What is a Flywheel?
A flywheel is a simple rotating wheel used to store energy or stabilize something. The energy it stores is equal to its moment of inertia — a physics term that basically means the mass of the object times the square of its distance from the axis of rotation — times the square of its angular velocity divided by 2. Flywheels help stabilize drive shafts subject to alternating pressures, such as piston engines or piston pumps. The stabilizing effect comes from the flywheel resisting changes in its rotational speed. Flywheels are used as power storage devices for high-power science experiments that would produce an unacceptable power spike if removing power from the electric grid. Such flywheel batteries might operate in a vacuum, to prevent energy loss due to air friction, and will be periodically sped up again to compensate for rotation speed lost due to energy dissipation from heat and vibration. Good flywheel designs will dissipate as little heat and vibration as possible, retaining e
Why buy a flywheel? A flywheel is a component of your clutch assembly, and can make a huge difference in how your truck responds when you press the gas pedal. Lightened flywheels are made out of aluminum or chromoly, which reduces the rotating mass by dramatically trimming weight as compared to your heavy factory OEM flywheel. Are flywheels available for every vehicle? Automatic trucks do not use flywheels; however, manual transmission trucks can benefit from this modification. Most light-weight trucks have flywheels available while medium and heavy duty trucks normally do not. How do you install a flywheel? We recommend professional installation since dropping the transmission or whole motor is usually needed. Once the transmission is off of the block, you can go ahead and remove your clutch setup and flywheel. Replace the factory flywheel with your aftermarket one, and re-install the clutch. (Buying a new clutch is a good idea at this point since it needs to be taken off anyway.) Whi
