Newsflash CF wheels are garbage

[Tomster]

Also, don’t you run your GT500 at Daytona at full speed with the OEM Carbon Fiber wheels ? If so, that’s says a lot right there beyond the discussion around cosmetic damage and repairs right there, in my opinion.

Yes I do. And I commonly use the wheels I repair at top speeds (187 mph on one gps fix)

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[passwords]

I only drive my R on the street, and I have never used anything but the factory carbon wheels since new. I get asked all the time whether I am worried about damaging the carbon fiber wheels. The answer is no, I am not worried. Not at all. Not even a little bit. If they do get damaged…I’ll fix them. It’s an R and the car was engineered to take advantage of the lower unsprung weight at each corner. And driving it with the carbon wheels is part of what makes it so special.

That being said, I have been looking for a second set of wheels to run a slightly more street friendly tire in the spring and fall like I have for my ZLE. I am only considering another set of carbon wheels for that purpose.

 

[Epiphany]

 

[Inthehighdesert]

Need a bigger bag!

 

[TonyNJ]

After watching this video years ago, I was turned off by anything this guy has to say. He's just kind of a dick. Kid just let him use up his gas. He's just pushing the next thing in wheels and looking for clicks. F him.

 

[RagmopInKona]

McLaren gives c.f. a 25 year life span, before it starts to delaminate.
Take that as you will.

 

[Hack]

big difference between wear and abuse. Wheels don't wear out if properly maintained. or maybe they do after like a 1000 years or something.

Some wheels die frequently. 2015-2019 C7 GS and Z06...

I only drive my R on the street, and I have never used anything but the factory carbon wheels since new. I get asked all the time whether I am worried about damaging the carbon fiber wheels. The answer is no, I am not worried. Not at all. Not even a little bit. If they do get damaged…I’ll fix them. It’s an R and the car was engineered to take advantage of the lower unsprung weight at each corner. And driving it with the carbon wheels is part of what makes it so special.

That being said, I have been looking for a second set of wheels to run a slightly more street friendly tire in the spring and fall like I have for my ZLE. I am only considering another set of carbon wheels for that purpose.

Could you please post how many miles and how many tire changes you have on your carbon fiber R wheels?

 

[Tomster]

Some wheels die frequently. 2015-2019 C7 GS and Z06...



Could you please post how many miles and how many tire changes you have on your carbon fiber R wheels?

The wheels in that video are cast aluminum.

 

[Mike Pfeifer]

Some wheels die frequently. 2015-2019 C7 GS and Z06...



Could you please post how many miles and how many tire changes you have on your carbon fiber R wheels?

I have seen my fair share of BMW 6 series rear wheels cracking like that, but there’s usually a bend right around 180 degrees from the crack.

 

[passwords]

Could you please post how many miles and how many tire changes you have on your carbon fiber R wheels?
[/QUOTE]

Sure. 4800 miles. 1 change of tires caused by the combination of camber (-2.3) and toe out - it corded the inside front shoulders.

I agree with the earlier post that the most difficult part of owning the carbon wheels is finding a shop competent in dealing with them properly when replacing the tires.

 

[Hack]

The wheels in that video are cast aluminum.

Right. That's why I posted it. My point being that just because wheels are made from aluminum doesn't mean they will be durable.

My expectation is that PROPERLY designed and built wheels should have no problems, no matter what the material. But some wheels are designed with too much focus on removing weight - at the expense of durability.

Sure. 4800 miles. 1 change of tires caused by the combination of camber (-2.3) and toe out - it corded the inside front shoulders.

I agree with the earlier post that the most difficult part of owning the carbon wheels is finding a shop competent in dealing with them properly when replacing the tires.

Thanks. So for many people that would be less than one year's worth of ownership as far as how much use a set of wheels get.

Anyone with CF wheels have 50,000 miles on them? 30,000?

 

[stanglife]

Been on these forums for a long time and I have NEVER seen a wheel that failed due to anything other than a serious accident or road incident that would also ruin any aluminum wheel. I agree that when a CF wheel is in an incident, it might break up in spectacular fashion - but the same incident would almost certainly render any car undrivable even if it was an aluminum wheel.

