the need for a lightweight flywheel ..hmm.

[Monooxide]

Originally Posted by ManoNegra

I'd like to see the physics behind that.


Inertia, plain and simple
lighter rotational mass will get moving and slow down faster
great when you're accelerating
horrible when you're stop-and-going on the 405 'round 5pm.

You would like to see the phsyics? Im going to assume the latter part has nothing to do with torque or horsepower as far as final numbers go.

The best way and easiest way to describe it for EVERYONE to understand is that you are decreasing the weight having be rotated, therefore less work, because of the lighter flywheel. Therefore your consecutive combustions have to do less work to rotate the flyhweel, trans gears, d-shaft and so on.

It's the same principal as the drivetrain loss that you all are so very familiar with. You automatically take that 15% tax and take it away from the crank horsepower because nothing is 100% efficient.

I know you're going to ask so I will answer in a more "Physics" oriented answer lets say that a combustion force on one piston in the downward direction is 2000N(Newtons, and its way more than that for sure). Well it takes a certain mechanical force to turn a certain amount of weight right? Well now that there is less of it, you're able to translate more of those Newtons.

You're basically increasing the the Mechanical Efficiency of the engine, it requires less torque to turn, therefore you get more torque. If you gain torque, YOU MUST gain horsepower. They go hand in hand. More torque = more horsepower.