Having had several bad experiences with dual mass flywheels, I have come to the conclusion that they are simply not fit to be used on Indian city roads.

The first such experience occurred when the clutch on one of my cars packed after being driven 30,000 km. I sent it for repair to an authorized dealer, only to learn that the flywheel would also need to be replaced, at an additional cost of Rs 36,000. This came to me as a shock, because in all the years that I have been driving and over all the thousands of kilometres that I have covered, I have never had to replace a flywheel. Nonetheless, I reasoned that this instance might purely be down to bad luck – perhaps this flywheel happened to be defective. However, the clutch on another of my cars also packed, this time at 40,000 km. Once again, the flywheel needed replacement.

In both cases, the flywheels were dual mass. These experiences led me to research the topic carefully and the results have convinced me that dual mass flywheels are unsuitable for Indian city traffic. Single mass flywheels are superior, both in cost and performance.

Dual Mass Flywheel

Advantages of Dual Mass Flywheels:

+ Smooth while changing gears

+ Great feeling of driving, on highways

Disadvantages of Dual Mass Flywheels:

– Have to replace every 40,000 km

– Very expensive

– Turbo lag

– Noise while starting and switching off the car.

– If the battery is weak, more noise while starting.

Single Mass Flywheel

Advantages of Single Mass Flywheels

+ Never have to replace

+ Inexpensive

+ Very good acceleration

+ No turbo lag

+ Better fuel consumption in traffic conditions.

In my opinion, there are no disadvantages to single mass flywheels.  Any supposed benefits  offered by dual mass flywheels are negligible, and certainly not enough to offset the difference in price. The average driver will, 9 times out of 10, not even be able to distinguish between single and dual mass flywheels while driving. I have been advising all my friends to switch to single mass flywheels, and those who have switched are very happy with the results. As for myself, I have unfortunately not been able to find a single mass flywheel for my car, so I have decided to fabricate one myself. I see a business opening here, and, as it turns out, I am not the first to have this idea – I have heard it is a growing business in the USA!

Regardless, I hope I have made my point clear, that in city bumper to bumper traffic, dual mass flywheels are a criminal waste. Perhaps, in the future, if manufacturers improve the quality I may reconsider, but for now, I am firmly in opposition to dual mass flywheels and will not buy a car that is fitted with one.