Jim Muller says:
"I'm not interested in buying but I'm curious. If there "are no downsides",
why is the friend changing to a new steel flywheel? Or is the new steel wheel
supposed to be even better, or something?
- --
Jim Muller, with no TR2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 or 8"
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Jim,
Thanks for asking the question. Let me answer with a broader view of the
lightened flywheel for TR3/4s.
There are no downsides to a reasonably lightened flywheel. Triumph actual did
produce a flywheel at $21# during TR3 production. (There is one person's
hazy memory out there, that related a management decision was made to install
31#
flywheels so that a TR would pull smoothly in second gear from 20MPH. This
person had a great influence on Triumph, but unable to get them to provide an
optional flywheel for competition)
In any case, the 10# steel flywheels have now become favored among racers
that tend run closer to 7,000 rpm
Some racers have had issues with alloy flywheels, at that higher RPM, and
steel ones have become available to us at reasonable prices...I would not
hesitate to run an ALLOY flywheel on my street car or my race car as I seldom
exceed
6,000 RPM.
I WOULD NEVER run a 31# flywheel on my street Triumphs after running a 20# or
less flywheel. Someone figured that a 10# reduction in a #31# TR3/4 flywheel
is like removing 200#s from the car in improved performance.
Performance is immediately more lively without spending the big bucks on
modifying the engine. There is so meat on on a TR3/TR4 flywheel it begs to be
removed.
Kas Kastner took them down to 14#, but it required an enormous amount of
machining in the Competition Department. It paid off for Kas because he was
able
to remove more metal from the PERIPHERYof the flywheel....his was a very
clever design and it apparently did not impact the integrity of the flywheel.
Regards,
Joe (A)
N197tr4@cs.com
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