Porsche Carbon Fiber Wheels

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http://www.tyrepress.com/2017/08/world-premiere-braided-carbon-wheels/

Quote:
...Porsche has become the world’s first vehicle manufacturer to produce lightweight wheels with braided carbon fibre. They will be available as an option for the Porsche 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series…

... the innovative wheels are not only lighter than standard alloys – Porsche reports that a set of four weighs around 8.5 kilogrammes or 20 per cent less than standard alloy wheels – they are also 20 per cent stronger…

...Manufactured entirely from carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP), the wheel is essentially comprised of two components. The wheel centre is made from carbon-fibre fabric, its construction requiring the cutting and assembling over 200 individual components. The second component is the rim base, which is made from braided carbon fibre using what is, with a diameter of approximately nine metres, currently the world’s largest carbon fibre braiding machine….

...The new carbon wheels will be available as an option for the 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series from the beginning of 2018 in size 9 J x 20 for the front axle and 11.5 J x 20 for the rear...


I wonder what it would cost to replace a damaged or stolen wheel.
 
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I wonder what a set of those wheels would look like after having new tires installed at your local tire store ...
33.gif
 
Quote:
Porsche reports that a set of four weighs around 8.5 kilogrammes or 20 per cent less than standard alloy wheels –

Pretty sure each one weighs 8.5 kg, and not a set of 4.
 
Originally Posted By: gaijinnv
I wonder what a set of those wheels would look like after having new tires installed at your local tire store ...
33.gif


Since those wheels are about $5,000 each to replace when damaged, your local tire store should simply refuse to work on them!
I don't see how a standard steel pry bar would work on that wheel's resin surface. (Then again, steel pry bars are used used on soft aluminum alloy wheels.)
One of the newer Hunter Auto34 machines does spread the pry loads out and uses softer touch materials, it should be fine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX43c-gBamk
 
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Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Quote:
Porsche reports that a set of four weighs around 8.5 kilogrammes or 20 per cent less than standard alloy wheels –

Pretty sure each one weighs 8.5 kg, and not a set of 4.



I guess I read it as the set of four weigh 8.5 kg less than a set of four standard alloy wheels.

Therefore, each wheel weighs ~2.1 kg less than its alloy counterpart.
 
Originally Posted By: kjbock
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Quote:
Porsche reports that a set of four weighs around 8.5 kilogrammes or 20 per cent less than standard alloy wheels –

Pretty sure each one weighs 8.5 kg, and not a set of 4.



I guess I read it as the set of four weigh 8.5 kg less than a set of four standard alloy wheels.

Therefore, each wheel weighs ~2.1 kg less than its alloy counterpart.

Thanks. Yes, that makes more sense now.
smile.gif
 
Less mass means the wheel has less inertia, and can follow imperfections in the road surface better for better adhesion. Wins races, but also smoother ride over bumps.

Didn't some car maker come out with plastic wheels a few years back? Different than this, since they were cheaper of course. Still they would have had to meet the same durability standards, yet probably would not have saved weight. Anybody remember that?
 
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Thought Ford or Koneig had done this already?

Doubt a Porsche will see weather for years and years outdoors, but wonder what the longevity of the epoxy and fibers are once getting some curb rash, etc.

Neat idea, but seems like a pretty niche item for most cars. The unsprung mass is impressive for a high end performance car.
 
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Originally Posted By: gaijinnv
I wonder what a set of those wheels would look like after having new tires installed at your local tire store ...
33.gif


Since those wheels are about $5,000 each to replace when damaged, your local tire store should simply refuse to work on them!
I don't see how a standard steel pry bar would work on that wheel's resin surface. (Then again, steel pry bars are used used on soft aluminum alloy wheels.)
One of the newer Hunter Auto34 machines does spread the pry loads out and uses softer touch materials, it should be fine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX43c-gBamk


We have sold a couple GT350Rs that have the carbon fibre wheels. We will not even attempt to do any work on those wheels, especially at $4053.33 a piece.
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
We have sold a couple GT350Rs that have the carbon fibre wheels. We will not even attempt to do any work on those wheels, especially at $4053.33 a piece.
Your Ford dealer you work at won't change a tire on those wheels? Wow. So Ford has no special tools or instructions or training to change those tires off that wheel? Wow.
 
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
We have sold a couple GT350Rs that have the carbon fibre wheels. We will not even attempt to do any work on those wheels, especially at $4053.33 a piece.
Your Ford dealer you work at won't change a tire on those wheels? Wow. So Ford has no special tools or instructions or training to change those tires off that wheel? Wow.


There is probably a special machine that we haven't bought. We can't cut the sidemill keys on the newer cars, the machines available to do it range from $10K-15K so our GM hasn't approved the expense.

There are a few tire shops around that we use for tires we can't mount. We can't do split rims either. FWIW tires are not a money making business for a dealer. At most we might make $30 profit on a tire before expenses and that would be a $300+ tire.
 
5 years ago: they claimed 30% mass reduction.
http://www.core77.com/posts/23631/basf-develops-plastic-injection-molded-automotive-rims-23631
"Chemical giant BASF has developed a new type of polyamide containing long glass fibers, and this "Ultramid Structure" plastic, as they're calling it, can then be pelletized for injection molding. After it comes out of the mold, the resultant product is so strong it can be used in vehicle and machinery applications, in areas where the only game in town used to be metal."
 
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