Thread: Full carbon fiber wheel.. to site sponsors... why not ?

As you guys work on alot of money no object cars surely CF rims would have to be the next step ?

Weds Sport ?!? have this rim




Has anyone got anything else in the pipeline ?

As a bit more browsing turns out that an Australian company are producing some too.



Carbon Revolution

Originally Posted by graham_h

As you guys work on alot of money no object cars surely CF rims would have to be the next step ?

Has anyone got anything else in the pipeline ?

As a bit more browsing turns out that an Australian company are producing some too.

Carbon fiber wheels have been around for quite a while. Dymag did the first ones that I know of that were any decent and passed a boatload of crash testing. Those had magnesium centers with carbon hoops. I'm not sure carbon centers would do well in failure mode testing, but I'd love to see some that do.

The other option that is more recent are wheels with the "carbon fiber look". The are covered with film that gives the appearance of carbon fiber, but the safety of aluminum. Bent wheels have a chance of holding air for a few moments while exploded wheels or cut tires are done instantly. What Carbon Revolution shows for test results are very promising, but I'd have to examine a failed wheel to develop an understanding of their failure mode. Yes, even carbon fiber has a breaking point!

Also, carbon wheels hold a lot of heat in the tires where aluminum and magnesium are great at thermal dissipation.

you've also gotta remember that all these wheel companies that post all over message boards on the internet have their wheels mostly manufactured by one of just three or so manufacturers (which is why they essentially all look the same) from the same blanks, so it would require either: 1) the actual manufacturer at the top level to do all the R&D and manufacturing of the carbon wheel, or 2) one of these wheel companies to invest the millions+ in doing the R&D and manufacturing themselves, which would probably be beyond their existing capacity, since they usually are just warehouses with a few CNC machines and some assembly tables. Basically, it'd just take a lot of money to make something that might not sell well enough for a decent ROI

Been there done that on CF wheels. Very unreliable for a daily driver. Constant leaks and problems. Crappiest $10k wheels I've ever owned.

Mmm that 2nd set are on the ultimate aero..... wonder if they'd do a top speed run on them ?!?

I'd steer clear of the "wrapped" CF wheels too... the heat from brakes and constant exposure to sun = yellowing of the CF very quickly, and they tend to have the clear coat start to break down and peel and crack.

While we have the capability to produce such a finish we don't because it's just going to fall apart 2 years down the line and look like hell.

Originally Posted by ADV.1 Matt

I'd steer clear of the "wrapped" CF wheels too... the heat from brakes and constant exposure to sun = yellowing of the CF very quickly, and they tend to have the clear coat start to break down and peel and crack.

While we have the capability to produce such a finish we don't because it's just going to fall apart 2 years down the line and look like hell.

Interesting , and good to know..