As a follow-up to our article on the all carbon fiber Carbon Revolution wheels we wrote about back in February, we have some updated information.
At the time of this writing there are almost 80 comments on our original all carbon fiber wheel post. Much of that discussion is about whether or not a carbon fiber wheel can stand the abuse of harsh roads and bumps. Being that the Weds wheel was just a concept and never made it into production, as opposed to the CR-9 which is offered by SSC for their supercar, we went looking for answers.
We were told that if carbon fiber is applied appropriately, the wheels will not shatter. If it’s good enough for a 240mph, 1600hp Ultimate Aero supercar, it’s more than likely ok enough for whatever car you want to install them on. Here’s a video showing a couple stress tests, check it out and we’ll explain below:
In the first test of the video, the wheels are installed on a 2005 BMW M3 in -10 degrees (F). It’s driven over a 2.25 inch block at 60mph, and the wheels sustained no damage. An aluminum wheel with the same fitment and setup was also tested, but did not even make it up to the same speed. At 50mph the wheel is dented and could no longer retain air in the tire:
In the second test we have the same car and environment. The wheel is driven through a massive 3ft long 4in deep pothole at 30mph with no issues.
The development of the wheels was brought along by a lot of folks with PhD’s and closely in conjunction with an Australian university. Specifically the setup on the SSC Ultimate Aero has 19×8.5 front wheels that weigh 5.6kg (~12.35lbs) and the rear wheels are 20×12.5 with a weight of 8.85kg (~19.5lbs). For comparison sake, we found HRE C21 Competition wheels that were about 20 pounds for a 19×10 wheel…so we’re talking significant weight savings here. If you have more insight as to a more comparable forged wheel weight in a closer size, please post a comment.
When we spoke with Carbon Revolution, the wheels are not yet available for consumers. If you want them, you’ve gotta buy an SSC Ultimate Aero, so you better have almost a million dollars ready to burn. Alternatively, the upcoming yet-to-be-named SSC, designed by Jason Castriota, looks to also be using the same CR-9 wheels:
If you’re not necessarily ready to plunk down for an SSC Ultimate Aero but have a supercar around the million dollar plus range looking to be outfitted with an all carbon fiber wheel, get in touch with CarbonRev for possible solutions. They mentioned the possibility of working with very high-end consumers, but be prepared to possibly give up an arm…and a leg.