strictly street driven by me. I'm questioning if I really need and aluminum flywheel for this and wouldn't be better off with a steel flywheel. What are most people using with a mild to medium build big block motor?
|
The original question was what to put in the car, "This car is a street roadster recreation and will be strictly street driven by me."
For that use, I'd still recommend a steel flywheel.......JMHO of course....
David