I'm thinking of getting an aluminum flywheel for my 2005 mcs. Are there any serious downsides ( vibration, bolts coming loose ) for the mini cooper? I am aware of the standard loss of low end torque associated with the lower rotating mass, but it should rev quicker. I've just seen many aluminum flywheels used with low miles for sale. I don't know if there is something I don't know about.

 

I dont think you will have bolts coming loose, but most people who run a aftermarket flywheel will agree that there is some gearbox noise but nothing damaging just the nature of the beast. I saw one in the market that is not a bad price the Fidanza is an easy $350-400 new.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...lywheel&cat=22

 

Get the steel lightweight flywheel instead at 17-18 lbs vs. 13 lbs aluminum. Racer/ tuners recommends it.

 

Everyone has opinions, Fidanza is a well known and widely used flywheel.

 

With such a small weight difference, why spend big $$ to get a used one?!
My personal observation...
Mods that work stay on.
Mods that don't, come off, and are sold.
The harder a mod is to install and remove, the less likely it is to be sold used....
With this in mind...if it was a good thing...why would somebody remove a useable flywheel, and sell it?! I guess if they really hated it...enough to take apart half their car to get too...a clutch on a MINI is a TON of LABOR......and a flywheel is either good enough to reuse/resurface or is junk....
Buying a used flywheel is likely getting somebodies elses problem. I cannot speak from experience, but I have heard folks talk about chatter issues...and perhap it might be TOO light to be truly useable...
but i doubt anybody selling one would tell you that!! Heck, they wanna SELL IT!!

 

Car going back to stock, all aftermarket parts for sale. Flywheel being one of them. This flywheel does not need to be resurfaced ever it has a replaceable friction disc. cut and dried ..if you are installing an aftermarket clutch upgrade and want to upgrade your flywheel its a good deal. If you want to listen to a bunch of people with hidden agendas then move on.

 

tsk, tsk, tsk .
someone has a hidden agenda.
ummm, lets see who's selling Fidanza.

 

LOL. Really ?

 

Folks should be careful buying a used Getrag transmission also, I mean why remove it unless something is wrong with it right? why buy someones problem.

 

Hahaha. Tranny bad? Don't be shy go ahead click the hyperlink.on my sign and read a boring post. In there you'll why I removed the tranny. Buy it to find out its condition and resell for a profit to other members.

To the original poster read more about too light flywheel.

 

hey, I'm the original poster. could we get back on track. I'm interested in the drivability of a mcs with a lightweight flywheel. I am acquainted with lightweight flyweels but mostly in camaros and corvettes. this is my first mcs and I'm interested in others who put in a lightweight flywheel and how it changed the road manners. if I decide to put one in, I'll look into benefits/drawbacks steel vs aluminum. if they are sema approved, etc

and miles -- I read your post. looks like a nice build

 

My experience was gearbox "chatter" but much quicker revs, the "chatter" being the "nature of the beast" with lightweight flywheels period.

 

this fidanza was probably in your car and removed for others to inherit the more chatter associated with aluminum huh? admit it dude.

bmacneal its best for you to search the forum for their opinions and experience.
see i listen to tuners/racers and shops on their recommendations.
lightweight equals chatter but how much chatter do you want in your drivetrain?

 

Already stated reason for removal, its up to the OP to decide if he minds chatter to gain performance. Miles obviously is not a Fidanza fan and does not want you to buy one for some reason and that is cool, but you do have to accept chatter with ANY lighter flywheel. Fidanza is a well known and widely used flywheel used by tuners/racers and performance shops all over the world.

 

im not against any brand its the weight of the flywheel. i could care less if he buys your fidanza or not. he posted i replied with what i know. so do you want to buy my tranny to find out if its bad or not?

 

Wait, what? Anyways, I have heard that the light weight flywheels on a FI vehicle are not so great. Good friend put one on his supercharged maxima and he hated the loss of torque. He went back to a stock flywheel and a racing clutch. I myself will be replacing only the clutch with a stage 2 clutch in my mcs. Just my 2 cents.

 

Can't anyone stay on track? bmacneal, two years ago I installed a stage two clulchmaster setup w/aluminum flywheel. Removed it after 9 months. The good:instant engagement, quick engine rev's, the norm:trans chatter in neutral with pedal out somewhat worse than stock with worn out dm flywheel. the bad: bad harmonic vibrations at 3000rpm,upshifting or downshifting,drove me crazy. Due to lack of money put used stock unit back in for now. when time comes I'll try solid steel flywheel/clutch setup from Valeo. Just my two cents!! Jeff