any benefit to a lightened flywheel ?

[Keith81]

Are there any advantages to having a lightened flywheel on the engine ???

 

[FuzzBall03]

In RC Application... I don't see much.

A lightened fly wheel would allow you to spin up the crank faster and put less of a "centrifugal" load on the crank. In theory this would allow a high rpm to be achieved and a faster spin up in RPMs.

I don't believe the cost to benefit ratio is worth it at all here.

In the automotive world, lightened flywheels CAN(not always) produce some pretty interesting results. Keep in mind a car has 5+ gears, not just one.

Just my 2 cents based on my background...

Anyone with RC racing experience have any input?

 

[Deluge]

Not worth it. They're not as durable as the stock flywheels.

 

[jeffp83]

I use a DDM lightened flywheel, and there was a noticeable difference between this and the stock one. The engine definetely spun up faster, not sure I gained any additional RPM's though (would likely need a tach to see). I wouldn't use the Darksoul lightened flywheel in an offroad environment, too much material has been taken off.

 

[DemonRC]

I've lightened mine up like the DS flywheel a year before he did it. There is a noticable difference on the positive and negative side.

+ side:

Less rotating mass and higher RPMS. This is like running ceramic bearings. Ya it helps but you need a tachometer to see it.

Do you ever wonder why your car nosedives off jumps even though ur engine is screaming at WOT in the air? That's because your CB, clutch, crankshaft, and flywheel are all rotating counter clockwise which fights the clockwise rotation of your tires. Want some proof? Take your tires off and place you car on something narrow like a 2x4. Then, rev your engine. It'll nose down every time. I run a lighter lauterbacher clutch and a stripped down flywheel. It helped my stay level in jumps with my TT and XB. If you turn that engine around like the FG you can get all your air control back like the FG cars. I can't tell you ow many times I've had my FG pointed to the moon and hit the brakes to level it out.

- side:

You lose rotating mass that can keep an engine's RPM up. "An object in motion tends to stay in motion."

 

[jeffp83]

Good info demon!

Do you find your flywheel holds together ok with the amount of material that has been removed? I know from reading over on the Baja forums that some had problems with the DS flywheel breaking apart.

 

[Jester]

Depends on how much material you remove. I have made my own lightened fly wheels and they have worked well. But I have also had one blow up and take out everything in its way.

 

[Ffdfiretruck]

My DS blew apart the first time I ran my MT. It was on it when I bought it. I went back to stock for price and reliability.

 

[racetruck]

I lightened my flywheel myself i took off 1/8 off the front and a 1/16 off the rear without having any problems and plan to remove more off the fins front side

 

[Chaser]

The biggest gains in one to one and rc are traction dependent

if you cant put in down usable then why have it

this mod also loses torque so i would only do it on a track moter for a track with a short or medium straights

 

[alfred e numan]

yea, the fg rotation would be a big help for the junps, there is also another angle to look at- its called gyroscopic effect- the more our engines rev- the less they want to turn- regardless of the direction of rotation. find a kids little top- one you can hold between your thumb and finger- spin it, and you can feel this effect. knowing this effect was my secret to hauling ass on super tight twisty single track dirt bike trails, use a big 2 stroke cr 480-500, one finger on the clutch to smootheout the power pluses, use the bikes lo-end grunt to launch corner to corner- Also cruse ships use this same effect to make it easy for passengers to move about- a huge gyro centered in the hull, yes, this is a bit off topic- it is a addmeum to what demon was talking about.

 

[DreamState]

A flywheel lightened and balanced like this will hold together better and be lighter than one with holes drilled in it, and only made a few degrees temp difference in testing.

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