Author Topic: Stock flywheels  (Read 9577 times)

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Offline mowinmachine

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Re: Stock flywheels
« Reply #15 on: March 28, 2011, 11:35:35 am »
 The bottom line is that a billet wheel is going to be safer than a cast wheel. Cast anything has a much greater chance of coming apart due to its overall structural integrity. Secondly, I'd say about 90% of us are running used engines. Mine is almost 20 years old. The one before that was pushing 30. Think about all the times someone has possibly taken that engine apart. Someone beating the crap out of the flywheel trying to get it off ( I know because I've done that before) Thus when you run a used engine, its not likely going to have 100% of the original integrity it had from the factory floor. I have always run a billet wheel mainly for safety. Sure- the added performance and weight savings is nice too, but performance can take a far back seat as far as I'm concerned when it comes to safety.
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Offline tgames64

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Re: Stock flywheels
« Reply #16 on: March 28, 2011, 12:28:24 pm »
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What are the options?

I may have misunderstood this statement...

I believe Lester's opinion is that people just want billet flywheels to take advantage of the performance aspect of it and not for the safety and wanted a billet steel flywheel made the same weight as stock.


That would make sense, I was kind of hoping there would be other options though.
 Billet parts are already expensive enough, and for good reason... I sure hope that the law of supply and demand do not influence the price of this already costly part when it becomes mandated for all sanctioned racing. The USLMRA has set this standard and I believe it will be adopted to ARMA and SOMA in the future as well for the safety aspect.

To keep racers safer by asking them to be apart of sanctioned racing, you have to give them reasons and rewards for doing such.
If you don't, there will be an awful lot of outlaw groups making their own rules to suit their purpose and possibly putting a negative spin on this growing sport as a whole.

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Offline dandt4238

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Re: Stock flywheels
« Reply #17 on: March 28, 2011, 02:29:57 pm »
Just a side note.  Anyone ever read the instructions that came with your helmet?  Most say somethign to the effect that you are to replace them every so many years.  Guess what......these billet flywheels are the same way.  I think the magic number is around three to five years (could be wrong on the time) but they are to be replaced.  How many of you are replacing billet flywheels when it recommended?
Maybe we should ask Briggs and Stratton how often a stock wheel needs to be replaced on a grass cutter?
Great topic Slowmow!
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Offline leadslead

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Re: Stock flywheels
« Reply #18 on: March 28, 2011, 02:37:42 pm »
wow i dunno about that if thier tested for 15,000  & i only tern it high5,s or low 6,s im good for igleast 6 to 8 i would hope
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Offline WilliamEnglish

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Re: Stock flywheels
« Reply #19 on: March 28, 2011, 02:47:57 pm »
I just cant understand...for the life of me...what the problem is. Its is simple as this...ungoverned anything = billet flywheel. Do you think that NASCAR...when they mandated teathering hoods and trunk lids to keep them from flying into the crowd considered asking the teams "well...what do you guys think"? They did not. They mandated it because there was a problem and it was nessecary to protect the people in attendance. Do you think NHRA asked the racers if they could afford ballistic blankets when engine bottom ends were exploding? They did not. They mandated them to protect the people in attendance. I stand by what I said..a person has to have SOME means and SOME ability to race. If they do not...there is always bingo on Saturday nights. The safety of everyone is of paramount importance...and one..just one accident of this type could have devastating affects on the sport...not including an unnessecary tragedy somewhere.
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Offline dandt4238

