When you pay good money for horse-power, you want that power to go to the wheels as planned. A car’s flywheel and clutch, pressure plate, and, even the throwout bearing, can be one of many complex problems. As the mechanism for transferring the engine’s revolutions to the transmission, there are always opportunities for loss. That loss can happen when you are in a restart or other critical times on the track. There’s never any insurance against blowing a restart, but you can try to make sure your equipment is not the cause.

The ring gear flywheel size determines your clutch size. The flywheel has to fit within the bolt circle of the crank and match up to the pressure plate. It’s only one part of a system. If you remember that, you’ll make fewer trips back to the parts store for the right pieces.

If you’re running a heavy car, you’ll need more torque to move its weight. A steel flywheel flexplate can help. The same holds true for classes with engines that don’t turn the higher rpm. If your class has a cam rule limiting your engine to a 440-460 lift cam, you can use the steel flywheel.

If you’re looking for a standard configuration aluminum flywheel that can hold up to the rigors of racing, there are some available that use friction materials consisting of bronze and iron. The different material allows for better contact between the clutch disc andfidanza flywheel while the aluminum saves weight. Those contact areas can be replaced when needed.

When changing a clutch or pressure plate, always change the throwout bearing. It’s cheap insurance. Throwout bearings are responsible for 85 percent of clutch wear. Throwout bearings require an air gap between the bearings and the pressure plate. The recommended size is usually 31/416-11/44 inch, but the gap will depend on the style of clutch. If it’s not spaced properly, it will hang up. We all know what can happen to an engine when a shift is missed. This clearance is even more critical on the longer styles. The wrong gap will wear out the bearing faster and take other parts with it.