[Domdil]

has anyone had one installed? I was told my a shop who did install one that they made 9 HP more on their Dyno. I never thought that it would actually increase power, but I did some searching online and there has been a bunch of people on various car forums claiming the same thing. I know that your engine spins more freely and faster so it may FEEL like you have more power with one installed but I never thought it would show on a dyno. Thoughts?
at $600 bucks I think I would do it if I could for sure know it would increase power.

 

[mneuman916]

Thats $600 plus install. Unless you're doing it yourself and then it's $600 plus much blood loss and how ever much money in beer it takes.

In my opinion - your money is much better spent in other areas first....

 

[Tweak]

I wonder how much the stock components of the 500 can handle once all mods are done, I recall reading it is pretty small the amount available but I don't guess this is going to be a factor, moreso a turbo or sc solution that would take the power further than the car can handle.

 

[Domdil]

Haha yeah I have tons of friends who have garages and who are liscened mechanics so I could probably bribe them with beer.

Yeah I read that too that our cars can only handle 111 Lbs of TQ but I cant see it being a factor unless you're pushing big numbers and shifting hard.

This company ( wont name them) claim their 500 with intake, exhaust, ECU and flywheel was making 120 HP and at a time attack kept up with some cars that have 20-40 HP more.

I think there will be more parts available to free up power coming ( cams, headers, etc) so Its probably not unrealistic to be able to get to 130-135 HP, which is what the base Abarth in europe gets..although that would be MAX for us guys with normal 500s..where as the guys who get the abarth will start with 160 but will be able to hit 200 HP pretty easily seeing how its a turbo setup

 

[mneuman916]

And when those parts become available you'll see the overall price of upgrade parts decline. I'm not alone when I say the price of some of these upgrade parts right now are rediculous - $600 for a flywheel included. Unfortunately due to the market and lack of competition this is all we have right now. It's up to you if you want to overpay to be on the bleeding edge. Though you may be kicking yourself in the not too distant future. I feel the Abarth launch is going to open the proverbial flood gates when it comes to aftermarket avaiability.

 

[JAFA500]

I'll be doing the flywheel towards the end of the year. Cams and Header first, I hope

 

[mneuman916]

+1 for headers! Well... header anyway.

 

[Domdil]

And when those parts become available you'll see the overall price of upgrade parts decline. I'm not alone when I say the price of some of these upgrade parts right now are rediculous - $600 for a flywheel included. Unfortunately due to the market and lack of competition this is all we have right now. It's up to you if you want to overpay to be on the bleeding edge. Though you may be kicking yourself in the not too distant future. I feel the Abarth launch is going to open the proverbial flood gates when it comes to aftermarket avaiability.

Funny you mentioned that, Ive been told by a few suppliers that once the abarth arrives, most of their R&D will go towards that car since Abarth owners are more likley to be into the whole performance modding. One company said they were developing a supercharger for the 500 until they heard the starting price for the Abarth, now that plan is has been totally scrapped.
I dont think every company will stop making parts for us, but we may not see all the aftermarket parts we thought we were going to. When I bought my prima, I had several dealers tell me that there would be a factory bolt on supercharger and turbo kit coming within a year which helped me justify buying a car with 101 HP..but I now see that probably wont happen, and they were obviously just lying to me to get a sale that day instead of being honest and maybe getting an Abarth sale now. Oh well. I do love my prima, but its sad to say by the time im done modding it, i'll probably have spent like 30 K ..what a new abarth would cost me.

 

[Domdil]

I'll be doing the flywheel towards the end of the year. Cams and Header first, I hope

If we do get cams and headers developped that would be a great plus. On every car ive owned that Ive done headers and cams to, the power gains were pretty significant, usually around 12-15 HP

 

[epb]

has anyone had one installed? I was told my a shop who did install one that they made 9 HP more on their Dyno. I never thought that it would actually increase power, but I did some searching online and there has been a bunch of people on various car forums claiming the same thing. I know that your engine spins more freely and faster so it may FEEL like you have more power with one installed but I never thought it would show on a dyno. Thoughts?

A lightweight flywheel doesn't increase engine power - it reduces drivetrain losses. The engine is making the same power, but the dyno is measuring more power to the wheels.

Personally, this is one of my least favorite performance mods, as everyone takes it too far - they give you the lightest flywheel they can so you get chatter and more abrupt rev drop, which are annoying in a street-driven car. Given my druthers, I'd take a flywheel that's only half as light as the lightest possible.

 

[Tweak]

A lightweight flywheel doesn't increase engine power - it reduces drivetrain losses. The engine is making the same power, but the dyno is measuring more power to the wheels. Personally, this is one of my least favorite performance mods, as everyone takes it too far - they give you the lightest flywheel they can so you get chatter and more abrupt rev drop, which are annoying in a street-driven car. Given my druthers, I'd take a flywheel that's only half as light as the lightest possible.

I couldn't recall the why not reasons but this is what I was recalling that came to mind, not something you'd usually want for a car that gets driven mostly on the street, track car with occasional street would be fine obviously...guess it is all in what you really want.

 

[Domdil]

Hope much does the stock one weigh?? The one that's out now is 8 lbs.

 

[Tweak]

Hope much does the stock one weigh?? The one that's out now is 8 lbs.

Stock weight of flywheel is 14.2lbs

 

[Domdil]

Thanks. So its not a huge reduction in weight. Hmm tempting

 

[Tweak]

Thanks. So its not a huge reduction in weight. Hmm tempting

8 to 14 is rather huge I think, is the one out now actually 8lbs or is it 7.8lbs by chance? I'll not get into things I don't grasp enough of an understanding but I'd say anything around 5lbs or more in a flywheel is fairly significant, I may be wrong but I do believe it to be true, sure someone with far more knowledge can speak more on the subject. You are going to have to readjust driving style, how much throttle you use will change in that you will need to play with the throttle to get the same level rpm you are used to with the stock setup, also when you let off the throttle you will notice a difference more significant than stock, somewhat like a down shift as you'll be slowing quicker after the change.

 

[Domdil]

That's true, I've never done a lightweight flywheel so I wouldn't know either.
I do like the fact it will prevent less loss through the Drivetrain. So even though
It doesn't technically make more power , using more of the power you have is
Basically the same thing lol

 

[Tweak]

I edited it as you replied, re-read for the added content please.

 

[Mvander]

It's the most awsome kind of HP. The kind that dosent put any extra strain in the engine/trans, like lighter wheels, drive shafts etc. That is expensive though. I can get a billet aluminnium fly wheel for my mustang for like $300 or choose from 7 others, and thats just from 1 supplier. Lets hope for this type of aftermarket support.

 

[Domdil]

Yeah this is something i definetly am going to do. If price comes down on them then
That would be a bonus

 

[Tweak]

It technically doesn't increase the HP though, it just hastens the transfer of power, virtual HP yes, actual HP not really, but it does feel like it does some increasing! Waiting for more options to come to market and prices to lower a bit is probably a good idea.