i am looking at putting a clutch in my 01 coupe, it seems as if everyone is selling kits with aluminum flywheels. what is the big deal, wouldnt reducing the rotating mass be bad? and while i am on the subject what clutch would you guys recommend, i am not a big racer and i am not making big power.

 

I'm no racing guy, but I think the idea behind the aluminum flywheel is that it accelerates quicker than a heavier, steel flywheel.

 

There is less inertia which translates into more hp getting to the rear wheels. Stored inertia isn't much of a problem with these cars as 1: they are fairly light and 2: the LS1 makes great torque down low. I've been running an aluminum flywheel for about 3 years now with no problems other than spinning the rears a bit too often.

 

Harder to get underway without the rotating mass of the steel flwheel -the Kool factor will wear off real fast the first time you have to drive in rush hour traffic IMO.

 

less weight, will get higher in the rpm range faster..

 

ok so i dont need the darn thing to rev any quicker and i like the easy take off, looks like keeping the stock flywheel is the way to go. now, what clutch is going to work best....?

 

Textralia oz700 single disk is reported as holding up very well by Zturd.
Pit

 

How much HP are you trying to hold?

 

ls7 all the way. also there are other added benies than just faster revs to an alum fw. like less bearing wear the overall #1 is just more power. not sure how much but...helps. Im not worried about inertia and rush hour traffic becuase the fw and ls7 pressure plate together weight somewhere in the range of 35 lbs still plenty!

 

Well.....there is nothing in your sig, so you'll have to divulge a little info on your setup and proposed mods to get an good answer.

 

A flywheel neither adds nor takes away power. Whatchu got is whatchu got. It stores energy. This might be a good thing if you are drag racing. Heavier flywheels might let you spin enough off the line to get going without bogging the engine. Lighter flywheels might bog because there's not enough stored energy (inertia) to keep the tires spinning long enough to prevent bog. Usually, if you bog off the line, the accelleration advantage of a light flywheel will not make up for the lost time bogging. Conversely, if there is plenty of available power or a lack of traction, then the light flywheel might improve et since you can launch without bogging and enjoy the benefits of quicker accelleration.

Generally, road racers like light weight flywheels. They don't have to worry about accellerating from a dead stop. They are more interested in accellerating off of corners. Light flywheels work well for this since there is less rotating mass to get going.

I can't really think of any other benefit for either one. Bearing wear should be the same with either. You might get better pilot bearing life with a light weight clutch disc, but this is pure speculation on my part.

Anyway, as you can see, there are a lot of variables that can make a light flywheel good or bad (available power, available traction, type of racing etc). If you are racing, ask the fast guys in your class to see what they are using.

 

thanks guys, i am not planning on racing or making a lot of power so something just better than stock should be good.

 

Are you dissatisfied with the stock clutch?

In my case, I don't have any issues with the stock clutch. I also have no intention of adding power. So, assuming I can get 60k+ out of the clutch, I would most likely go back stock.

If you are looking at a kit, the best reason(for me) to get the flywheel (steel or aluminum) with it is if they balance the assembly.

Anyway, just my opinion. Your mileage my vary.

 

i have about 50k on it and the clutch is slipping, it needs the tranny rebuild i i figure now is a good time to put a new one in, i was just looking at the centerforce unit from summit racing.

 

I don't have any experience with Centerforce in a vette, but I did have one in a Datsun 280Z. I liked it fine. Clamped well without increasing effort and took a good bit of abuse.

I had a light weight aluminum flywheel in that car also and one thing I remember is that you could feel engine pulses at low rpm. I can't imagine having that issue with a stock vette. Maybe with a good cam but even then, tuners may be able to take a good bit of that out.

 

I looked at clutches long and hard when I bought mine. I wanted something that would drive like stock so my wife would still drive the car, I wanted something to hold more power and I wanted something as light as or slightly ligher than the C5 Z06 clutch that was already in the car. I bought a Textralia X-grip. Textralia makes two discs, the x-grip and the z-grip. The x-grip is more like a stock design and more street friendly. If you don't plan on power adders (cam/heads or FI) then the C5 Z06 would be a good choice as well. Don't forget a remote bleeder, no matter which clutch you decide on. This is a great mod that will pay for itself over and over because you can bleed out the old fluid every year (assuming you don't race the car) and always keeps things clean and fresh in the hydraulics.