Carbon Wheels

[Lexist2112]

Koenigsegg is no longer the ONLY manufacturer now, you can add Ford to the list.

[ame]

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[Danger]

Cool

 

[10splaya22]

Really???? When did this happen?? Great news!!

/sarcasm

 

[Cruzinaround]

Well...in reality... Koenigsegg is still the only manufacturer that makes their own in house Carbon Fiber Wheels.

Ford as per the Reps I spoke to... gets their pre-preg wheels make through a 3rd party manufacturer.

What Ford can claim is the being the first Client of that manufacturer for producing OEM spec wheels for production cars.

Just saying.

 

[sgrinavi]

I believe that BMW has them on the i8 too. Pretty sure they manufacture all their own CF parts.

 

[68fbjjz109]

Neither of the vehicles in the BMW I series currently has CF wheels, however the i3 has CF intensive life module, where the i8 is less so.

 

[Shelby]

If I'm not mistaken, Carbon Revolution is the one providing Ford with their carbon wheels.

 

[R 350 gt Donson]

^^^Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) is a super strong and lightweight material that is gaining increasing favour with engineers. In tension, for a given weight of material it’s at least 3 times stronger and stiffer than steel, aluminum or titanium. Carbon fibers are basically very thin strands of carbon, much thinner even than a human hair, called carbon fiber tow.
The specific properties are determined by dividing the material failure stress or it’s stiffness and dividing it by the density of the material. In this way we are able to accurately assess the performance of a material on a per pound basis which we know is very important when considering material selection for automotive applications as it has a direct influence on the weight of a vehicle and its efficiency.
Metal parts, particularly aluminum usually do not fail due to a single catastrophic load but because of small, repeated stresses (called “fatigue”). Each stress cycle on an aluminum part, however small, takes the material that much closer to fatigue failure. Designers realize this limitation and attempt to “over build” their parts for a lifetime of use. When properly designed and manufactured, carbon fiber composite materials have an almost infinite fatigue life. This property means that designers no longer have to “over build” parts to deal with fatigue as is done with aluminum components leading to even lighter parts.
Early in the development phase of a new carbon fiber composite wheel, engineers produce a “Statement of Requirements” which outlines packaging constraints, input loads, performance expectations and target dimensions to ensure the product stays true to the design intent. A styling concept is chosen and a three-dimensional model is then produced using CAD software. For visualization and discussion purposes, designers can use this model to create three-dimensional renderings for the styling team, investigate manufacturability concerns with the manufacturing team and analyze component metrics such as weight, or moments of inertia to forecast performance figures for the product development team.
These advanced tools make it possible to simulate demanding mechanical or thermal operating conditions: as is the case during hard cornering, driving over a curb, or for understanding how brake heat will affect the wheel. If the wheel’s performance is not as expected, the designer can modify the part geometry or layup configuration and repeat the test, before making a physical part, completely eliminating tooling and prototyping rework costs.

 

[Fox9350]

I think it's kick ass that Ford is one of the only vehicles to offer CF wheels from the factory but am I the only one who thinks the particular style on the GT 350 is kind of ugly? I've seen far worse and I prefer these to the multispoke look but they're just 'meh' to me....I guess I'm cliche or boring but give me 5 spoke all day everyday.

 

[speedrx]

High Tech, but I agree not very exciting.

 

[thumper]

i'm too scared to run these on the street. i don't know how something like curb rash can be repaired, if at all?

 

[Cruzinaround]

I believe that BMW has them on the i8 too. Pretty sure they manufacture all their own CF parts.

BMW announced in early 2014 that they would be building a facility dedicated for fabricating Carbon Fiber Wheels and steering wheels. Back then they announced that it would still be about 2 years before the completion of that facility.

As it is ...Currently they do not manufacture their own.

Konigsegg Still holds that title. But the mere fact that one of their wheels costs as much as a Ford Fiesta ST..... Ummm I'll pass on that...too salty for me.

 

[Cruzinaround]

If I'm not mistaken, Carbon Revolution is the one providing Ford with their carbon wheels.

Yes they are. Carbon Revolution stated they were in discussion with a well known American Auto maker to provide the OEM wheels for one of their upcoming cars....they made that announcement in late 2013. They were talking about FORD.

 

[Bender]

I wish the standard GT350 style wheel was available in Carbon Fiber with 350R sizes, offsets, and back spacing

 

[R 350 gt Donson]

Yes they are. Carbon Revolution stated they were in discussion with a well known American Auto maker to provide the OEM wheels for one of their upcoming cars....they made that announcement in late 2013. They were talking about FORD.

This is where I got all the info I posted....Carbon Revolution

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