Clutch questions.

[chassis 33]

Right, clutch went on the Chim over the weekend. I've been offered a paddle plate as a replacement. Great. But a couple of questions.

I'm going to get the flywheel faced to make sure its nice and square, do I get the flywheel lightened at the same time. Or would that provide more trouble than its worth for a novice. I'm thinking the token increase in throttle response would be offset by the engine having less inertia, coupled with the on/off nature of paddle clutches causing me to stall it all the time?

Also, any recommendations of uprated coverplates and release bearings (it's a T5 box)?

Regards
Iain

[steve_d]

Don't know how those engines are built but would not touch the flywheel unless there is real damage to the friction surface. The flywheel may have been part of balancing the crank so any change you make could effect that.

Someone else jump in and tell me it's not done that way.

Steve

[350matt]

Depending on what type of 'paddle ' clutch it is (there's quite a few variations, organic , metallic, 3 pad, 5 pad etc) it might make the car virtually undriveable in traffic or just be a much stronger clutch. So worth getting some more background info I'd say.
Either way a light skim of the flywheel to clean things up won't hurt and yes you can safely remove excess material without effecting engine balancing.
However if your're not sure where to remove material then don't, as exploding flywheels tend to make a a bit of a mess.

Matt

[GavinPearson]

350matt said:

Depending on what type of 'paddle ' clutch it is (there's quite a few variations, organic , metallic, 3 pad, 5 pad etc) it might make the car virtually undriveable in traffic or just be a much stronger clutch. So worth getting some more background info I'd say. Either way a light skim of the flywheel to clean things up won't hurt and yes you can safely remove excess material without effecting engine balancing. However if your're not sure where to remove material then don't, as exploding flywheels tend to make a a bit of a mess. Matt

I'd second that. Consider buying a kit from AP racing, then you know that you're buying something matched to the spec of your car that is still driveable.

[tr7v8]

steve_d said:

Don't know how those engines are built but would not touch the flywheel unless there is real damage to the friction surface. The flywheel may have been part of balancing the crank so any change you make could effect that. Someone else jump in and tell me it's not done that way. Steve

Assuming it's RV8 based then it's not done that way. Rover is internally balanced, I had my
flywheel lightened & rebalanced on it's own. Although they carved a fair chunk off it n ot sure I can notice the difference!

[numbnuts]

chassis 33 said:

Right, clutch went on the Chim over the weekend. I've been offered a paddle plate as a replacement. Great. But a couple of questions. I'm going to get the flywheel faced to make sure its nice and square, do I get the flywheel lightened at the same time. Or would that provide more trouble than its worth for a novice. I'm thinking the token increase in throttle response would be offset by the engine having less inertia, coupled with the on/off nature of paddle clutches causing me to stall it all the time? Also, any recommendations of uprated coverplates and release bearings (it's a T5 box)? Regards Iain

If your trying to make the flywheel square it might take a while .......

[steve-v8s]

Ian take care with what you do to the flywheel the crank is not internally balanced, it is done by holes in the flywheel and weights on the front pulley. Upset that and you may end up with a broken crank, just like mine.

[Narvanath]

steve-v8s said:

Ian take care with what you do to the flywheel the crank is not internally balanced, it is done by holes in the flywheel and weights on the front pulley. Upset that and you may end up with a broken crank, just like mine.

[SharpIntakeOfBreath] That's really cranky! Ha ha ...