gward1211 Posted August 2, 2021 Share Posted August 2, 2021 Hello again The flywheel of a 1928 Master weighs 107lbs, whereas a Standard 6 flywheel weighs only 61lbs. This seems to me to be a lot of unnecessary weight. Has anyone had any experience with a lightened flywheel on a Master? If so, how much weight was removed and what was the result? Kind regards Geoff Ward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted August 2, 2021 Share Posted August 2, 2021 I would not try to "lighten up" the flywheel. The mass of the flywheel is an asset to keep the car from stalling when starting out. There are reasons the engineers of the time did design the way they did. When someone starts to redesign the car you usually end up with other problems. 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldtech Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 The heavy flywheel was to save shifting gears. You can slow to idle speed in 3rd and accelerate away smoothly. This was considered an asset. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gward1211 Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 (edited) OK I hear you. Don't touch the flywheel. To be able to slow to idle in top gear is still an advantage in traffic. Changing down up on steeper hills is the problem with a heavy flywheel. Kind regards Geoff Ward Edited August 4, 2021 by gward1211 Mistake made (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Wiegand Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 I'm afraid that I don't understand what you mean by 'changing down' on steeper hills. If you are meaning downshifting, then that should not be any problem at all. As the others have said, you do not want to disturb the rotating mass of the flywheel. This is where the power comes from in the engine. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gward1211 Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 OK I hear you. Don't touch the flywheel. To be able to slow to idle in top gear is still an advantage in traffic. Changing down on steeper hills is the problem with a heavy flywheel. Kind regards Geoff Ward What I mean is, if I start a climb up a hill and eventually have to change down, by the time the engine revs slow down enough to get it into 2nd gear, it has almost stopped forward movement and is ready for first gear. By that time it becomes a stationary hill start. Not good if you are in fast-moving traffic. Kind regards Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Wiegand Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Geoff, Let's hope that somebody on here will chime in and explain the double clutching procedure better than I can. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 (edited) If you are downshifting, you need the engine rpm faster, not slower. In more modern cars, flywheels are sometimes lightened for faster shifting. I've done it and I'll do it again. I would have to think long and hard before doing it to a car with a 3 speed crashbox. It was never intended to be driven like that, and probably would not be a net gain. People didn't like to shift because there was no synchromesh. The automakers knew this and catered to it. There are many things to think about. How fast the engine slows down and how completely the throttle shuts on a shift (the two are closely related), how quickly or slowly the gears of the transmission slow down in neutral when declutched (and how much drag the oil contributes due to it's viscosity, often really thick in crashboxes), and so on. Making the gear go right in is all about speed and timing. The RPM needs to match when you make that final pull. For the moment it is beyond me. Since there are only 3 gears, and the first one is only for taking off, second is going to be pretty low and pretty slow. How much do you want to be in second? Edited August 4, 2021 by Bloo (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gward1211 Posted August 4, 2021 Author Share Posted August 4, 2021 Perhaps I didn't explain it well. Double shuffling going up a hill is fine and I can generally do it without a crash. However, already travelling slow in top gear, by the time I double shuffle into 2nd, the forward motion has almost stopped and is too slow for second (a pretty steep hill). This is not a flywheel problem. The other situation I encounter is when going up a not so steep hill at higher revs in a low gear, when the time comes and you think you can change up, in waiting for the engine to slow down to get into a higher gear, a lot of the speed has washed off and becomes too slow for the higher gear. This is the flywheel problem I had in mind when I asked about lightening the flywheel. Kind regards Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted August 4, 2021 Share Posted August 4, 2021 Well that does sound like the engine and flywheel comes down too slow. Is the car by chance idling any faster than it should? Having the throttle close enough is a big part of making the engine speed come down quickly for an upshift. Food for thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gward1211 Posted August 4, 2021 Author Share Posted August 4, 2021 Thanks, The idle speed is not fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Shaw Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Geoff, Just read this web page and decide if you have a race car or not. Light flywheels: pros and cons – Infinite-Garage (infinitegarage.com) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_Heil Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 On 8/3/2021 at 8:30 PM, gward1211 said: Perhaps I didn't explain it well. Double shuffling going up a hill is fine and I can generally do it without a crash. However, already travelling slow in top gear, by the time I double shuffle into 2nd, the forward motion has almost stopped and is too slow for second (a pretty steep hill). This is not a flywheel problem. The other situation I encounter is when going up a not so steep hill at higher revs in a low gear, when the time comes and you think you can change up, in waiting for the engine to slow down to get into a higher gear, a lot of the speed has washed off and becomes too slow for the higher gear. This is the flywheel problem I had in mind when I asked about lightening the flywheel. Kind regards Geoff Anticipate the vehicle’s response and downshift sooner. Problem solved. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gward1211 Posted August 6, 2021 Author Share Posted August 6, 2021 Let's kill this topic. Thanks to all for your advice. I will not lighten the flywheel. Kind regards Geoff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted August 6, 2021 Share Posted August 6, 2021 On 8/5/2021 at 10:21 AM, Mark Shaw said: Geoff, Just read this web page and decide if you have a race car or not. Light flywheels: pros and cons – Infinite-Garage (infinitegarage.com) Good reference article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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