Safety First: PRW Industries Covers Flexplate Importance For Diesels

In the world of diesel performance, it is critical to have parts that can handle the abuse. Without modifications, these diesel engines produce wild amounts of horsepower and torque, and believe it or not, without parts that can handle these power levels, it can be dangerous. PRW Industries strives to manufacture parts for our trucks that can handle the stress and prevent accidents.

We’ve seen driveshafts thrown out of trucks, turbo explosions throwing shrapnel, and even tops of engines exiting their home in extreme situations. This sort of thing is usually caused because they weren’t installed properly or parts were used out of their efficiency range causing a failure. When you’re searching for your next upgrade, make sure it’s enough to handle what you’re doing.

Dodge 6.7-Liter Cummins Diesel, 2007 – Current, Machined from Steel Forging, Black Oxide, 152 Teeth, Internally Balanced.

Flexplates

For lack of a better term, a flexplate is a disc that relays power from the back of the engine to input of the torque converter. Aside from a defect from the manufacturer, there are only a few scenarios that will cause a flexplate to crack or break. It can be improper torque on the mounting hardware on the crankshaft, it can accidentally be misaligned causing a bind, or it could simply be that it wasn’t rated for the power output of the engine.

Being at most of the diesel events around this side of the country, we witness these failures a lot. The majority of people have upgraded transmission backed by an upgraded or billet flexplate, but we’re here to remind those that haven’t upgraded that they need to. If you haven’t, that’s fine. PRW Industries has you covered.

PRW Flexplate Support

We caught up with Shaun Snow with PRW to talk about their flexplates and how important it is to not overlook this item when upgrading. “We currently offer two versions of our SFI diesel flexplates. We have a billet and a stamped version. The stamped version is a 4-MM thick which is about twice the thickness of an OE plate and offer double-welded ring gears,” said Snow. “The advantage to these is they provide a marked improvement in strength and durability for a price that is often not much more than a factory replacement.”

1994-2007 Dodge Cummins 48RE Transmission

2007.5-Current Dodge Cummins 68RFE Transmission

1994.5-2003 Ford Power Stroke 7.3-Liter Engine

2003-2007 Ford Power Stroke 6.0-Liter Engine

Snow continued,”For the Ford applications, they fill a nice gap in the market between OE and the much more expensive billet offerings. Most of the guys running a mild build or just use their trucks for towing need something stronger than stock, but nothing as serious as a billet option.” PRW has found that a large number of consumers go for and trust the stamped versions of their flexplates.

The billet flexplates are going to be for your high-performance applications in sled pulling or drag racing. Currently, the billet flexplate options are only available for the 5.9/6.7-Liter Cummin-powered trucks. These flexplates offer more of an upgrade passed the stamped versions for truck owners looking for ultimate strength.

Dodge 5.9-Liter Cummins, 1988 – 2006, 152 Teeth, Internal Balance, Platinum Series, Xtreme Duty, 4mm thick centerplate.

They are a one-piece design with the ring gears being a part of the flexplate as opposed to being welded on. The center section that the hardware fastens to the crankshaft is reinforced by 4.5-MM (.177-inches) for additional strength. This added thickness allows their billet flexplates to be used in applications exceeding 1,500-lb/ft of torque.

If you’re right in the middle of building a truck and needing ultimate strength out of a flexplate, or if you’re just trying to get back on the road with a flexplate you can trust over stock, be sure and check out PRW Industries. For more information about their products, be sure and check out their website. Stay tuned to Diesel Army for the latest in diesel performance and parts.

 

 

Article Sources

About the author

Artie Maupin

Artie Maupin is from Southeast Missouri and has an extreme passion for anything diesel. He loves drag racing of all kinds, as well as sled pulling competitions.
Read My Articles