New on the market: Carbon rims

The automotive market is one of the most dynamic markets in the world. Every year, several dozen new car models go into mass production, which from year to year are more and more full of technical innovations. Along with the increase in the number of modern systems facilitating driving and improving the comfort and safety of traveling, the curb weight of the vehicle increases, because, as you know, sensors, cables, modules, etc. are not light. Therefore, car manufacturers are looking for solutions to reduce the weight of the vehicle. The production of cars with an aluminum body, as well as with aluminum suspension elements is quite popular, while carbon rims are a complete novelty dedicated to customers with a thicker wallet.

Carbon is a unique material used mainly for the production of elements that are exposed to high loads with a relatively very low weight. Examples of such solutions are, for example, blades of wind power plants, propellers and hulls of airplanes, masts, rudders and hulls of high-class yachts, etc. The use of carbon is becoming more and more popular in cycling. High-end bikes have a carbon frame and carbon rims . Formula 1 racing cars are also made of carbon.

The desire to introduce carbon to the mass automotive industry was just a matter of time. Of course, due to the astronomically high price of this material, the originators focused on high-end cars and probably many of us will not soon see a carbon body or rims on our daily way to work.

The Australian company Carbon Revolution , after many years of testing, introduced carbon rims with the CR-9 designation into mass production. For the production of one rim, you need several kilometers of carbon fiber, which is then given its final shape after complicated technological processes. The finished product is almost half the weight of an aluminum rim, which, with a set of 4 rims, results in a weight lower by several dozen kilograms. Of course, this is not an argument adequate to the price that has to be paid for a set of carbon rims (PLN 60-80,000), but for a potential buyer the most important thing will be uniqueness and standing out from other road users. So far, only a few manufacturers have decided to introduce this product as an option in limited series of their cars, such as BMW, Audi, Porsche or Lamborghini. BMW plans to introduce a cheaper alternative to its offer in the form of hybrid rims, the composition of which is aluminum with an admixture of carbon fiber. This solution reduces the weight by about 20% - 25% compared to traditional aluminum rims.

Below you can see how the carbon rims for the Porsche 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series are made.

Let's hope that with the passage of time this unique material will stay in our everyday life for good and that the luxury of having, for example, carbon rims in the car will be within the reach of not only the richest people in the world. Meanwhile, for people who, instead of carbon fiber rims, prefer to buy a mid-range car straight from the showroom, we propose to buy aluminum rims at a "slightly" lower price.