Quantifying the Benefits of Lighter Wheels - A Case Study on the GT350R's Carbon Fiber Wheels

[richpike]

Just saw this in my paper copy of Car & Driver - a super cool study to see the real benefits of lighter wheels and lowering unsprung weight. I won't recreate the article (and sorry for the crappy pic - it isn't on the web yet), but the results are astonishing:

Almost a full second off of the 30-50 top gear acceleration (10.8s to 9.9s)
Almost a full second off of the 50-70 top gear acceleration (10.5s to 9.7s)
Over a full second faster from 30-130 4th gear(17.7s to 16.5s)

And it isn't just acceleration - it helps braking, handling, etc. Pretty incredible. I love to see actual testing back up the science behind lower unsprung weight.

Here's the article:



-Rich

[Boba7523]

Is CF durable enough to be used as wheels? Or carbon fiber composites?

[Sticky]

Moved to wheels and tires.

[Rotary Rasp]

I wonder what happens when they fail?