I plan to install a billet steel flywheel on the BBC 427 (434) I am building for a greater level of safety and peace of mind. This leads me to a number of questions:

-I have a stock style bellhousing for an 11-inch clutch. Does that mean I want a flywheel that is listed as: 11-inch, 168-tooth? I also see a version listed as 11-inch 153-tooth. Which do I want?

-I see many brands of billet steel flywheels offered at widely varying prices from around $190 to well over $400. The only real differences I can see are the overall weight but the weights are all quite similar. All I've looked at are SFI 1.1 rated. What are the true differences, if any? Can the $190 flywheel be as good and as safe as the $250 or $400 ones? Is one brand better than another? I've looked at Hays, Zoom and CenterForce flywheels specifically.

For Question 1: Yes.
For Question 2: no clue.

Originally posted by Adman:
For Question 1: Yes.
For Question 2: no clue. Looks like I editted my post as you were replying. So you are saying I want the 11-inch, 168-tooth version.

One question down, one to go!

Here's a new one though: The weights of the flywheels range from 30 to 33. I would think the lighter one would be somewhat better, allowing the engine to rev more readily. 30 pounds of rotating steel is still quite a bit. Any idea what a stock cast flywheel weighs?

ya 163 11"

Rich may I suggest you call Red at McLeod he was very helpful in my selection of clutch and flywheel and yes 11" 168 ( consider drilled for 12" clutch) Flywheel weight, depending on your rear gear one thing for sure if you get the Muncie 5 spd with low 1st gear and a 33lb wheel may blow away your tires I'd look for something closer to 28lbs
.....talk to Red he won't steer you wrong IMO he is to clutches what Harold is to cams on this site. I have had his stuff in all my cars for many years, but this time on advice from some here I called RED for his reccomendation, he educated me smile.gif
Also there a couple of folks on here that can sell you his stuff at good prices or you can buy from him direct

Personally I like the smaller 153 tooth flywheel; you can tuck the starter inboard a little bit more and gain some header/exhaust clearance over a 168 tooth flywheel. With a good gear-reduction mini-starter the slight loss of mechanical advantage (because of the decreased tooth count on the flywheel) won't be an issue.

As far as makers, all the ones you have mentioned are good, but I tend to prefer McLeod/Weber both for flywheels and clutches over the brands you have mentioned.

I'd also recommend a scattershield while you're at it, SFI-approved flywheel or not. Again, I recommend McLeod/Weber; they've proven to be better dimensionally than the Lakewoods when it comes to runout and parallelism.

As far as flywheel weight, I believe a stock cast piece is up around 30-32 lbs. I know Weber makes steel flywheels in several different weights, and you can get hybrid flywheels (aluminum with a steel friction path) down near 10 pounds. My Weber flywheel weighed in around 23# out of the box and I don't have any issues with "tricky" takeoffs, mostly because of the 3.27 1st gear in my TKO.

The weight of the flywheel will have a lot to do with your tranny 1st gear, your rear end ratio, and your intended usage of the car. For a street car, it's nice to go as light as possible without making it difficult to launch from a stop, while at the dragstrip sometimes you want a heavier flywheel to have more stored energy available when you dump the clutch at the green. On the other hand, road race guys want the flywheel as light as possible; they don't care about launches but they do want to be able to drop the RPM's in a hurry for quick shifting.

I've found that right around 20-25# works good for *most* street applications, but again, that depends on your specific combo and intended usage.

Troy