Carbon Fiber Wheel

A newly designed carbon fiber wheel that could replace your cars steel rims was recently unveiled, which offers improved ride, handling, braking and acceleration, yet is up to 50 percent lighter than aluminum counterparts.

Carbon fibers are strands of pure carbon, thinner than a human hair, which can be bundled together (2,000 to 50,000 at a time) and infused with resin to form a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). Depending on the number of layers and orientation of fibers, varying combinations of strength, weight and stiffness – up to three times that of steel, aluminum or titanium – can be achieved, making them highly versatile materials. Because they have an almost infinite “fatigue life,” parts no longer need to be overdesigned to compensate for repeated stresses, and since CFRPs are highly corrosion-resistant, they also won’t degrade over the course of time.