ShoSource Ali Flywheel Question

[Timothy Vincent]

Full disclosure, I’m attempting an engine swap in an 89 that spun a bearing, much more complex job than I’ve ever attempted. I’m Just somewhat car Savvy so apologies if my question seems simple-minded. I’ll have a mechanic friend helping me when the time comes though, for now;

The ShoSource 8lb Flywheel measures 9.75, I thought that would make it incompatible with the stock 9.25 clutch but some threads I’ve read have made me unsure. I’m set on the 8lb Flywheel over the 17lb steel. I’d like to replace the clutch at the same time but a lot seem to praise the stock clutch. I don’t want anything completely crazy, Stage 1 would be the most I’d accept.

What clutch kits would comfortably fit and compliment the 8lb ShoSource Flywheel? I’ve found some like Apex, ClutchXperts, and a few others sized 9 13/16, which is basically 9.75 but I don’t want go ahead before I have definitive conclusions.

EDIT: I know there’s a clutch kit on ShoSource as well. Personally I’m trying to keep the clutch kit under 300$ iffff possible.

 

[luigisho]

I always liked the stock clutch setup for daily and regular driving. Any Valeo style setup will work. The valeo or Sachs clutch kit is cheaper on Rock Auto by alot (didn't look at shipping though). You can always get the clutch part number from RA and shop that around. Use the catalog for a later year like 91 or so for the larger clutch.

 

[rubydist]

To be clear, you need the 9.75" clutch disc and pressure plate, which the catalog will list for the 91+ as luigisho indicates above. There is a 99% chance your 89 already has a 9.75" clutch because there was a recall for the inadequate 9.25" clutch on the early models and virtually all of them were replaced by Ford with the larger one.

 

[rubydist]

fwiw, I did not like driving the car with an AL flywheel. That reduction in rotating inertia made the engine rev slightly faster, but at the expense of being much easier to stall off the line and requiring significantly higher revs when starting out to avoid that stalling.

 

[Irish Pride]

First off, I highly doubt that your car still has the 9.25" clutch in it. The 89s were the only SHOs that got them and they had a recall on them because of what garbage they were. You want to go with a 9.75" clutch. Look for part number K012201 on Rockauto or go to O'Reillys and ask for the same number. It's a Sachs clutch in their packaging.

Second, what purpose will this car serve once back on the road? Daily driver? Do you do a lot of stop and go driving? In everyday driving situations (traffic, city driving) you will hate the 8lbs flywheel. I've had stock, 9lbs, 8lbs, and everything in between. The absolute best flywheel for a SHO that you plan to drive a lot and use in everyday situations is the SHO Source 17lbs billet flywheel. I have one in both my current SHOs. The 8lbs flywheel is great for precise rev matching while driving but in a stop and go environment it sucks. The flywheel is so light that if you don't perfectly time the clutch release with your throttle revs, it will skip and cavitate causing the whole chassis to shake. The 17lbs flywheel is the best of both worlds. It's got nice light throttle response with the forgiveness of the stock flywheel.

-Chad

 

[luigisho]

To be clear, you need the 9.75" clutch disc and pressure plate, which the catalog will list for the 91+ as luigisho indicates above. There is a 99% chance your 89 already has a 9.75" clutch because there was a recall for the inadequate 9.25" clutch on the early models and virtually all of them were replaced by Ford with the larger one.

I was thinking the same thing. I also noticed that rock auto still had a 9.25" replacement for sale. Surprising as I haven't seen one in forever.

 

[Irish Pride]

FWIW, if you are dead set on the 8lbs flywheel then do not get any clutch stronger than stock. The stiffer pressure plates can cause the light aluminum flywheel to flex. None of my clutches lasted longer than 10k miles when I was using the aluminum flywheel.

 

[Timothy Vincent]

First off, I highly doubt that your car still has the 9.25" clutch in it. The 89s were the only SHOs that got them and they had a recall on them because of what garbage they were. You want to go with a 9.75" clutch. Look for part number K012201 on Rockauto or go to O'Reillys and ask for the same number. It's a Sachs clutch in their packaging.

Second, what purpose will this car serve once back on the road? Daily driver? Do you do a lot of stop and go driving? In everyday driving situations (traffic, city driving) you will hate the 8lbs flywheel. I've had stock, 9lbs, 8lbs, and everything in between. The absolute best flywheel for a SHO that you plan to drive a lot and use in everyday situations is the SHO Source 17lbs billet flywheel. I have one in both my current SHOs. The 8lbs flywheel is great for precise rev matching while driving but in a stop and go environment it sucks. The flywheel is so light that if you don't perfectly time the clutch release with your throttle revs, it will skip and cavitate causing the whole chassis to shake. The 17lbs flywheel is the best of both worlds. It's got nice light throttle response with the forgiveness of the stock flywheel.

-Chad

It’s going to be a daily driver so a bit of everything. I had an 89 before, and while I don’t know which In specific, I was informed before purchase it had a “Lightweight Flywheel” installed. That 89 was my favorite car I’ve had, fell in love with the abrupt and immediate throttle response which from what I’ve read is suggested was caused by that lightweight flywheel. I’ve owned two 1st Gen Sho’s since and was disappointed with the noticeably slower throttle response. That first 89 is the car I learned stick shift in so perhaps I just got used to the way it drove with that flywheel as if it were normal, intern making driving daily with a flywheel more generally accepted as more comfortable or preferred A more alien experience for me.

EDIT: Also thanks for the info about the recall, I must of missed that if mentioned in previous threads. In your opinion, would you get a refurbished or new stock clutch kit replacement to install since I’ll be doing the flywheel anyway? Or would you just keep the stock clutch already in it? The car has been garaged kept and in excellent condition and I’m told the clutch worked great before the car spun a bearing and sat garaged for a year and a half or so.

 

[Timothy Vincent]

FWIW, if you are dead set on the 8lbs flywheel then do not get any clutch stronger than stock. The stiffer pressure plates can cause the light aluminum flywheel to flex. None of my clutches lasted longer than 10k miles when I was using the aluminum flywheel.

Thank you for your answer, I think that’s what I’ll do then.

 

[Irish Pride]

By all means put a new clutch kit in it. I would never go thru all that effort only to put a used clutch in. If you have no first hand knowledge of how old or how many miles are on it, replace it while you can.

 

[Timothy Vincent]

By all means put a new clutch kit in it. I would never go thru all that effort only to put a used clutch in. If you have no first hand knowledge of how old or how many miles are on it, replace it while you can.

Alright, thank you for the input. Like I said I’m moderately car savvy, and I’ve personally never had a clutch go out on me in any of my cars before so I’m not first hand familiar with their durability or if it’d make sense to drop the extra cash for a new one rather than reuse a fully functional one with a bit o miles on it.

 

[SHOMON]

SHONUT clutch kit!
http://www.shonutperformance.com/HDClutch.htm