Carbon Fiber Rims

The lighter weight will reduce unsprung weight and that will improve your ride on less than perfect pavement......but they will be very very expensive. Many shops will probably not want to change tires with them.

The wheels are the best place to start saving weight. There are multiple benefits - not only do you reduce unsprung weight and thus improve comfort and shock absorber performance, you also reduce overall weight of the car for better linear acceleration AND you reduce the spinning mass which ALSO improves acceleration.

I shudder at the cost of running into a pothole or into the curb, though ...

For the price of the carbon fiber wheels you can just upgrade to the p85d and get better performance.

Why worry about potholes. A lighter wheel won't take damage. The problem with regular wheels is that they are to heavy to lift fast enough.

Have no idea if these will fit a Model S, but the 2016 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R will be available with 19-inch carbon-fiber wheels. Don't know what they'll cost either...


Source: 2016 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R First Ride | Autoblog.com

Vitesse-AuDessus hand laid custom carbon fiber wheel set $40k

Carbon Revolution set of 19's at $16k



ESE Carbon Company set of 19's at $8k

SwedishAdvocate said:

Have no idea if these will fit a Model S, but the 2016 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R will be available with 19-inch carbon-fiber wheels. Don't know what they'll cost either...


Source: 2016 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R First Ride | Autoblog.com

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I'm pretty sure the bolt pattern is going to make those incompatible, but the fact that Ford is spec'ing them for a relatively mainstream product will no doubt drive prices on these components down. Should also answer questions about durability.

I heard of a European company making hybrid CF/Al rims with most of the mass advantage of CF and lower cost. Don't remember any details though.

Unsprung mass is indeed the best mass to shed on a car, but don't expect miracles from just shaving bit off the rims. CF is good, but it's not magic pixie dust.

I'd submit that if you're considering these but didn't delete the pano roof from your Model S order, you're officially insane.

I have a hard time seeing any Tesla owners splurging on carbon fiber rims. It sounds fantastic but is so cost prohibited, and the durability is unknown.

But you don't need to go carbon fiber or even forged aluminum to see significant weight savings. I have 21" non-staggered turbine wheels so I'm starting with a heavy setup. I need to put together a 19" winter set and here's what I've found.

21" Turbine Wheel: 35 lbs
Continental Tires: 27 lbs
Rotors: 29.5 lbs front, 28 lbs rear
Total Weight: 363 lbs, all four wheels, tires and rotors

19" OZ Wheels: 23 lbs - Not the absolute lightest wheels, but not unreasonably priced for the weight.
Michelin X-Ice tires: 28 lbs - Heavier than the continentals due to larger sidewall.
RB Two Piece Rotors: 21 lbs front, 16.4 lbs rear
Total Weight: 278.8 lbs

That is a savings of 84 lbs. A significant amount of rotating mass. I'd like to find an online calculator which shows the energy it takes to spin 84 lbs from 0 to 75 mph. The location of the mass moment of inertia is unknown so it would have to be estimated. I know a majority of that energy can be reclaimed through regenerative braking, but 20% or more is going to be wasted even in ideal conditions.

ESE E1 19x8.5 wheel weight is 11.5 lbs.

Buying light weight non-forged aluminum rims is asking for bent rims, particularly on a heavy Model S car. You can take the view they are cheap and you can buy several and it still cheaper than Carbon Fiber but there is also the hassle and performance difference.

No, we don't know long term reliability for fact. We also don't know the long term reliability of Model S battery pack and that does not stop some of us from spending $130k-$150k on a P85D or a P90DL.

We are talking early adopters that spend $$$ on new unproven tech. In that light $8k does not seem like a stretch for a set of wheels if you are the kind of person that previously purchased HRE or RUF wheels for you Porsche or Brabus wheels for your Merc.

The main reason I don't see a lot of P90DL owners buying carbon fiber wheels is because they don't know about them or think they all are hand laid $40k sets.

I am about to order a set of ESE Carbon fiber rims - 19 inch x 8.5 inch. Will let you know how it turns out. BTW Carbon Revolution rims are now standard equipment on the Mustang SVT. The ESE Carbon rims are $2K each - If I could get them to call me back I would have already ordered them..

I was thinking about the ESE Carbon rims, but the style doesn't do it for me for $8K. More function over form purchase IMO.

These wheels won't bend when you hit a big pothole. But will they just shatter? The consequences will be far worse than a mere bent wheel.

artsci said:

These wheels won't bend when you hit a big pothole. But will they just shatter? The consequences will be far worse than a mere bent wheel.

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Carbon fiber will eventually shatter, but remember that occurs far after an aluminum wheel has been destroyed.

The modulus of carbon fiber is typically 20 msi (138 Gpa) and its ultimate tensile strength is typically 500 ksi (3.5 Gpa). High stiffness and strength carbon fiber materials are also available through specialized heat treatment processes with much higher values. Compare this with 2024-T3 Aluminum, which has a modulus of only 10 msi and ultimate tensile strength of 65 ksi, and 4130 Steel, which has a modulus of 30 msi and ultimate tensile strength of 125 ksi.

Zybane said:

Carbon fiber will eventually shatter, but remember that occurs far after an aluminum wheel has been destroyed.

The modulus of carbon fiber is typically 20 msi (138 Gpa) and its ultimate tensile strength is typically 500 ksi (3.5 Gpa). High stiffness and strength carbon fiber materials are also available through specialized heat treatment processes with much higher values. Compare this with 2024-T3 Aluminum, which has a modulus of only 10 msi and ultimate tensile strength of 65 ksi, and 4130 Steel, which has a modulus of 30 msi and ultimate tensile strength of 125 ksi.

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So the longevity of a carbon fiber wheel should not be a concern and given the data you cited the odds of pothole damage are far, far lower?

I went with TSW Nurburgrings which were about 20 lbs each and half the price of Tesla's 21" option even with the spare rim I bought (and I even got to use Pilot Super Sport rubber which I prefer). The extra 9 lb x 4 rims in rotational inertia and unsprung weight reduction is not worth the extra cost and exposure with carbon rims unless you (1) have too much money or (2) just love the idea of CF rims.

artsci said:

So the longevity of a carbon fiber wheel should not be a concern and given the data you cited the odds of pothole damage are far, far lower?

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Correct.

lolachampcar said:

I went with TSW Nurburgrings which were about 20 lbs each and half the price of Tesla's 21" option even with the spare rim I bought (and I even got to use Pilot Super Sport rubber which I prefer). The extra 9 lb x 4 rims in rotational inertia and unsprung weight reduction is not worth the extra cost and exposure with carbon rims unless you (1) have too much money or (2) just love the idea of CF rims.

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Which size TSW's did you go with? 20 lbs sounds a bit low. According to TSW you don't drop down to 20 lbs until you get as small as 18" wheels:

Nurburgring Alloy Wheels by TSW

Option two was Carbon Revolution, but their prices are crazy - about $15K for four wheels and they don't even make them for the Tesla yet. Here is the article with the testing specs they passed for the 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R