Has anyone out there used one of these?? I see 2 different ones on EBay for the 455, one is a CAT brand, and not sure about the other, looks like about $60 to $80 total to get one. I currently have a JW "wheel", but a couple teeth are worn and I'm going to have to replace it. Pretty sure the JW one is like $200, and the EBay ones are less than half that. The EBay ones mention that they are thicker, and SFI, so there is a "standard" they were made to, but do not carry the JW name , which equals more money........ Gary G.
Gary, I have them on my engines and they work fine. No balance issues or any other problems. I know a couple years ago they were marking the boxes wrong and sending out Olds versions, but I think that is over now.
weight? I bought 2 from a place in California called "Perfect Crank" that both came with a SFI sticker. Trouble was the weight was welded on the wrong side of the flexplate on both of them. They came in a white box with a black cat on the front and the words FP-455B. As both myself and friend were not going to use them for sometime we just quickly inspected them then put them back in the boxes. When it came time to use them is when we realized the weight was on the wrong side. By that time I had sent a positive feedback to them so the company never knew (at least from me) that they were backwards. I think I paid $46.55 each for them. Hope this helps you somewhat. ou:
Theyre dirt cheap right from the source: http://www.catpep.com/catproducts/flywheelsandflexplates/flexplates.asp Just spoke with them, $30.00 + $12.00 shipping from CA to Michigan. The nice lady said they have lots in stock. Devon
Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. Devon, I'll be calling the "nice lady" tomorrow! Gary G.
I bought my E-bay special and had my crank balanced with it. It works great :TU: The one I bought was something like $47.00 o No:
are the heavier than "the wheel"? i already bought mine (the wheel). lighter weight would allow for quicker acceleration of the engine right?
In theory, yes, but considering how much our cars weigh, you'd probably get more improvement by running five gallons in the tank rather than fifteen. Reciprocating weight is a big deal for eeking out the very last .003 seconds in the 1/4, or for getting the car off turn four at Daytona. I know a few drivers who should worry more about their own weight loss and less about that of their car. Devon
:grin: And I should have too, 'cause I didn't answer his first question! Between the two of us I guess we got it covered. By the way, I received the flexplate from CAT very quickly. Haven't done any inspection yet, but it soure looks a lot healthier than my 40-year-old original. I intend to look closely at gear ring offset and weight placement. Devon
Devon- keep us posted on the CAT flexplate. I for one would like to hear your final opinion on the flexplate. Thanks
Will do...I'll try to take a closer look this coming week. Won't have a chance to do a bolt-on until much later, though. Devon
Watch out for Hayes . They have produced a bad run where the weight is on the wrong side and wrong position . They are now aware of the problem and taking action to correct it .
OK I got mine on Thursday. Thanks again Devon, $30 plus $9 shipping to So. Cal. straight from the vendor. To me it looks fine, like I mentioned I had "the wheel", other than having a solid face, seems the same. I took them both to my balance shop to get them matched out, my current combo. is externally balanced, the weight was even in the same place, but thinner, I'll get it back on Wed. hope it all works out, I need to get the car back out to the track. One thing, don't buy one from EBay, I saw the exact same CAT sfi flexplate on there, $39.99 plus $30 shipping, that's just double paying since you can get it straight from the source, like I said, Thanks again Devon! Gary G.
I bought the heavy SFI flex plate from TA Performance. Very nice and well worth it to me. My stock flex plate was cracked in 3 places after I shattered the stock 10 bolt rearend. I replaced the rearend and never noticed it until I pulled the engine for a repaint/upgrades and a new torque convertor. I am lucky it never broke! Good luck. Mike
