Clutch Masters Flywheel for CL/04-06 TL/03-06 Accord V6

Clutch Masters Aluminum Flywheel FW-028-AL - J32 TL, CL Type-S & Accord V6 6MT

You know that half-second on a downshift where you blip the throttle and the revs just sort of... think about it? Where you're waiting on the tach to come up to meet the gear instead of it snapping up when you ask? That's the stock flywheel. Honda hung a heavy chunk of rotating mass off the back of your J-series, and every time you touch the throttle the engine has to accelerate that thing before it accelerates anything else. This Clutch Masters aluminum flywheel takes most of it away, and it's the single part that changes how the whole car feels without adding a horsepower.

Where You'll Actually Feel It

Less rotating mass shows up in three places, and once you feel them you can't unfeel them. Blips get instant, so rev-matching on a downshift stops being a guess and heel-toe suddenly works the way you always meant it to. First through third wake up, because the engine isn't wasting effort spinning a heavy disc. And the whole car just feels more willing, more like the motor is connected to your right foot instead of negotiating with it. This is the exact reason drag and road-race builds run aluminum: the engine spends less energy spinning the flywheel and more of it moving the car.

Built To Last, And You Only Buy It Once

The part itself is properly done. Clutch Masters machines these from billet 6061-T6 and Type 3 hard anodizes them, which is what keeps an aluminum flywheel from getting chewed up over years of heat cycles. The detail that matters most long-term is the replaceable friction insert. Aluminum can't be resurfaced the way a steel flywheel can, so on a lot of aluminum units, a worn friction surface means buying a whole new flywheel. Not here. When it eventually wears, you swap the insert and keep the flywheel. Buy it once, run it through however many clutches you go through.

And if you take the car anywhere with a tech inspector, these meet SFI spec 1.2 for competition in NHRA, IHRA, SCCA, and NASA, so you're covered.

Manual Cars Only. Seriously.

Quick sanity check before you order, because this catches people. A flywheel only exists if there's a clutch pedal. Automatic TLs, CLs, and Accords don't have one, they use a flexplate, which is a completely different part. So this fits the 6-speed cars only: the TL 6MT, the 2003 CL Type-S 6-speed (the only CL Honda ever built with a manual), and the Accord V6 6MT. If your car has two pedals, this isn't your part.

Straight Talk About The Trade

A lightweight flywheel changes how the car drives, mostly for the better, but you should know what you're signing up for. Revs fall faster when you lift, so your first few launches will be uglier than usual until your right foot recalibrates, give it a week and you'll forget it was ever different. You'll also pick up some gear rattle at idle and low rpm, especially with the AC on. That's not a defect, that's what happens when you pull rotating mass out of a V6 and lose the damping that came with it.

So be honest about your car. If it's a pure commuter and you want it dead quiet, the stock flywheel is the comfortable choice and there's no shame in that. But if you drive your 6-speed TL the way a 6-speed TL deserves to be driven, you'll stop noticing the trade-offs almost immediately and keep the response for as long as you own the car.

Do It While The Transmission Is Already Out

Here's the mistake that costs people the most money on this job: buying the flywheel later and paying labor twice. Getting to this part means the transaxle comes out, and that's a whole Saturday. So do it all at once. Grab the matching Clutch Masters clutch kit for your J32 or J30, get a fresh set of flywheel bolts (don't reuse the old ones), and take a look at Clutch Masters' flywheel friction lock while you're at it, it's a thin hardened steel layer that keeps the flywheel from fretting loose on the crank. Replace everything, resurface nothing, and bleed the hydraulics properly before the first drive.

Specs

Fits These Cars

• 2004-2006 Acura TL, 6-speed manual (J32A3)
• 2003 Acura CL Type-S, 6-speed manual (J32A2)
• 2003-2007 Honda Accord V6 3.0L, 6-speed manual (J30A4 / J30A5)
• Does NOT fit automatic cars, which use a flexplate

Note: Fits 6-speed manual applications only. Pair with the matching Clutch Masters clutch kit; new flywheel bolts are required and sold separately. Expect increased gear rattle at idle and low rpm, which is normal for a lightweight flywheel. One flywheel per order.