flywheel

vallianted said

ok dumb question.is the difference between a 9.5 inch and 10.5 inch flywheel in the surface area or the actual total diameter of the flywheel?
Ted

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Both. Because of the larger diameter, you inherently have a larger swept area where the disc meets the flywheel. Assuming the same inside diameter between the 9.5" and 10.5" clutch lining, the 10.5" disc has an additional 15.7"² of swept area at the flywheel than the 9.5". Now, double that since the disc is two-sided. That's a big increase in friction surface, meaning much better clutch grip.

The only real downside, and it's not much of one, is that the larger disc has a greater flywheel effect on the input shaft of the transmission. That gets transmitted to the synchronizers, which don't brake as quickly. Hence, it's harder to shift quickly, if only marginally so. Unless you've driven both, you'll never notice the difference nor have a complaint. It's certainly not enough effect to forego the additional clutch grip. I've never had problems on any of my 10.5" cars.