http://www.carbonfibergear.com/weds-...n-fiber-wheel/





That's 2.76 kg which is about 6lbs!

 

I don't think it can hold up on the race track. Probably a 100% show wheel.

 

Sweet Weds makes quality wheels, not really a show wheel maker. $10-12 grand No those Dynamags are probably not cheaper like $6-22 grand the rims is magnisium and center is real carbon fiber, Mosler used them on their LeMans entries.

 

F1 wheels are also made from composites. They had one out for display at the '07 USGP. The wheel with tire inflated was about 10 lbs. My 14 yr. old niece was able to pick it up effortlessly. Very light, very strong, very expensive.

 

I saw a Mosler and the rim was CF while the spokes were magnesium--opposite to the way you have it.

 

No denting those puppies.....!

 

Very sweet.....very overbudget.

 

def an overkill too~

 

I think the 6-lb weight would be even more impressive if we knew the diameter/width of the wheels. Was it in the article and I just missed it?

 

You're right, just googled mosler lemans images.
Not just Mosler usem but Koenigsegg and Ascari too
-Warren Mosler said:"The MT 900S will be the first US production car with factory equipped carbon fibre wheels. The revolutionary 18 & 20 inch nine-spoke Dymag wheels sport a magnesium centre hub with carbon fibre rims. The front and rear carbon fibre rims weigh 14 and 17.5 lbs respectively, compared to the current used wheels which weigh 24 and 28.5 lbs respectively. This translates into a total reduction in rotating un-sprung weight of 42 pounds. The Dymag carbon/magnesium wheels have nearly half as much rotational inertia as forged aluminium wheels. And, of course, pursuant to our imperative for total performance, the large savings in un-sprung weight improves handling and ride qualities as well as our already extreme acceleration, braking and cornering."
Wow, that would make the fronts 18s weigh 7lbs and the rears 19s weigh 8.75lbs each.

 

"HI EVERYBODY! COME CAR JACK ME! MEEE! MEEEE! CARJACK ME!!!!!!!"

 

While light weight is good I wonder what is the risk of using something ultra light when the car itself has ample power.

If given enough torque the wheel due to less weight might lack the ability to keep in contact with the ground and tend to spin more easily.

A heavy wheel plus tire might be planted a bit more and resist spinning.

Might depend on the tire's ability to keep traction and how much torque is trying to rotate the wheels.

Once the car is going then less energy is needed to accelerate and less energy is needed to brake fast.

 

Maybe you aren't understanding the benefits of less unsprung weight. The effect is the opposite of what you are claiming. Lighter weight results in better contact with the road and more grip. That's why racing cars and high performance cars use lightweight suspension and wheel components.

The real downside is cost and reliability.

 

Lets look at these wheels as we would any other mod. What does it offer...unsprung weight savings, looks, & Rareity.

weight savings total...cheap light wheel Konig Feather @ 11 lbs and $100 ea.)

Weds c/f wheel...6 lbs and $2500 ea

Cost of weight savings = $480 per lb!!!!

Some how I think there is a much more affordable way to save unsprung weight, really though there's no way 5lbs per wheel will make that big of a difference when your already around 11 lbs in something affordable.

 

those weights are pretty insane

failure mode? not so sweet...

trade off i suppose

 

Well, I still don't know what diameter/width the pictured carbon-fiber wheel is, but if it's a 17" or 18" wheel, the savings could be a lot more than just five pounds per wheel. The lightest Konig Feather is almost 12 pounds (11.9), and that's in a 15" X 6.5" size. If you go up to the 17"/18" sizes, you're up around 17 pounds.

Still, I agree that the Weds wheel doesn't make much sense for anything other than an ultra-performance car where you've already spent mucho time/money making everything else as light as possible.

 

I will agree that Wed probably did not have us people with Minis in mind when they made those.

 

You get a set of Dymag CF/Mg wheels thrown in when you spend $330,000 on a Mosler. I really don't think they are for us Mini people like r52pimp suggests!
Still they are cool to look at--I've seen the Dymags in person and they are sweet.

 

I'm gonna order me a set and hang it on my garage wall

 

If I did that my SO would hang ME on the wall right next to them.

 

"oh, those are my track wheels, dear. I need to keep them off the garage floor and out of the way. Yep, yep, same as the cheap konings I had last year only with a difference finish. The old set got bent because they were left on the floor and I had to get rid of them! yes, yes, they were the same price. oh, btw, how about I do all the finanaces this year and you not worry about all that bank account gibberish?"

 

Wanna trade wives?

 

MY wife is smarter than that & she has car sense. When we did road trips in the M3, she could be asleep, but if I nudged it to 100 MPH she would wake up and tell me she knew how fast I'm going by the engine sound. No fooling her.

On the bright side, she loves ALMS & Speed World Challenge and insists we attend Sebring, Road America, and Petit Le Mans. She's a keeper.

 

All I would have to tell my wife is I promise these wheels will get us a national title and that could lead to sponsorship and wins that pay $ and I would have them! I just can't lie to my best friend like that. She shares my passion of Mini and autosports! She even wanted (and we needed) new 615's for the Mini for her birthday present!!!!!!

She could be 300lbs (she's not) and butt ugly (she's attractive) but with that kinda passion she's definately a keeper!!!!