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GT350 R Carbon Fiber Wheels

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fuhrius said:
yep...which makes the $10k carbon wheels a $5k upgrade from other really good wheels. they're lighter and stronger and OEM. I'm not saying that totally justifies the price...we're clearly at the front end of a trend toward more carbon everywhere and we're paying a premium to be at the leading edge. But how cool are carbon wheels? ;-)
They're cool but not $5k cool. ;)
 
VooDooBOSS said:
They're cool but not $5k cool. ;)

Interesting observations and time will tell.

For our Bosses, in addition to lighter wheels, many have upgraded driveshafts, added two piece rotors, etc. all in the interest of reducing rotational mass.

Add in Watts link, springs/dampers or coil overs and Sway Bars an it's certainly more than $5k.

Which option will yield greater results? We don't know yet, but I'm ready to bet that the CF wheels will be a tempting option for R owners looking for a second set of wheels. Tougher to justify if you need to buy 2 sets for track duty on a TP car and there maybe better options once we learn about damper tuning......
 
my opinion is jaded by a lifetime of mountain bike racing....XC and Enduro (and some long-ass road rides...wouldn't call it racing as much as surviving for someone at my skill level ;-) but it was one said to me by one of the world's best wheel builder and a an all-around Sen dude, that you don't ride a bike frame, you ride wheels...the freame just connects you the wheels. If you spin a wheel in your hands (as I did at the Exploratorium in SF as a kid) and 'feel' the power of the gyroscope you're holding, you start to get a sense for the difference between rotating mass and non-rotating. On the bike, when you change the mass in the wheel, the effect is SO much more pronounced than changing mass in a non-rotating part. Carbon wheels have hit the bike world in a big way...it's hit all components...but when it hit wheels it was an OMG moment when you first rode with them. Stiff and light. but expensive. As legendary bike builder Keith Bontrager once said (and I'm guessing he'd pulled the idea from some earlier inventor): Light, Strong, Inexpensive...pick two. Caron auto wheels are light and strong...but not inexpensive. But I'm pretty sure that the benefits are there if you're willing to deal with the cost.
 
fuhrius said:
my opinion is jaded by a lifetime of mountain bike racing....XC and Enduro (and some long-ass road rides...wouldn't call it racing as much as surviving for someone at my skill level ;-) but it was one said to me by one of the world's best wheel builder and a an all-around Sen dude, that you don't ride a bike frame, you ride wheels...the freame just connects you the wheels. If you spin a wheel in your hands (as I did at the Exploratorium in SF as a kid) and 'feel' the power of the gyroscope you're holding, you start to get a sense for the difference between rotating mass and non-rotating. On the bike, when you change the mass in the wheel, the effect is SO much more pronounced than changing mass in a non-rotating part. Carbon wheels have hit the bike world in a big way...it's hit all components...but when it hit wheels it was an OMG moment when you first rode with them. Stiff and light. but expensive. As legendary bike builder Keith Bontrager once said (and I'm guessing he'd pulled the idea from some earlier inventor): Light, Strong, Inexpensive...pick two. Caron auto wheels are light and strong...but not inexpensive. But I'm pretty sure that the benefits are there if you're willing to deal with the cost.
It still gets down to practicality. At 10k per set they better be at least 2-3 seconds a lap faster because you'll need at least one extra set and realistically two if you're still going to street drive the car. They will get thrashed using them on the track at the limits and swapping tires or even flipping them on the rims after every weekend. Most people tracking Mustangs won't throw $20k at track wheels or they would probably be running a GT, Porsche or Ferarri ;-) I'm going to venture a guess that the vast majority of lap time differential between the TP cars and the R will be tire width and compound. Until we can get them on track with some lightwieght aluminum wheels and sticky rubber we're just sleculating. It's still a 3700 lb car guys :)
 

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