I'm getting a new one. any suggestions? some things i should consider when picking one out? it's for a 1990 5.0 HO from a mustang.
there are some things I'm not quite clear on, like the differences in teeth, diameter, and balance. what do they all correspond to?
also, a friend of mine was trying to convince me to go aluminum, but I'm concerned about strength. Hays makes a stronger aluminum one, but its almost $500... and there is also the ones with removable friction surface. anybody hear anything good about these?
I'm thinking since the SO and HO 5.0s use the same crank and balancer the flywheels should be the same.
you need a 157 tooth, 50oz imbalance flywheel. For a stock HO im sure you wouldnt have to worry about putting out enough power to brake an aluminum flywheel. In fact it would problay be better for your application. Less recipicating weight means less wear on your main bearings. It can also can help your engine rev up more quickly to higher rpms. One of the arguments between an alum. fly. vs. a billit steel fly. is that an alum. may rev up more quickly due to lack of weight but a steel flys weight will give more momentum which might be better for a larger displacement engine. If you want inexpensive you can find a new billit steel flywheel on ebay from the mustang depo for about $100 with shipping or an alum. for about $275. Anyways, im trying to decide which to go with myself right now so i look forward to other members imput on this!
Heavy flywheels are used in low HP applications in drag racing to help the launch. The rotational mass helps. It will also dampen some of the firing pulses at low rpm, like in a tractor.
The aluminum will rev quicker, decel quicker, and is used in most racing classes that allow it. Otherwise they run very light steel flywheels and tiny multi-disc clutches. Some small dia steel flywheels are lighter than aluminum.
The aluminum itself makes a poor friction material, so they must have a steel insert for the clutch disc(s) to bear against.