Auto Trans dumb question (maybe)
 

I've searched and searched but to no avail. Is the flywheel an engine part or a transmission part? Could you, in theory, benifit from a light weight flywheel on a auto transmission? Would you use the same flywheel for the auto as the manual?(hence my question about the flywheel being part of the engine).

Automatic transmissions don't work the same way because they don't have pressure plates that need to clamp down on a flywheel. Flywheel is part of the transmission, not the engine.

http://www.transmissiondenver.com/facts.html

Autos have "Flex-plates" instead of flywheels. Not a dumb question. Pretty much the only thing the flex plate does is allows the starter motor to turn the crank. There's not too much you can do to make an auto more 'efficient' other than increasing the line pressure. Anything else you do to it to increase its strength will add more weight and/or spinning mass. But if you just do stronger spring upgrade and increase the line pressure, you'll get more efficiency out of the auto transmission, but your shifts will be harder, not smooth.

Yeah I'm familiar with a valve body upgrade. I had it done on my '01 turbo IS300. Much firmer shifts. The 370Z could use some help on the 1-2 shift all the rest an improvement would just be gravy.

I asked because I knew there had to be something there for the starter to grab hold of. Now I know. So no lighter flywheel for me.

Auto engines don't last as long or are as good as manual engines in general...
In my opinion!

^^^^???????

Yeah um ok...? Auto engines are the same as manual engines. I can only assume you mean engines attached to auto transmissions. Again yeah um ok...? This is twice today I've been compelled to respond to subjective conjecture. IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW THE DRIVER TAKES CARE OF HIS/HER CAR! And that was absolutely completely unequivocally OFF TOPIC. Auto tranny's do have the stigma of wearing out second gear prematurely. So do manuals. Proper maintenance is key for both. A valve body upgrade (which is in my future) will reduce overlap and make for quicker, firmer shifts. VBU's also offer a boost in transmission life because the reduced overlap equates to less heat buildup. Less heat means the trans fluid lasts longer and works better.

I've held back a few times this week myself .... It's annoying, but you can't fix the world.

Plus, in the 370's case, I've read that the new 7AT is the same as the one used in the F50 which develops 390 HP. That means it should be quite "over-engineered" for this application.

WTF?! I'm lost in this VERY puzzling statement.

Thats awesome! Classic!

Also, car manufacturers engineer the passenger door handle weaker (which saves cost) because they know it gets used 72.6% less than the drivers side.

edit my previous post, 82% of all numbers are made up so its actually 66% - the passenger door handle is used 66% less than drivers. Yea, that sounds right.

^^^^ Aaaah HaHaHa! :D