Awesome analysis and I think in this way too. At FORD we could test everything and it was funny, that sometimes what the analysis suggested, could have this rare anomaly exception, where the car might pick up despite the projections. Same today in some cars, the best DYNO numbers might fall of a smidgen, with a collector that the car like better when the data, from the on car, is factored in.
I think that how the entire combo ET's as viewed with the on board data, is a factor too.
What is funny in many fast cars, is when you pull power out of them? Sometimes, they speed up....happens a lot.
So way back then, and often today, a big budget effort, might bring 5 additional parts to the track, to test and mine data from. You know?
On a dampener, crank life, cam drive life, and valve float issues, bearing life issues, and block life, also factor in a little sometimes. I like the big dampener idea and the race dampener too, because they are not all tuned internally the same too.
I think his optimum dampener in a clutch car, I presume a 5 speed 2 disc car here, and light, lets guess what the optimum ET dampener might shave or add ET wise too
Not sure we are talking about a few hundredths on lets say a 9 flat car, maybe a negligible and unquantifiable plus or minus too. I would lean toward the heavier part on the reduce torsional vibration at peak power issue, on the less translation to the cam issue, on the less vibration to the valve train issue, on the crank life issue, on the want to hit the tire hardest, like a car that wants to smack the tires harder then softer, and on the bearing life issue.
I guess I would conclude like this, in the 60s, a lot of really fast and light AFX style cars, and many blown gassers, injected gassers, and so on, cars with 12.5 to 1 to 13.5 to 1, long cams,fully ported heads, hilborns or enderles, crowers(Stack injectors)just ran a small OD degreed aluminum hub, a gear drive, a glass front clip, straight axle and fuel injection. These cars did pick up a bit losing a heavy dampener for a real light alloy art with minimal mass.
Now then, light was right on many parts, rods, aluminum valve retainers, aluminum flywheels, aluminum clutch cans and so on. These were 7 and 8 second cars, but real light.
We did A Gas a lot in the late 60s, early 70s, out here, with the light hubs too, mid 8s, light, clutch flite, clutch C6, clutch turbo era....roller cams, injection, and so on, light valves...trick heads.
Interesting question
Fun to think combos and engineering and I still want to hear about the car/goal/et?chassis and so on. If this is a 12 second car, not even sure how fast we are going, I don't think he will see a difference with a half pound more or less dampener.
This is just me but my concerns on a dampener are more like crank/ bearing life, adding or lessening crank vibration to the cam/pushrods,valves, springs but safety. Not so much ET
Also wonder if he has a billet fully counterweighted crank, not sure
Interesting hypothesis but I wonder.
Fun Thanks