Hughes Flexplate Review
03-11-2011, 11:11 AM
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Hughes Flexplate Review Lately there has been some talk about the status of the popular CAT Power SFI flexplates. Everyone I know of that sells them currently has them on back order, and I have even heard someone say they are not making them anymore. Whether or not that is true, I wanted to make everyone aware of another decently priced, well-fitting flexplate on the market. I recently replaced my trans/converter and needed a SFI flexplate right away, and with the CAT flexplates all being on backorder and not wanting to go with TCI after hearing some things about them, I decided to give the steel SFI Hughes flexplate for the LS1/4L60E a try, even though I had heard next to nothing about them.
I must say, I was pretty impressed with the fit and quality. I have a 98 car which has a thicker flexplate than the 99-up cars, but the Hughes flexplate was still thicker than the OEM 98 flexplate. It looks like they copied the stock design and hole placement almost exactly while cutting it from thicker steel, and was a couple pounds heavier than the stock one, as best I could tell. This flexplate is a concave/convex (depends on which way you wanna look at it) design, like the stock flexplate. It is not a flat piece like the TCI. Bolting it up was a snap, as it lined right up with the holes for the crankshaft with no problem, and did the same thing when I went to bolt the converter up. It did not require any elongation of the converter bolt holes on the flexplate, as I have heard sometimes being necessary. Good thing too, because I forgot to check the converter holes before putting the trans back in. There were a few minutes of stress there where I thought, "If these bolt holes don't line up, I am gonna be so hacked off taking this trans back out to fix this."
Luckily for me, Hughes made it fit right.
All in all, I was very pleased with Hughes' product. It was more expensive than CAT Power's (I payed about $150, not including tax and shipping). If you would like the part number, I can give that to you. Not sure if that is allowed here from a non sponsor product? Didn't want to post it if not. Hope this helps anyone wanting to know their options as far as flexplates go.
Here are some pictures:
I must say, I was pretty impressed with the fit and quality. I have a 98 car which has a thicker flexplate than the 99-up cars, but the Hughes flexplate was still thicker than the OEM 98 flexplate. It looks like they copied the stock design and hole placement almost exactly while cutting it from thicker steel, and was a couple pounds heavier than the stock one, as best I could tell. This flexplate is a concave/convex (depends on which way you wanna look at it) design, like the stock flexplate. It is not a flat piece like the TCI. Bolting it up was a snap, as it lined right up with the holes for the crankshaft with no problem, and did the same thing when I went to bolt the converter up. It did not require any elongation of the converter bolt holes on the flexplate, as I have heard sometimes being necessary. Good thing too, because I forgot to check the converter holes before putting the trans back in. There were a few minutes of stress there where I thought, "If these bolt holes don't line up, I am gonna be so hacked off taking this trans back out to fix this."
Luckily for me, Hughes made it fit right.All in all, I was very pleased with Hughes' product. It was more expensive than CAT Power's (I payed about $150, not including tax and shipping). If you would like the part number, I can give that to you. Not sure if that is allowed here from a non sponsor product? Didn't want to post it if not. Hope this helps anyone wanting to know their options as far as flexplates go.
Here are some pictures:
03-12-2011, 07:51 PM
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Of course, if anyone has bad experiences about the Hughes flexplate, please chime in. This only covers initial fitment and design, not longevity. Only time and abuse will tell that...
My intention in posting this was to give future help to people looking at their flexplate options. Anyone else using or used this flexplate? Let us know!
My intention in posting this was to give future help to people looking at their flexplate options. Anyone else using or used this flexplate? Let us know!
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03-13-2011, 08:17 PM
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Good catch, I didn't realize the part number was in there.
The trans and converter are great! I have put a couple hundred easy miles on it, so it should be nice and broken in for me to hit it a little harder now
It has been wet and rainy here the last couple days, so I am waiting til it dries out and I can take it out and hit it from a stand still and see how high that converter really flash stalls to. From what I am seeing now, I think it may get close to the advertised 3200. I am hoping that it won't need a tune, but I haven't been able to check WOT shifts yet to see if they bounce off the rev limiter or not. Thanks for the great job on the build! The shifts feel much more consistent now, and I am starting to like the progressive firmness of the TransGo kit. I sent you an email about it, and was wondering if you could provide a list of the parts/tricks you used in the build? Just for my reference. All in all, I'm very pleased!
Thanks for the info on the flex plate. Hows the new trans and converter working for you?
It has been wet and rainy here the last couple days, so I am waiting til it dries out and I can take it out and hit it from a stand still and see how high that converter really flash stalls to. From what I am seeing now, I think it may get close to the advertised 3200. I am hoping that it won't need a tune, but I haven't been able to check WOT shifts yet to see if they bounce off the rev limiter or not. Thanks for the great job on the build! The shifts feel much more consistent now, and I am starting to like the progressive firmness of the TransGo kit. I sent you an email about it, and was wondering if you could provide a list of the parts/tricks you used in the build? Just for my reference. All in all, I'm very pleased!
03-13-2011, 09:57 PM
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If you're desperate, I'll sell you my thicker '98 flexplate for a good deal 
Seriously, though, I was impressed with the fit on the Hughes. No worries about it.
Seriously, though, I was impressed with the fit on the Hughes. No worries about it.
03-29-2011, 09:04 PM
#13
Back up I searched this and found little info as well but hughes has a good rep and I went with it as well. Get the word out. I will soon be putting some good power through it c what happens. From the looks of it I don't think this thing is gonna break... I will later post a review as to how it balances out and quality when my machine shop finishes the balancing on entire rotating assembly.
03-30-2011, 09:00 AM
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^^Good to hear. I'd like to know how it balances, too. That's the only thing I didn't comment on because I couldn't check any specs on runout, etc. Let me know how true it ends up being out of the box.
