Northeast Ohio s550's

Try Big 3 Racing. I know those guys, they seem to be good.

Thanks, I've heard them mentioned a time or two before. I'll check'em out.

Chuck, Rick, and Bob have plenty of experience with high hp cars. My buddy has a 786hp 2015 GT that was built by them.

The only downside to that is this is not a high horsepower fire-breathing V-8. This is a 4-cyl wheezer with a turbo, but power is power regardless of how it's made and everything after the flywheel on the Performance Package is the same as the GT.

I'm not aware, but is the stock flywheel a dual mass type flywheel? Going to a lightened flywheel will definitely introduce some noise if so. I know that guys in the Supra community struggle with this all the time, and as you may know, those are also Getrag transmissions. They solve it by raising the idle, which helps quiet it down. To clarify, this noise does NOT happen when the clutch is engaged, so as far as your noise during those moments, I don't know if this applies.

Furthermore, adding a one piece driveshaft will most definitely increase driveline noise. The two pieces, along with the bushings and coupling, are designed to dampen that noise. Taking all of the out and making a direct connection basically creates a giant stethoscope from the driveline right into the cabin.

Let me ask you this, why do you feel you need a lightened flywheel and one piece driveshaft? Do the benefits outweigh the disadvantages? From your mod list, I feel like that money could be better spent elsewhere for much more gain.....in power, handling, etc.

The stock flywheel is dual mass and very heavy, more than 30lbs.
I made many decisions on this particular upgrade which are nothing, if not questionable. But those decisions have been made and I need to move forward.
For the record, I was coming home through the PA mountains after a two day event at Summit Point in WV. While making a pass on an uphill grade my clutch slipped. It was a week before Black Friday and I decided that if I'm going to go to the effort of pulling the tranny, I'm going to go whole-hog and upgrade everything.
My original choice was a Mcleod RST twin disc clutch. With the tranny laying on the floor and work on Monday looming, I discovered the flywheel didn't fit. I was told the factory bolts would work, they didn't. The alignment tool sent with the clutch didn't fit the pilot bearing. And last but not least, after solving these problems, the starter engaged the ring gear as soon as the flywheel was mated to the crankshaft. Mcleod was no help. This set off a 3 week disaster of searching for parts that would fit (factory flywheel bolts are M12x1.0 x 40 mm and on national backorder) and paying for a rental car to get back and forth to work. Many thousands of dollars and possibly 100's of hours later, I'm left with a car that is much worse than before.
In doing research for the project, I had heard increases of NVH as an issue, but most people said that they were sensitive to it and it really wasn't that big a deal. I understood that removing the two piece driveshaft and it's corresponding rubber bushing would lead to some increased noise. What I didn't really expect is that this big aluminum tube is quite the echo chamber. The aluminum flywheel was a choice made on the fly without a lot of research, and well, damn...it fit and it seems to be the major culprit in all this.
What I have now is a groaning, grumbling, vibrating, coffee grinder of a car vehicle. After my track day at Waterford Hills this weekend, it's even getting difficult to shift and I stalled out from a stop twice on the way to work yesterday.
Going back to stock is a difficult pill to swallow after all I've gone through. If I'm forced to go back to stock, I will probably only go back to the dual mass flywheel.
This job was done on jack stands in my brothers garage. Due care was taken to do a high quality job, but I'm afraid that with floor jacks and laying on a cold concrete floor there is a limit to the potential quality. Worse yet, as this job took me a total of 4 weekends and tested my relationship with my brother, as his prized Camaro sat in the rain and snow while my car occupied his garage, the start-stop nature of the project may have led to some unintended consequences.

And to top this all off, when I pulled the stock clutch, it looked virtually new. Maybe a little glazed. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. But i can't put the genie back in the bottle.

I'm in hell.

I totally relate to your train of thought. Get it all done while you are in there. Go big or go home. I get it man, I've been there too. I've also been in the same boat of modifying the enjoyment right out of a vehicle. It sucks, and it's a shitty spot to be in. As much as it pains you to take a step backwards, I think it might be the best course of action here. You have to diagnose the issues one step at a time. I'd agree that the flywheel would be the best place to start. While you are in there a good inspection of the clutch will be in order. It could be the springs rattling, who knows. Good luck man.

Thanks man. It's a true comfort knowing that someone else has been there, done that.

I'm going to see what Big 3 Racing says this weekend. Maybe it's possible to just tweak what I already have, but I doubt it.

Keep us posted.

So back to happier thoughts.

What about our little get together in May?? Anybody else in?

I have it on my calendar. Just not sure of the location.

Ryan P said:

I totally relate to your train of thought. Get it all done while you are in there. Go big or go home. I get it man, I've been there too. I've also been in the same boat of modifying the enjoyment right out of a vehicle. It sucks, and it's a shitty spot to be in. As much as it pains you to take a step backwards, I think it might be the best course of action here. You have to diagnose the issues one step at a time. I'd agree that the flywheel would be the best place to start. While you are in there a good inspection of the clutch will be in order. It could be the springs rattling, who knows. Good luck man.

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So what did you do when you modified "the enjoyment right out of a vehicle"? Did you remove the mods? Find a way to make the mods work? Sell the car?

What were the mods that ruined the car?

I will not be able to hold the gathering at this time... Maybe later in the summer.

Grafanton said:

So what did you do when you modified "the enjoyment right out of a vehicle"? Did you remove the mods? Find a way to make the mods work? Sell the car?

What were the mods that ruined the car?

Click to expand...

I had an Evo IX MR that I turned into a full bolt on track/street car. It was my DD, so in hindsight, this was not a good decision. AMS GT30R turbo kit, intercooler, AEM engine management, FP4 Cams, 1000cc injectors, etc etc. The turbo was laggy as shit. It pulled HARD once it spooled (500WHP), but man the lag was annoying. Much worse than stock. I got caught way too many times in the no-go zone, which was a rarity when stock. On the suspension side I added a bunch of shit that while making the car handle like it was a goddamn go kart, made it so harsh it was unbearable. All of these things also made the car less reliable. I was constantly fighting gremlins. In the end I sold it to a kid that blew it up in about 6 months. I ended up buying a new Evo X, which I kept close to stock. That car became annoying as a DD too. So I sold that and bought a Honda Fit to daily, which I've had for the last 4 years (a record for me). I love that car, lol.