Carbon Wheels

[XRFutura]

it's awesome to see an Aussie company providing world class cf wheels to possibly one of the best mustangs produced.

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[68fbjjz109]

 

[Cruzinaround]

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

Technically...They are. You would need to look at the 9 Spoke CR-9 series from Carbon Revolution. They may make 10 spoke like the GT350 wheel, but that would need a call over to them I guess.... just to see if that is an option. The "R" is a 7 Spoke but clearly similar in style to the CR-9.

 

[ohmy350]

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

Awesome vid!


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[yjack]

http://www.halltechsystems.com/Carbon-Revolution-CR-9-Carbon-Fiber-Wheels-p/cr-9.htm

almost 16k for a set. Save about 2-3lbs compare to the lightest forged wheels, but a lot stronger I guess.

 

[Cruzinaround]

I was surprised when I asked why Ford chose to go with Carbon Fiber Wheels and yet they still kept a 2 piece aluminum drive shaft instead of Carbon Fiber.

The Rep simply said long term it would be too costly as the Carbon drive shafts break easier than the one they chose to go with. I was surprised by this as I would have thought a carbon fiber single piece drive shaft was stronger and a no brainer as far as weight savings?

Still it's a place where we owners can look to target for additional unsprung weight savings and improved launch characteristics.

 

[thumper]

that sounds odd. dosen't the last gt500 come with a one piece driveshaft? i don't recall it having issues and the gt500 makes more power?

 

[R 350 gt Donson]

I was surprised when I asked why Ford chose to go with Carbon Fiber Wheels and yet they still kept a 2 piece aluminum drive shaft instead of Carbon Fiber.

The Rep simply said long term it would be too costly as the Carbon drive shafts break easier than the one they chose to go with. I was surprised by this as I would have thought a carbon fiber single piece drive shaft was stronger and a no brainer as far as weight savings?

Still it's a place where we owners can look to target for additional unsprung weight savings and improved launch characteristics.

Forgive me Cruzin..but how is a drive shaft another way of targeting additional unsprung weight?

 

[R 350 gt Donson]

that sounds odd. dosen't the last gt500 come with a one piece driveshaft? i don't recall it having issues and the gt500 makes more power?

From what I understand it was not the horsepower, but the high RPM's that were the culprit. i.e vibration problems, I think....

 

[Cruzinaround]

Forgive me Cruzin..but how is a drive shaft another way of targeting additional unsprung weight?

The same way targeting wheels does. when you replace a 30lb aluminum with an 18lb Carbon Fiber driveshaft. Less total mass to move down the road.

Just like replacing Aluminum 22lb wheels with 18lb CF wheels nets you less unsprung weight.

Basically they are not directly connected to the body so there is a certain amount of physics involved when calculating how it will factor into where loads apply and how it effects the vehicle's bottom line performance.

It's not all about just the ending curb weight. For example...replacing a 22lb Trunklid with an 18lb one will net different results than replacing a 20lb wheel with an 18lb one. One is connected to the body directly...the other is not... The end result being what does the suspension and the drivetrain have to move and opposed to how much lighter is the suspension and drive train.

that sounds odd. dosen't the last gt500 come with a one piece driveshaft? i don't recall it having issues and the gt500 makes more power?

I know it sounds odd. I was hoping to get some answers to this. Because I was like are you positive there is a two piece drive shaft? And The Ford dude was like "yes there is. It's a 2 piece". Which if that is true... at least this is a mod that I know many of us will be doing. Quick ...relatively inexpensive and should show immediate results.

And its certainly cheaper than a set of 15k wheels.

 

[Grimace427]

Forgive me Cruzin..but how is a drive shaft another way of targeting additional unsprung weight?

Perhaps he meant rotational weight.

From what I understand it was not the horsepower, but the high RPM's that were the culprit. i.e vibration problems, I think....

The driveshaft doesn't see engine RPM. However, the GT350 has 3.73 gears vs. the last GT500 which had 3.31 gears. Higher numerical rear gears turn the driveshaft faster at the same road speed and since the GT350 is capable of high speeds it might have been necessary to not use a one-piece to deal with the additional DS RPM.

 

[R 350 gt Donson]

watch this video and at the 4 minute and 28 sec mark upto the 5 minute and 6 second mark. [ame]

 

[Cruzinaround]

Perhaps he meant rotational weight.




The driveshaft doesn't see engine RPM. However, the GT350 has 3.73 gears vs. the last GT500 which had 3.31 gears. Higher numerical rear gears turn the driveshaft faster at the same road speed and since the GT350 is capable of high speeds it might have been necessary to not use a one-piece to deal with the additional DS RPM.

I would think it also would aid in noise vibration to go with a 2 piece? But I know many guys with 3.73:1 or better running with one-piece Carbon shafts and a lot of ponies under the hood....Unless FORD just didn't want to risk it coming back at them ????

 

[Grimace427]

I would think it also would aid in noise vibration to go with a 2 piece? But I know many guys with 3.73:1 or better running with one-piece Carbon shafts and a lot of ponies under the hood....Unless FORD just didn't want to risk it coming back at them ????

I believe the purpose of the center bearing is to halve the vibrations(1st order, 2nd order, not 100% on that) so they could definitely be smoother especially at very high DS rpm's. There are probably several engineers at Ford who wished they could have put a one-piece CF shaft in there but there were too many issues that we might not see with our personal cars.

 

[Cruzinaround]

watch this video and at the 4 minute and 28 sec mark upto the 5 minute and 6 second mark.

Thanks for that... It at least answers where they were concerned, But there are so many guys running with the single piece carbons .... I wonder what the Aftermarket results will be to address this.

Also the comments on the Magnaride and reactions to steering input would lead me to believe that their is gains to be had with adaptive steering and the use of a carbon fiber steering wheel to compensate for the added weight the adaptive armature would add.

So I wonder if there is still more tricks to be seen with whatever should follow immediately after the GT350.

Food for thought.

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