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Re: Stock flywheels
« Reply #20 on: March 28, 2011, 03:11:07 pm »
I just thought of this also, sorry to high jack your thread Slowmow.  Why are we not concerned about the internal engine parts coming through the block?  I think we can all agree that we have seen more holes in blocks than we have seen exploding STOCK UNMODIFIED flywheels.  Maybe for safety we need to build a thick fire wall (scatter shield) around our engine.  But wait, that won't enhance performance in any way, darn, thought I was on to something.  We are racing, and just like NASCAR, NHRA, WOO, INDY, or what ever other sanctioning body you want to use as an example, we have accidents, and blown motors.  It happens.  Forcing everyone to have a billet flywheel will not keep parts from flying off mowers.  It also eliminates it as a performance part!  If everyone has the same thing, there is NO advantage.  So you have bought your $350.00 flywheel, now you need to spend more money to buy the parts to get the advantage that the flywheel used to get you.
Heres another idea, someone once told me to have the sanctioning body supply restrictor plates instead of using a governor, why not have the sanctioning body supply the flywheels?  When you register, you are handed a flywheel to use for the day, at the end of the day, you hand it back in.  Now theres a safety check every tech inspector would love to see.!
Again, sorry for highjacking the thread,
Dean Jr.
Mr. English,
The problem is this.  This is a part once to thought of to be a performance enhancer.  The safety items you talk about do not enhance performance of either a NASCAR or a NHRA car.  If the USLMRA would have said build a box to cover the engine so its parts do not fly out and injure someone, their would not be a problem.  There are still pieces flying into the stands in any form of racing, look at Talladega in 09, Edwards car disintegrated on the fence, it was a risk all the people sitting in the stands took.  If you looked at those same seats during the '10 races they were full, and they will be again this year.  No one blamed the manufacturer of the parts, no one blamed the drivers.  This is why we have insurance for racing.  If you ask me, instead of telling the guys that support stock engine classes to stay home, or go to bingo, why don't the guys with over $2,000.00 in their mowers go find another type of racing.  Then when that becomes too expensive they will see why the rest of us race lawn mowers.  Lets keep ability out of it.  I've never seen anyone turned away from any class of racing because of ability.  They just go through more parts. 
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Offline zach87cp

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Re: Stock flywheels
« Reply #21 on: March 28, 2011, 03:14:53 pm »
I think all these threads like this sound too much the same ,there must be 3 or 4 about flywheels heymows turning into an arguing site lately it seems like.just my two cents
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Offline The Tank

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Re: Stock flywheels
« Reply #22 on: March 28, 2011, 03:30:55 pm »
I think all these threads like this sound too much the same ,there must be 3 or 4 about flywheels heymows turning into an arguing site lately it seems like.just me two cents

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Lets race push mowers, it's cheap, no moving engine parts, just upgrade to steel wheels since the plastic ones will not last that long or may come apart causing hazard to one's feet :D
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Offline Burwell555

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Re: Stock flywheels
« Reply #23 on: March 28, 2011, 03:38:20 pm »
I think all these threads like this sound too much the same ,there must be 3 or 4 about flywheels heymows turning into an arguing site lately it seems like.just my two cents

And its the SAME old stuff. Kickin the same old horses...you boys feet gettin tired yet????
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Offline TeamScoot

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Re: Stock flywheels
« Reply #24 on: March 28, 2011, 03:55:25 pm »
I think all these threads like this sound too much the same ,there must be 3 or 4 about flywheels heymows turning into an arguing site lately it seems like.just my two cents

thats what happens in the off season. people get bored and find something to talk about. Hopefully we can get back to talking racing in the coming weeks when the season actually starts
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Offline tgames64

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Re: Stock flywheels
« Reply #25 on: March 28, 2011, 04:35:21 pm »
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Kickin the same old horses...you boys feet gettin tired yet????


Not yet, thanks fer askin though... >:D
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Offline MowJoe

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Re: Stock flywheels
« Reply #26 on: March 28, 2011, 07:03:46 pm »
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Do you think that NASCAR...when they mandated tethering hoods and trunk lids to keep them from flying into the crowd considered asking the teams "well...what do you guys think"? They did not. They mandated it because there was a problem and it was necessary to protect the people in attendance. Do you think NHRA asked the racers if they could afford ballistic blankets when engine bottom ends were exploding? They did not. They mandated them to protect the people in attendance.

Mr English, when NASCAR & NHRA mandated these changes it was because these things had already happened and people had been injured. I have yet to here of a stock unmodified flywheel come apart at a race and fly into someone injuring them. So by reading your own words I don't see a problem that needs to be addressed. I'm not saying we need to wait until it happens but what I'm saying is I have seen engines blow up and throw hot oil covered parts into the crowd and that to me is not good but noting gets said about it. We as racers have seen thousands of races and thousands of race engines running ungoverned engines with stock flywheels and yet not one has come apart? I think we may be under estimating the strength of a cast flywheel.  I personally have had a magnet come out of a flywheel like the picture shows the engine shroud did nothing to stop it from hitting me. The engine was running about 1000 rpms bolted to a bench. But I don't blame the flywheel I blame myself I removed the flywheel from the same engine and used a pry bar and hammer not a puller. This was the last time I ever used a pry bar to remove a flywheel. I guess what I'm saying is we here a ton of stuff about flywheels but I believe there are other things that need to be looked at first before we mandate billet on everything ungoverned.
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