After driving my buddy's new SVT Focus the other day, i finally realised ive got to do something to my tC's clutch to make it easier to drive. Im certainly no expert, but i believe conventional wisdom says that slow-dropping rpms and jerky engagements are symptoms of a heavy flywheel. Who has put in a lighter flywheel, or entire clutch, and has it helped any? Im just looking to make it a little smoother, easier to drive and more tossable. (Like his SVT) Any other ideas welcome.

 

youre right, light weight flywheel should make throttle response better and RPM should drop faster when lifting off the throttle. A lot of ppl on here feel having the RPM's drop faster would make it harder to drive. And I disagree w/ that. I think someone put it this way: "say bye bye to leasure shifting".
From what I have seen, ppl that have changed to a lighter flywheel love it.... but it should be something you want and be aware of the affects.
I just installed a light weight crank pulley and that seemed to help somewhat.

 

I see what youre saying. My goal is really to make shifting smoother and easier. In other cars ive driven, the rpms dropped much faster than in the tC, yet leisure shifting was easier b/c the engagment was not rough and jerky even when rpms had dropped below their next level. I suspect this was b/c of a lighter flywheel.

 

heres some thing a lil weird, I installed a K2 short shifter on my tc, this shifter has an outrageous 45 to 50% throw reduction, strangely enough i find my rpm's dropping a lil quicker in between shifts dont know if this is because i'm getting used to the shifter or because i'm not using a weighted **** so my shifts are slower.

 

I know how you feel. I'm coming from 2 Honda's and both of them had the RPMs drop quicker. If I attempt to shift like I used to in the Honda's the RPMs wuold actually go up but I'm 100% certain the gas pedal is fully released. My style of driving requires the RPMs to drop faster so when the engine speed and transmission meet at around the right RPM, I can release the clutch quicker without the jerkiness. That kind of takes away the leisure driving style...... but it suits me better. Luckily I still have 1 of the Honda's. In the tC, I always begin to engage the clutch well before the engine and transmission speed for the next gear are matched so I always have to release the clutch slowly and watch that needle on the tach come down AFTER the clutch begins to engage. But lighter flywheel just may be what we are looking for.

 

I think youre just getting used to it. After I installed the B&M STS, I drove around w/ a ~150gram shift **** and it was a bit tough.... it required a lot more effort when compared to stock. I added a weighted **** the next day but doesnt alter how the RPM's will rise or drop.

 

The tC's stock clutch setup makes you have to purposely slow your shifts down to meet the exact right rpms for the next gear. Miss it just a little, above or below it seems, and the car jerks. nobody wants to worry about rev matching on their morning commute to work, yet its like thats what it takes just to get it smooth. Im a valet on the weekends, and i can tell you, the only other standards ive driven that do this are Jeep Wranglers.

By the way, i got family in queens, props for drivin a stick up there, id shoot myself...

 

^^^ yes, I have driven vehicles w/ truck motors and transmission and I agree w/ you.
When I 1st drive the tC, I made the car a bit jerky on shifts but I learned to shift slower but no matter how slow I shift, the RPMs are still up there when the clutch is beginning to engage. I kind of have no choice but to shift slow if I want to be lazy and release the clutch faster w/ having the car jerk around haha . Some ppl may like it that way but I dont. The lightweight pulley has helped. But I dont have the $$ for flywheel right now.

 

yeah i hear ya, at least $400 for a flywheel, and im not about to rip my drivetrain in half with a warranty still on the car so theres installation costs. I dont know much about lightweight pulleys though, what do they do and whats a good brand to look at?

 

To keep it simple, I have a light weight stock sized crank pulley. Reducing this weight usually results in quicker throttle respsonse, and decrease the time needed for the RPMs to come down. Unfortunately, it's very debatable if it's worth it b/c the stock crank pulley acts as a damper for internal engine vibrations. So far I dont think anyone has had a problem but I'm not 100% sure.
Other pulleys are smaller light weight crank pulley, accesory underdrive pullies.
I had under drive pullies for alternator and power steering in my previous car and that worked our well.... but havent tried that on the tC.

 

I have never noticed this issue. Oh well maybe I got a good one?

 

any increase of mpg with lightweight flywheel?

 

*bump*