3 replies to this topic

[SeniorXJ]

Has anyone ever tried drilling holes on the face of a set of flywheels for weight reduction?
If you measure carefully, space the holes out correctly, and drill 4 or 5 half inch holes, you'd have a significantly lighter set of wheels!
Only down side I see is them becoming unbalanced and very noisy. What do you guys think??

[Meaker VI]

You or I are more likely to make them unbalanced and noisy doing that. Not worth it IMO, the change would me minimal at best.

[ElliottW]

Unless you're very careful, it's highly likely you'll end up with imbalanced flywheels.  At stock speeds, it probably won't be a big deal. But if you've done any battery/motor mods, they won't be usable.  It would be much better to simply buy some vented flywheels, like a pair of Artifact Alloy Rifled flywheels.

 

There is also another downside to consider. Removing mass from the flywheels reduces their momentum, meaning the flywheels will have less energy to transfer to the darts, and slow down more between shots. In a stock blaster, it isn't the torque of the motors that pulls the darts through the flywheel cage and flings it out, it's mostly the energy stored in the rotational inertia of the flywheels.  The motor's job is simply to bring the flywheels up to speed.  Less mass  means less momentum, less energy available to impart to the dart, and ultimately lower FPS.

 

 

Generally, you only see vented flywheels in blasters with upgraded motors and better batteries.

[Cthulhu]

 
There is also another downside to consider. Removing mass from the flywheels reduces their momentum, meaning the flywheels will have less energy to transfer to the darts, and slow down more between shots. In a stock blaster, it isn't the torque of the motors that pulls the darts through the flywheel cage and flings it out, it's mostly the energy stored in the rotational inertia of the flywheels.  The motor's job is simply to bring the flywheels up to speed.  Less mass  means less momentum, less energy available to impart to the dart, and ultimately lower FPS.
 
 
Generally, you only see vented flywheels in blasters with upgraded motors and better batteries.

Yes but more mass on the outside of the spin increases torque through centrifugal(or the other one) force wich might make up for the loss of mass on stock wheels. Arent instanto (sp?) Wheels lighter than stock?

Upgraded motors are probably a must but get a pair of artifact wheels and use them as a template to make the new holes. You might ruin them though if you make a mistake.