I challenge anyone to find a post where a CF wheel (I really only have experience with the Ford CF wheels) failed for no good reason - it would be a sticky for sure if this was somthing that happened.

I bet most of the people in that thread, saying how Gordan Murray doesn't like CF wheels are running cheap cast chinese wheels on their cars. Funny.

 

[Tomster]

Been on these forums for a long time and I have NEVER seen a wheel that failed due to anything other than a serious accident or road incident that would also ruin any aluminum wheel. I agree that when a CF wheel is in an incident, it might break up in spectacular fashion - but the same incident would almost certainly render any car undrivable even if it was an aluminum wheel.

I challenge anyone to find a post where a CF wheel (I really only have experience with the Ford CF wheels) failed for no good reason - it would be a sticky for sure if this was somthing that happened.

I bet most of the people in that thread, saying how Gordan Murray doesn't like CF wheels are running cheap cast chinese wheels on their cars. Funny.

I think that is a fair challenge. I don't think you will find any instance where a CF wheel has completely failed for no reason. Usually damage occurs due to negligence such as curb rash or failing to avoid a major pot hole or obstacles (which has nothing to do with the construction of the wheel).

Why most people who are removing their CF wheels from their car is out of fear of damage and the perceived cost that goes along with it. In an example of this misconception, let's look at the damage caused by a major pot hole. I think it is fair to say that no matter which wheel you are using, both will incur some form of damage. In most cases, the aluminum wheel will probably need to be replaced whereas the CF wheel can be repaired. I forget what the going rate for a replacement forged aluminum wheel is these days, so let's use an approximation of $1-1.5K. If you went out and bought a replacement CF wheel, probably about $6K brand new. The difference here is that this is not an apples to apples comparison because where the aluminum wheel probably cannot be repaired, the CF wheel most likely can.

Furthermore CF wheels are available commonly on ebay at very reasonable prices. Usually I buy lightly damaged CF wheels for $500-$1.5k. One particular wheel I bought for $50 that was involved in an accident was completely repaired to serviceable condition. Later I will post some before and after photos. Had this occurred on an aluminum wheel, it would mean replacement. Forged aluminum wheels are not cheap.

Although I have spare sets of forged aluminum wheels as well as spare sets of CF wheels, I favor the CF for many reasons. First, the car that you spent all that money on to get all those CF wheels and items is no longer that car anymore when you remove the CF wheels. It is no longer the car as designed and it is no longer special in any way. By getting rid of those wheels, you have nullified the benefit of the performance increase and the very personality that the car has because of the CF wheels that are supposed to be with the car by design.

I have found the powder coat on the forged wheels that I have to not be very durable. The forged wheels I have all have pitting and nicks from road debris. You can't get them recoated to match the original finish. I've tried to do that and in practicality it just doesn't work. On the other hand, CF wheels can be refinished right back to original new condition. The R CF wheels are epoxy CF that is painted black. Got nicks or scratches? It's called fill and paint. Pretty easy. The CFTP wheels are nothing but clear epoxy followed by clear coat. That's it.

I could go on and on, but what is really the great equalizer is that you can buy used, lightly damaged wheels for cheap and repair them to like new for an estimated $4000. That's $1K per wheel and a little bit of time. The only catch is that you have to be vigilant and ready to buy. My latest 2 wheel purchases were $700 each. One was a very good condition rear, the other was a front with only ceramic lining damage. Easy fix.

In closing, CF wheels don't destroy themselves. Usually it's the operator. The sad (and also beneficial) part is that many owners are so anal and OCD that if they do get a minor curb rash, they go buy a new one and sell the old one on ebay for peanuts. That's where I (and you should for that matter) come in and relieve them of their hardship.

Before you know it you have a set of wheels that you didn't pay a lot for and are not afraid of damaging. All this because you learned that the wheels are not egg shells, they are pretty robust structural items that give the car the very personality as the engineers who designed the car intended.

 

[Epiphany]

I'm a huge fan of Ford's decision to offer a magnesium wheel on the upcoming GTD and hope it translates to similar offerings on upcoming performance models.

 

[Wildwildwest]

This thread has gone on far longer than I ever imagined it would.

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