After two years of research, development, prototyping, and testing JHM is finally ready to release their long awaited Lightweight Flywheel for the B8-S4 and B8-S5 with the 3.0T FSI! JHM began developing this kit in 2011 and have already installed it on several cars.
In addition to working with the JHM Performance Clutch Kit , JHM have designed their Lightweight Flywheel for the B8 S4-S5 so that it will also work with an OEM stock clutch kit or ANY aftermarket clutch kit designed to work with the OEM B8 S4-S5 Flywheel.
Concept and Development:
The OEM Flywheel on the B8 S4 and S5 is a completely new design and a significant departure from Audi's previous flywheel designs. Instead of having the traditional single piece flywheel (i.e. the traditional "dual-mass flywheel") that just bolts to the back of the motor, the B8 S4-S5 flywheel is a two-piece, hourglass shaped, unit which allows Audi to position the motor further back in the chassis for better weight distribution. This is achieved by running a half-shaft through the narrow part of the hourglass shape in the flywheel. This major design change presented a new challenge for JHM.
Beginning in 2011, JHM tested out their Lightweight Flywheel concept by drilling out the rivets on the OEM unit and re-using the lower half of the OEM flywheel. They replaced the upper, cast-iron, dual-mass flywheel piece with a prototype version of a lightweight aluminum piece that was built in house. Once they were satisfied with the performance of our prototype, JHM went on making their own lower base out of machined steel, which can be seen above. This was done by completely re-engineering the overall unit for an optimal balance of strength and weight reduction.
Why a Lightweight Flywheel:
Replacing the OEM, cast-iron, dual-mass flywheel with a single-mass, lightweight, aluminum piece reduces the overall weight of the rotating assembly of the motor. This frees up power in the motor and leads to increased throttle responsiveness. Changing the upper portion of the OEM flywheel to a single-mass unit also eliminates the potential for failure of the dual-mass unit. This is especially important on high-horsepower cars. Finally, the JHM Lightweight Flywheel offers the additional advantage of having a removable friction liner. If you end up replacing your clutch and pressure plate at a later date, you don't need to replace the entire flywheel OR worry about re-surfacing it (which - as of August 2013 - has yet to be done successfully for this large of a unit). Resurfacing would also not be cost effective due to tooling and fixture costs for such a tall, dual-mass flywheel. All you need to do is just replace the removable friction liner.
Parts Included:
- JHM Aluminum and Machined Steel 2-Piece Lightweight Flywheel Assembly
- 6x Flywheel to Flexplate Bolts
Fitment:
- 2009-2015 Audi S4 3.0T
- 2013-2015 Audi S5 3.0T