As noted, rotational inertia is much more important than weight. Only the
inertia changes how the engine runs, etc; the ideal situation would be the
right amount of rotational inertia with no weight at all <G> To that end, a
lighter flywheel with a heavier ring gear should be better than the other
way around.
FWIW I am currently running a Fidanza AL wheel with standard ring gear
behind a nearly stock TR3 motor on the street, and I really like it. It
"wakes up" the car like nothing else I've ever done (especially at low
speeds); and I'm really looking forward to getting a "warmed up" motor to
run it behind (with 89mm liners, Larry Young's cam, tubular 4-2-1 exhaust,
etc).
Oh yeah, possibly relevant, I've currently got a 4.1 axle and smaller tires
than stock (872 tpm vs 835). The previous car had a 3.7 axle (same tires)
and was a bit harder to launch; but I think that had more to do with the
engine being tired than the final drive ratio. My plan is to go to 3.45
gears & limited slip (which hopefully will make it harder to spin the
wheels).
You didn't mention whether this car is for the street or the racetrack. For
the street, IMO it comes down to how strongly your motor will pull below
2000 rpm. You're going to have to rev at least partially into the power
band for every single takeoff (or risk looking like you are just learning to
drive a clutch) and I feel kind of silly having to rev it up when I'm just
puttering around the parking lot.
-- Randall
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