Stupid Question Time

[SuperRedMR2]

Fidanza Flywheels...do they come balanced or do you have to get them balanced?

[Jaspa]

Stupid answer time... Purple.


Serious answer... http://www.fidanza.com/FAQ.aspx

3. SHOULD I BALANCE MY NEW FLYWHEEL? – Since our product is CNC machined they are incredibly accurate. We do however recommend that you balance your new flywheel along with your new clutch pressure plate. This should be done by a reputable and competent machine shop.

[SuperRedMR2]

I really should replace the clutch at the same time then

[elbon50]

What about the crankshaft ?

Surely that should be balanced first

Peter

[SuperRedMR2]

Well that's definitely not coming out so that wouldn't be anyway.

[Jim-SR]

if you're not balancing the crank then theres no point in balancing the flywheel either. they should be balanced as an assembly and referenced to do it properly. if the crank isn't balanced then a balanced flywheel isn't of any real benefit. it will be close enough from Fidanza not to bother.

[elbon50]

if you're not balancing the crank then theres no point in balancing the flywheel either. they should be balanced as an assembly and referenced to do it properly. if the crank isn't balanced then a balanced flywheel isn't of any real benefit. it will be close enough from Fidanza not to bother.

Absolutely agree

Also the conrods should be balanced so they are all precisely the same weight & polished if the job is done really properly

Then you can increase max revs by 1K or so

Peter

[aw11rally]

If we are going to be picky about balancing, it is better to balance everything individually I.e. Crank on it's own, pulleys on their own, flywheel on it's own then with the clutch cover on to balance the cover, oh and don't forget to get all your nuts, bolts and crush washers weight matched or you will undo all that expensive balancing straight away.

A significant advantage of doing it this way is that parts are then transferable between engines without re-balancing e.g. If the engine let's go you can swap the clutch and flywheel to another engine without rebalancing.

Also Toyota did a pretty good job with the 4age so balancing the crank is unlikely to be needed unless you are aiming for over 8000rpm or regularly thrashing the engine at track speeds.

Like I said our fidenza flywheel (used for £250) needed very little adjustment to get it spot on, the exedy cover on the other hand needed a few holes drilled in it.

[SuperRedMR2]

This is purely for replacement, no interest in swapping anything about, but thanks for the advice.

[elbon50]

Its just a case of how far you want to to take things

Ali flywheel should give zippier acceleration up to 7K revs without much extra balancing

If you have dreams of it reving like an R1 then you need everything spot on

Have bust a couple of cranks in my time by reving the b0ll0cks off modded engines

I'm much better behaved these days of course !!!

Peter

[SuperRedMR2]

Im not looking to do anything like that, I use the car every day and I do around 350 miles a week, so its purely to replace my existing flywheel which has been described as the 'Grand Canyon' after several clutch changes lol

And the other reason is that I can get it £90 cheaper in the states than going to Fensport!

[cartledge_uk]

You should replace the clutch when doing the flywheel.

Whats interesting is when I had my 4agze rebuilt, I had the bottom end balanced (like aw11rally describes). after the 100k miles, the rods and crank etc were perfect

Only when the clutch/flywheel/bolts were added did it actually need balancing

[elbon50]

As we all know the 4A-GE is a lovely willing & free reving little engine

I have been informed that when Yamaha designed it they made it as a very faithful copy of a Cosworth BDA

A very detuned copy though (for reliability)

Red-lined at 7K the revolving & reciprocating components must be made to a high standard & pretty well balanced

Would like to get mine to perform like a BDA


Peter

[aw11rally]

Just sounding like a BDA would be good enough for me.

[elbon50]

Just sounding like a BDA would be good enough for me.

Havn't heard one on track, on song, for quite a while

Am getting withdrawal symptoms now

Peter

[jimi]

As we all know the 4A-GE is a lovely willing & free reving little engine

I have been informed that when Yamaha designed it they made it as a very faithful copy of a Cosworth BDA

A very detuned copy though (for reliability)

Another Urban myth, it's not true. Only the head was developed by Yamaha, the rest was Mr T

Contrary to a false assumption that the 4A-G is a copy of the Cosworth BDA, (coincidental ‘A’ series designation on both engines). There are little, if any, interchangeable parts between the two engines, outside of maybe some nuts and bolts. The Cosworth 4-valve design started life using the Ford Cortina engine block, with its distributor located on the side of the block and progressed to belt driven Escort engines. The basic block was, like the current formula Atlantic engine, based on a production block. Most of the Ford blocks that Cosworth used could be taken up to 2 liters. The 4A-G is limited to around 1.6 liters maximum, because of the deck height and bore spacing. The included valve angles for the BDA is 40°, along with what has become a Ken Duckworth design feature, and that is the use of a separate camshaft tray. To the contrary, the 4A-G has a one-piece head with the camshaft saddles cast right in. The included valve for the 4A-G is 50°, more similar to the earlier Alfas or other Italian designs of the 70’s.

Quote taken from here
CLICKY

[SuperRedMR2]

Would it be worth buying a decent clutch to compliment the flywheel?

I was looking at an Exedy Stage 1 clutch, but can't seem to find one for the mk1b

[aw11rally]

I'd say it all comes down to how much you want to spend. A standard 'pattern' clutch kit will be about £60 and won't be hugely inferior to a stage 1 organic exedy (the rally car currently has a standard friction plate from a local motor factors (last min rush) with an exedy pressure plate. Works ok even with sticky Dunlop slicks on the back.

[elbon50]

So we'll never make the 4A-GE go like a BDA. It isn't one after all then

Presumably the engine used in the AW10 was totally Toyota ?

Have been informed that BDA manifolds fit the Yam designed head with no mods

The engine is used in Striker cars with Weber carbs & an early Corolla g'box

Peter

[Lauren]

As we all know the 4A-GE is a lovely willing & free reving little engine

I have been informed that when Yamaha designed it they made it as a very faithful copy of a Cosworth BDA

A very detuned copy though (for reliability)Peter

It's an absolute urban myth that's it's a copy of the BDA. Sure stroke and bore may be the same and it's got twin cams and 16v's but that's about it.

Edit: didn't see Jimi's post.