How many flywheel teeth for 302?

[luke-44]

Bob - I am building an early 302 for my FIA. It can out of an automatic. I plan to use a 3550 or TKO. How many tooth flywheel should I be looking for?

Thanks, luke-44

[Bob Putnam]

You want a ring gear with 157 or 160 teeth. They both have the same 13.3" OD. I'm pretty sure that, while the gear pitch is slightly different, both are compatible with most starters. The gear mesh ain't exactly up to aircraft standards.

If there are any experts out there on the subject, I am willing to learn more.

[RedEye]

What would the recommended weight be for a 302 engine? What factors determine the correct flywheel weight.

[strictlypersonl]

It really depends on your use. For street use, I tend to stay with a standard or slightly lightened steel flywheel.

[Bill E]

You want a ring gear with 157

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Originally Posted by RedEye

What would the recommended weight be for a 302 engine? What factors determine the correct flywheel weight.

Are you reffering to the imbalance???????? if so,that is determined by the crankshaft...... Depending on the year model,it could be 28 oz. or 50 oz., and it is imperitive you get the correct one, they ARE NOT interchangable, the flywheels will bolt on, but the balance of the engine will be off and it will vibrate itself to death.......

As far as flywheel weight goes, some like a steel, some like a lighter aluminum, depends on what you plan to do with the car.

Ford flywheels came in 157 tooth count and 164 tooth count, the 164 is a larger diameter and will require a larger diameter bellhousing if using a factory bell housing.....if using a Lakewood or similar blowproof bell housing, they are designed to use either size flywheel.........the 157 tooth flywheel is the most common, it uses a 10.5 inch diameter clutch, the larger flywheel uses an 11 inch clutch.....

David

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by DAVID GAGNARD

...As far as flywheel weight goes, some like a steel, some like a lighter aluminum, depends on what you plan to do with the car....

Good pickup there on the “weight”, David.

As far as the actual weight of the flywheel goes however, the flywheel and the harmonic balancer need to be correctly matched to effectively smooth out, or ‘absorb’, the torsional forces in the crankshaft.

If you think that a lighter flywheel will make you accelerate more quickly, all it will really allow is quicker up- and down-rev when ‘blipping’ with no load (no drive) applied. A lighter flywheel (IMO) would make no measurable difference on the road or track.

The effect of a lighter flywheel by itself will be less capacity to absorb those torsional forces that necessarily result from a complex assembly like a fast revving internal combustion engine. And, if your lighter flywheel doesn’t match the spec. of your harmonic balancer, that’s compounding the problem that you’ve just created. The mismatch will increase the crankshaft torsional forces rather than dampening them.

So yes it does depend on what you want to do with the car. If you like to rev it a bit, and you want some longevity out of the engine, get expert advice before going for a lighter flywheel.

Cheers,

Glen