carbon fiber/weight in 991.1 and .2 GT3/RS
#17
I'm not expert in CF however Porsche is currently working on CF wheels from a level 19 source . I was lucky to have been a invited guest of Porsche Motorsports for Daytona testing and in talking to some of the Porsche Motorsports personnel at Daytona I brought up the very subject of wheel technology and specifically some of the recent production offerings with CF wheels. Biggest concern up until a few years ago for production cars has been the inconsistent endurance fatigue and potential for catastrophic failures at speed once the CF reached its end life. They have a different process that was developed (from F1) to strengthen (and acceptable life span) the CF to levels that will support the wheel applications but it's all about trying to get manufacturing costs down to level that make them reasonable to add on. I would assume that Ford/BMW have figured out a way to do this or are just living with the current high cost to produce but either way we will see CF wheels soon from Porsche.
#18
Ford uses the CR wheels. I suspect BMW does not. Production will have to ramp up an awful lot before prices drop...and even then they may all look pretty much the same as current CR offerings for a long time. Any (lack of) style you want so long as it has nine flat spokes and a massive price tag.
#19
BMW just announced these CF/Aluminum hybrid wheels as an option on the M4 GTS. No mention of specific wheel weight though...
http://www.bmwblog.com/2016/01/14/bm...mpound-wheels/
http://www.bmwblog.com/2016/01/14/bm...mpound-wheels/
#20
Ford uses the CR wheels. I suspect BMW does not. Production will have to ramp up an awful lot before prices drop...and even then they may all look pretty much the same as current CR offerings for a long time. Any (lack of) style you want so long as it has nine flat spokes and a massive price tag.
Last edited by sccchiii; 01-17-2016 at 02:29 PM.
#23
I used CF Rims ( Dymag) on my 993 Cup RSR race car for a season. When I weighed the wheel they were almost the same weight as a race BBS wheel, seems only part of the rim is CF. Also they were prone to damage and scruffs more than the other wheels.
#24
I think CF hood is approximately 1/2 the weight of aluminum unit.
CF would not save much if any weight for front and rear bumper "covers" (if that's what you meant)...they are already made of lightweight urethane. The actually bolt on impact assembly I don't think would hold up in either crash test or 5 mph test well if made in CF.
CF would not save much if any weight for front and rear bumper "covers" (if that's what you meant)...they are already made of lightweight urethane. The actually bolt on impact assembly I don't think would hold up in either crash test or 5 mph test well if made in CF.
#25
I'm approximating weight savings if Porsche were to switch but again my example is specific to front aerodynamic covers, but sure if they use them on the quoted cars for structural members then ok but slightly different price points.
Last edited by sccchiii; 01-19-2016 at 10:28 AM.
#26
I'm not expert in CF however Porsche is currently working on CF wheels from a level 19 source . I was lucky to have been a invited guest of Porsche Motorsports for Daytona testing and in talking to some of the Porsche Motorsports personnel at Daytona I brought up the very subject of wheel technology and specifically some of the recent production offerings with CF wheels. Biggest concern up until a few years ago for production cars has been the inconsistent endurance fatigue and potential for catastrophic failures at speed once the CF reached its end life. They have a different process that was developed (from F1) to strengthen (and acceptable life span) the CF to levels that will support the wheel applications but it's all about trying to get manufacturing costs down to level that make them reasonable to add on. I would assume that Ford/BMW have figured out a way to do this or are just living with the current high cost to produce but either way we will see CF wheels soon from Porsche.
#28
#29
CR is currently the leader in CF wheels at the moment but hoping/planning and currently doing now are very 2 very different realities. However, I fully expect them to be the first to produce CF wheels at those production levels at some point in not so distant future.
Last edited by sccchiii; 01-20-2016 at 02:16 PM.