Flywheel experience aluminum vs steel?

[FETorino]

I'm getting around to swapping the TKO in my Torino. I have yet to purchase the flywheel. My current mill produces about 400 hp and 450lbs of torque. My next mill is going to step it up a lot, target is 600 hp at the crank. I keep thinking of going to an aluminum flywheel since traction is already at a premium and the situation will only get worse with more hp on tap. I'm running a 3.70 locker now with my close ratio toploader and the TKO has a much lower first gear. The lighter flywheel would give me quicker reving and be better suited for track days. A steel flywheel would be easier to drive (or so I've heard). So there are a lot of hogh hp manual trans cars here. What are you running for flywheels? What is your experience with light aluminum vs steel?

[J2SpeedandCustom]

From my experience it depends on the clutch. A standard style flywheel, clutch disk and pressure plate will be touchy with the aluminum flywheel. And will be just about normal with a steel. The pressure plate will be stiffer to hold the power so slipping the clutch with aluminum will take practice and won't be consistant.

Now if you go with a clutch pack - Tilton, Quarter Master, Carbonetics, etc. These are very light weight and drive ALOT easier than a standard style clutch. Very driveable, slippable and will hold tons of power. They are 3 - 4 times the cost but you'll never buy another clutch again.

[mazspeed]

I have never had a problem with aluminum flywheels with chatter or anything. I much prefer aluminum flywheels. I have had them in all my race cars and street car. Drives perfect.

[Blown353]

How heavy is the car and what's the effective 1st gear ratio?

A very light flywheel in a heavy car with a tall effective first gear ratio can be very tricky to get moving... there is a fine line between slipping it too much or killing it (or going up in smoke if you like to do that in town... LOL)

That being said I prefer flywheels on the lighter side of the spectrum. I currently run a 20# billet steel flywheel and am quite happy with it. I would like to try one of the 3 or 4 puck small diameter clutch/flywheel combos but they're big bucks and I could use the money elsewhere right now. My car is at 3950# with me in it and a full tank of gas, and I run an older TKO (3.27 first) with 3.42 rear gears. I find it a piece of cake to launch with the 20# flywheel but it never fails-- every time I've let someone else try and drive it they kill it taking off, usually 6-10 times. Heck, my buddy with an alignment shop couldn't even get it on his rack and after 3 tries he got out and said "you do it." :lol: