Re: Flywheels, pullies and slushboxes

[Simon Favre <simon@domain.elided>]

The data from Steve Schaeffer was most illuminating:a stock 24 lb flywheel
reduced to 14 lbs with no loss of streetability. On the 1750 and 1600
motors, a stock 101 1300 flywheel also works. The real problems with
streetability come in with Aluminum flywheels around 7 lbs. On my Formula
Junior, with an 1100cc Fiat motor and a flywheel that only weighs 5 lbs,
it's a real chore getting the car moving. Add a close ratio gearbox and a
funky clutch, and I'm sure to stall it at least once a race weekend.

In racing, I thought the thing for pulleys was to fit an oversize one on
the alternator or generator to keep it from exploding when the motor hit
8000+ rpm. Are people using undersize crank pulleys to achieve the same
effect? I haven't heard of different water pump pulleys being used. It
sounds like the undersize crank pulley would kill 2 birds with one stone.

I never heard of an automatic transmission that would survive being run
without fluid. This sounds to me like a translation problem. Even at idle
in Park, the engine would be spinning the hydraulic pumps in the trans.
The fluid also lubricates these pumps. Running them dry could trash the
pumps. I would check the owners and shop manuals in other places for
warnings about never running the transmission without fluid. I can see
idling the car until everything is warm, then draining it, but not until
after shutting off the motor.

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