I've been into cars for a couple of months but I just now heared of a fly wheel what is it, what does it do, and how does is affect performance?
It can be called a flex plate on an automatic but the "flywheel" is basicly the starter ring steel/surface that is attached to the crank that holds the clutch and disc on a stick car. Does that help?
On manual gearbox cars it also serves to hold some spinning momentum from the engine. Think of a large stone wheel used to grind axes in the old days. It took quite a bit of effort to get it spinning but once it was spinning and because it was so heavy it would also take quite a lot of effort to stop it spinning. Also, because of it's weight it would serve to absorb the "pulses" of each cylinder's firing stroke which in turn smoothes out the engine and keep's it spinning until the next cylinder produces another power pulse from it's power cycle. Some racers lighten the flywheel so the engine will rev much quicker. I heard an engine with a lightened flywheel and it revved almost instantly the moment you touched the accelerator. Ever heard a formula one motor rev? Instant up and instant down. From www.dictionary.com ... flywheel Pronunciation Key (flhwl, -wl) n. A heavy-rimmed rotating wheel used to minimize variations in angular velocity and revolutions per minute, as in a machine subject to fluctuation in drive and load. Bill S.
Here's a dumb question: Would an engine run without one? Has anyone had way too much time on their hands to try this? Does the reciprocating assembly need the flywheel to keep it spinning? Todd
Take the weights off one of your wheels on your car, what happens? Same thing with an engine, it will spin (run) but will be out of balance.:gt:
