Help anyone! Does anyone know how or where to get a balistic shield or scatter shield blanket to around the trany bel-housing to prevent a catasphic results(death or dismemberment) from a clutch-flywheel failure. The flywheel is heavy and when spinning that high(8500rpm+) creates a serious danger if one was to mis-shift and the worst thing that could happened did(exploding into many projectiles).



This solution really needs to be cheap but effective. This is a danger more concerning as I will be revving past 8500rpm with a bridgeport engine. It is highly-recommended for high reving engines to have this protection.



I'm having a hard time finding anything on the web

 

Check Summit or Jegs.

 

Thanks, I found a balistic blanket in summit for ~$80. So I will be getting that I guess.

 

If it's any consolation... when the pressure plate/clutch on a 1st gen explodes, the parts don't enter the passenger compartment. (of course people nearby would still be in danger...) We had a guy in our club miss a shift from 4th to 5th and hit 3rd instead. :wow: The shrapnel destroyed the bell housing, hood and took out the cable for the hood release...

 

Cool, if you look at the line of destruction of the flywheel assembly from this missed shift you discribed, were abouts should the shield be placed? I know the clutch sleeve cylinder is kindof in the way though. Have you incountered more then one of these destructive events? Do you know what rpm this guy was at when it went?

 

Quote from rohlfr, posted on Oct. 25 2001,16:20

Probably centered just forward of the firewall.

That was the only desitegration I've every heard of.

The guy was speed-shifting 4-5 (why??), when he caught 3rd... I would guess he was somewhere beyond 10,000 rpm

 

Oh.10KRPM....so if I would to buy this balistic blanket and planed orginally, just place it as far foward I can on the bell-housing and call it a day? That is my plan as of now considering that not all flywheel/clutch failures are indentical right? If it is to do a form of protection from anything that could be flung back towards the trany and trany bellhousing I'll be all for it? Of course there are many ways to be critically injured from a moderate car problems none of which are engine related, I'd like to keep it that way. I missed a 1st-2nd shift at 8,500rpm in a mild ported 12a and the clutch shattered, but nothing else bad happened thankfully. :smile: :wow: Thanks!

 

for a start if you have got a bridgeport or simliar you should be running a lightened flywheel of some description. Preferably a billet steel one.



From your remark about the flywheel being heavy i would assume that you are not????



Also if you are intending to do big revs when you build up your motor get the rotating assembly balanced. the $200 it will cost you will make all the difference to how the motor spins up and how long it lasts. :smilewinkgrin:



As for your clutch exploding, use a reputable high quality one and get it balanced to your flywheel. My 13B bridgeport was built to rev to 10,000rpm all day every day. When i replaced the clutch with a 4 puk brass button one I had it balanced. the difference was quite noticeable and I would be very suprised if it ever gave me any trouble.

 

Thanks for that info...I have been considered balancing, but just don't know forsure how much I plan to rev it past 8,500rpm. I'm already way beyond my orginal budget and can't justify too much more, seriously.



However I just downloaded a video from Project x605 website of a 1st gen blowing his clutch in a burnout. This really frightens me. However the driver did walk away just fine! If you chose to see it, you see that the hood and side fenders were taken out. I also bet that the plane at which the debery was flying out would of injured someone possibly if the car was in a different position.



Also, do you use a scatter shield of some kind yourself? Do you rev to 10K like on a normal basis? I have a 23lb flywheel and can not afford additional 350bucks for the light steel one. I do infact go up to the powerpeak a little too often, he he. When they balance an engine, did you compare weight of the rotors to see how good a job they do? I know this doesn't mean it is balanced depending were the weight is removed. I've measured weight difference between the two rotors and found about 4grams difference.

 

I dont have a flywheel shield on my car, im not required to until it runs under a 13.0 at the drags. In the meantime I have faith in my high quality clutch and billet steel flywheel so im not expecting any exploding parts.



Every time I drive my car it gets revved over 8000rpm. if its going to 10000 then it would be only momentarily before a gearchange, as 13B eccentric shafts will flex over 8500rpm.



As for the balancing, im not really too sure, i left that up to the people that knew what they were doing.



If that video you are talking about is of a dark green series one rx7 then its probably from the NZ nats last year. I was there, I know the car and the guy that owned it. It was a cheap backyard buildup with a standard clutch in it. Ive seen hundreds of rotary burnouts and thats the only clutch Ive ever seen explode. Ive seen a flywheel go to bits, it tore the bellhousing to bits, ripped the fuel lines and started a big engine bay fire. but it was the old story it was a cast flywheel that some idiot had lightened behind a j-port which was probably revving to about 11000rpm +



If you are using high quality gear then you shouldnt have problems. Keep in mind that a bridgeport is a race engine and needs the gears to back it up. cheap isnt usually cheaper in the long run and anything you cut corners on now will bite you in the *** later on.





this is what all 13B's should look like