Carbon Fibre Wheels

[scat19]

Saw this posted on another forum. Thought I'd share.


I can't even begin to tell you all how happy I am with these new wheels. I want to personally thank both Manu@DPE and Drew@Revision for all the hard work they did in getting these wheels back to me. I'm truly honored to be the very first to sport DPE's new reverse-laid/textured carbon fiber wheels and the liquid cinder lips and barrels look great with the CF. Thanks Manu and Drew for all your help!!! :bow:

For more of the specifics on these wheels you can reference my earlier thread...
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=701834

Photoshoot was conducted by my friend Stu (BMW_Stu) and his friend Eddie last night... my thanks to you both for the time you spent helping me out. :bow:

Finally, I'd like to thank my wife and baby girl for their support during this project. My daughter loves her carbon fiber wheels, as I'm sure baby #2 will once she pops out in a few weeks. :)

Onto the pics...

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s217/Navin323i/Navin-CFdpe1.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s217/Navin323i/Navin-CFdpe2.jpg

It's definitely a lot easier now to clean both the BBK and the wheels.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s217/Navin323i/Navin-CFdpe3.jpg

Stu's sick BMW in the background. :)
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s217/Navin323i/Navin-CFdpe4.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s217/Navin323i/Navin-CFdpe5.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s217/Navin323i/Navin-CFdpe6.jpg


http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s217/Navin323i/Navin-CFdpe7.jpg

Giving thanks to my sponsors
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s217/Navin323i/Navin-CFdpe8.jpg

:rofl: I just love this decal (courtesy of my friend, Fabio (supersickbimmer))... way too funny!
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s217/Navin323i/Navin-CFdpe9.jpg

[GQBalla]

those are hot

[SR240SX]

Not a fan.....Would look hot with painted centers IMO

[EK 2.0]

Look a TON better than the other CF Wheel offerings I have seen...

[eglove]

looks rice to me. and yes cf is strong, but i can just imagine hitting a pothole and the wheel shattering on you.

[se7en]

looks the sex.

[SCHIDER23]

Originally posted by eglove
looks rice to me. and yes cf is strong, but i can just imagine hitting a pothole and the wheel shattering on you.


^I though carbon fiber is stronger than steel, correct me if I"m wrong:dunno: , but yes they do look hot :D

[bubbley]

:barf: @ the side skirts

[1-Bar]

dem's a lot of CF on that E46.....not to mention money. Do you know what's under the hood that requires such big brakes??

[eglove]

Originally posted by SCHIDER23



^I though carbon fiber is stronger than steel, correct me if I"m wrong:dunno: , but yes they do look hot :D

but the barrel or w/e of the wheel is probably the thickness of my hood, if i dropped a pretty big rock on my hood. it would probably shatter. i am probably just looking at this the wrong way, but if the same amount of pressure/weight were applied from the wheel/car dipping into the pothole, wouldn't it shatter as well? i know there are different weaves and such. i could be misinformed.

[bulaian]

it would be a lot nicer if they didn't the the photoshoot in the dark so we could actually see the wheels better :dunno:

[TurboD]

I don't think the wheel is entirely carbon, my guess is that it is a typical alloy that is just overlayed with carbon.

It's fairly obvious to me that the entire wheel is not CF, only the face of the spokes, the spokes themselves are likely just a typical alloy.

[beyond_ban]

Any idea of weight? or cost? and does carbon fibre become really weak in the cold?

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Originally posted by TurboD
I don't think the wheel is entirely carbon, my guess is that it is a typical allow that is just overlayed with carbon.

That was my thought, just a normal rim with carbon overlay.

[5fivespeed]

Originally posted by eglove


but the barrel or w/e of the wheel is probably the thickness of my hood, if i dropped a pretty big rock on my hood. it would probably shatter. i am probably just looking at this the wrong way, but if the same amount of pressure/weight were applied from the wheel/car dipping into the pothole, wouldn't it shatter as well? i know there are different weaves and such. i could be misinformed.

Maybe it's CF overlapped? Meaning the regular wheel underneath, and then CF over.

Ray

[Idratherbsidewayz]

Originally posted by eglove


but the barrel or w/e of the wheel is probably the thickness of my hood, if i dropped a pretty big rock on my hood. it would probably shatter. i am probably just looking at this the wrong way, but if the same amount of pressure/weight were applied from the wheel/car dipping into the pothole, wouldn't it shatter as well? i know there are different weaves and such. i could be misinformed.

Yea you're looking at it completely wrong. Material strength is a large factor but geometry plays a big one as well. The force would disperse all around the barrel and through the "spokes" because it is circular in shape with a super strong center.

This particular rim isn't fully or remotely carbon. It's a regular rim with a CF facade.

Heres a good read about CF rims and their feasiblity in real life:

http://www.fstotal.com/teamwork/suspension/251-carbon-fibre-rims-truth-behind-the-tales-about-the-recent-hype

Many things to consider, but most important is the issue of durability. For an FSAE endurance race which lasts at most 20-30 minutes you can hope no delamination occurs and that the weave's 100% together with the resin forming the composite you calculated for.

