Lighter Flywheel - Good or Bad?

IMHO, 3-400 is way to slow for idle. As Larry said, you are not going to get much splash lube at that speed. I idle mine at around 7-800, about the same as a modern.
 
CWPASADENA said:
You can take a LOT of weight out of the flywheel and still have a very good driving Model A. Actually, it will feel a little more "Alive" and still Idle just fine. If you have a countered weighted Crank, I would definately lighten it. Just be sure to have it balanced AFTER you do any machining.

I believe Les Andrews gets into this in one of his books.

Chris
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I'm interested as to the reasons the flywheel should be lightened with a countered weighted shaft. Thx!
 
The counter-weights add a lot of weight to the assembly. This is from an article Jim Brierely wrote on the FAST website.

Is there a down-side to lightening the Model A flywheel? No! There is none, with the possible exception of being able to idle your engine down to ridiculously low RPM’s with a very light flywheel, especially if you have installed a high performance cam. (The Model B cam is not such a cam.) The benefits far outweigh any down-side. You will get faster acceleration, quicker shifting and possibly better fuel milage although it would be so slight it wouldn’t be noticed. I also think a light wheel is easier on the engine’s main bearings.

The full article is at http://www.hotforhotfours.com/flywheels.htm
 
I machined off weight for some of the reasons noted above, but find the best advantage is: easier to lug around when out of the A
...;)
 
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