There is a section in this forum that has to do with weight reduction of the trans am to increase hp and one tip stated that you can purchase a lightweight fywheel for automatic transmissions; are there really lightweight flywheels avaiilable for automatic transmissions?

 

Automatic transmissions don't have a flywheel at all. So it's not possible to purchase one, of ANY weight.

All they have, is a flex plate. Which is a disc of sheet metal. Often with a bunch of large holes in it to eliminate unnecessary material.

Hard to get much lighter than that.

Besides which, they are bolted to the torque converter; which weighs about 12 to 15 times as much. So even if you got a flex plate that was entirely weightless, the weight reduction to the total system would be insignificant.

That being said, most racing setups use a THICKER and HEAVIER flex plate, to avoid parts failure.

 

Ok Cool! Thats one more thing learned (not flywheels; flexplates on automatics) thanx man! So I guess I should erase "purchase light weight flexplate" off my list then since it doesnt really raise hp at all!

L8R!

 

The light weight flywheels will let the engine rev quicker. Will do nothing for HP levels.

 

There are light weight flexplates. They are made of aluminum and have a steel ring gear.

 

Any weight savings will give you increased performance, esp in the rotating assambly/ drive train. It will be marginal and honestly, for the money spent you can get a much greater gain in other upgrades. Most i have seen on a dyno is like a 2% increase in hp/ torque at the wheels... which on the car (in the artical) was less than a 10 hp peak gain.

In other words, you probably wouldnt notice the change and you can get more performance from other upgrades.

 

The needed flywheel/flexplate weight varries from engine to engine depending upon your over-all combination. I was previously running a very heavy full-face 168 tooth flywheel. It helped lessen the rpm drop through gear changes. Once that weight is spinning it takes more to slow it down, but yes, it takes more to get it spinning. I launch over 5500 and pull to around 7. I twist 72-7600 in low, but my 1-2 ratio step sucked, thus this is where it would "freewheel" allowing a clutchless shift.