For a street car, a pure carbon rim would have to be perfectly manufactured/designed and would still most likely fall apart after a while. There is no way to tell that the rim is in bad shape because of the nature of CF. It looks fine, but then delaminates and boom, catastrophic failure. CF is very useful in more static positions such as a chassis.

Maybe in the coming years, one of those crazy German/Austrian FSAE teams will develop a manufacturing process/design that can be implemented for the masses, but I wouldn't hold your breath on a reliable CF rim.

[Redlyne_mr2]

A bit too tacky for me. Appreciate all the efforts though.

[ShermanEF9]

Originally posted by SCHIDER23



^I though carbon fiber is stronger than steel, correct me if I"m wrong:dunno: , but yes they do look hot :D

it is, but its still a fabric... not good for sudden compression shots to the spokes.

[GTI CANADIAN]

Waste of money. Why do this? For bragging rights? Carbonfiber resin bonded matrices really only belong where strength is needed with weight savings. ie. aircraft. Not BMW rims.

I guess some peeps have a pile o cash. Dude probably wears a pink polo shirt with poped collar, and spiked frosted hair with a super fake-bake tan.




Unless it's an overlay on a metal base, then it's just for show.

[superboss]

:love: :love: :love:

[Canmorite]

Car looks gross, but the wheels are cool. It was inevitable...

[SpoonEK9@STRD]

remind me of konig hotswaps

[flipstah]

It's nice but would totally suck if you curb them.

Hopefully there's a better picture with better lighting perhaps?

[H4LFY2nR]

Originally posted by beyond_ban
Any idea of weight? or cost? and does carbon fibre become really weak in the cold?

The carbon itself doesn't get weaker, it's the resin you use that will be the weak point of a composite structure loaded in compression. And a lot of cheap/common epoxy and polyester resins have less strength and get very brittle in the cold.

Since they're just a carbon overlay over an aluminum wheel, I bet he has to worry about cracking or delamination due to the constant heating/cooling of the wheels. Aluminum expands a lot faster than composites and the next biggest function of a wheel besides being a stiff link between the tire and the hub/suspension is to act as a heat sink for the brakes. Hell, if the resin isn't high temp, it could easily melt from one hard brake.

IMO they look tacky cause it's fake, kinda like putting carbon fibre covers on your brake calipers......oh wait he did that too....lame.

If they were real carbon fibre wheels, whether only the rims, the centers, or both, that would be sweet

[2EFNFAST]

Originally posted by H4LFY2nR


The carbon itself doesn't get weaker, it's the resin you use that will be the weak point of a composite structure loaded in compression. And a lot of cheap/common epoxy and polyester resins have less strength and get very brittle in the cold.

Since they're just a carbon overlay over an aluminum wheel, I bet he has to worry about cracking or delamination due to the constant heating/cooling of the wheels. Aluminum expands a lot faster than composites and the next biggest function of a wheel besides being a stiff link between the tire and the hub/suspension is to act as a heat sink for the brakes. Hell, if the resin isn't high temp, it could easily melt from one hard brake.

IMO they look tacky cause it's fake, kinda like putting carbon fibre covers on your brake calipers......oh wait he did that too....lame.

If they were real carbon fibre wheels, whether only the rims, the centers, or both, that would be sweet

Carbon has problems bonding to aluminum - so if it is an aluminum rim with a carbon overlay, unless they did something like fiberglass between the two, that's going to delamanate after a while

[tentacles]

Originally posted by 1-Bar
dem's a lot of CF on that E46.....not to mention money. Do you know what's under the hood that requires such big brakes??

Badge says 323i.

[kwazy]

The HRE/DYMAG wheel is what the real ballers put on their cars, that shit is real carbon.

[ZorroAMG]

This isn't really the first time many of you are seeing cf overlay wheels is it?

[funkedelic2]

The wheels look cool I like the idea of CF wheels. The car however is too over the top and starting to look too ricey. All this on a 323i? Maybe an M3 would justify the $$.

[SCHIDER23]

hmmm I though they were real carbon, but if is just overlay is not as cool as I though LOL :poosie:

[scat19]

Originally posted by 1-Bar
dem's a lot of CF on that E46.....not to mention money. Do you know what's under the hood that requires such big brakes??


heres a few more, we did try 2 get some nice daytime fall shots but quickly ran out of daylight.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2769/4028934698_68c925c520_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3490/4029119700_a2c0cd6016_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2482/4029120226_477c480878_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2623/4028365537_368d2c17db_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3502/4028365967_52ce9b53e4_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2642/4028366433_8bae3e903f_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2658/4028366945_02f146b7ca_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3510/4029122404_c82bfe6058_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2446/4028367553_860dc60407_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2595/4029123038_7803b797ee_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2580/4028368307_7d43c546dc_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2532/4029123752_e64546b210_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2440/4029123968_c8cf65aec2_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2621/4029130362_7ab167e7f1_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2441/4028375729_ffd1b6df7e_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2495/4028376165_d96218d938_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2458/4029131198_db538bd354_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2561/4028376911_33bb163a9c_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2793/4029132606_b7c8fa1306_b.jpg