I like carbon fiber but i dont know if i trust it this much to ride on. http://01designsystem.com

17's are almost $1400 a set w/out shipping. Might as well find some Volks.

Ultimate bling.

Classifieds....

I bet the carbon fiber is just a marketing scheme. It's probably 99% aluminum wrapped in 1 thin layer of carbon fiber for looks. There is no way carbon-fiber can handle the stress applied to the wheel. However strong carbon-fiber is, is only for tension application as the fiber has an extremely high tensile strength. But when under compression as in the case for the rims, all the resisting force comes from the epoxy matrix as the fibers(imagine string) can only pull and not push.

U Are Just To Smart 99sel Lol.is There A Such Thing As Titanium Wheels.

They have carbon fiber driveshafts so why not wheels? I wonder how much those weigh.

drive shafts dont really compress by definition they are affected/see more by torsional loads (twisting) where wheels absorb hits, bumps, weight pushing downward, etc

cf could be used for wheels - the weight of the car would pull on the spokes above the axle instead of pushing on the spokes below - even pushing the lower spokes would be flexural not compressive stress as the spokes would want to bow out

in driveshafts, the fibers are oriented so the stresses are tensile when spinning and axial (like a coil spring) when flexing

Spokes on a wheel should not experience compressional loads. Then again. I can't find weight specs. Anyone know how much the 17x7's weigh?

There is no way carbon-fiber can handle the stress applied to the wheel. However strong carbon-fiber is, is only for tension application as the fiber has an extremely high tensile strength. But when under compression as in the case for the rims, all the resisting force comes from the epoxy matrix as the fibers(imagine string) can only pull and not push.
Not so. We were doing it over 10 years ago:
Vehicle Research Institute (http://vri.etec.wwu.edu/viking_23.htm)
Dual tire rims used on a suspension that changed camber at speed to reduce rolling resistance. The car as a whole wasn't that light either considering the state of NiCad batteries then. Check out the photo gallery on that page.

Chris

but they dont show the backside of the wheel. and it could work. i would guess that there is some aluminum running up the middle of the spokes, maybe a small bar, or something.

Bikes have had CF wheels for years.

but they dont show the backside of the wheel. and it could work. i would guess that there is some aluminum running up the middle of the spokes, maybe a small bar, or something.

some aluminum? how bout the whole damn spoke - they're just covered w/ cf. Do you think someone would make cf wheels and not tout just how much lighter they are than Al, and then only sell a set for $1400?

some aluminum? how bout the whole damn spoke - they're just covered w/ cf. Do you think someone would make cf wheels and not tout just how much lighter they are than Al, and then only sell a set for $1400?
i was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Bikes can use carbon fiber because bikes are very very light. I've done numerous compression strength testing on various shaped carbon fiber test subjects with the equipments at school. The cf fractures always starts from the sides that are vertical(parallel) to the direction of the loading. The same layers of carbon fiber used, depending on how you apply it can vary greatly in how effective it is. CF is strong only in tension. With two layers of CF, I have tested it to have a yielding point of as low as slightly over 100lbs when not used wisely, while in some forms when the cf is in full tension, two layers have been tested to withstand upwards of 1000lbs before it fractures. CF in the form of wheels is not under full compression but that shape does not withstand too much load.

CF also have extremely low ductility and will crack the moment your wheel hit a pothole.