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October 2015 — 9 Ford's GT350R is the frst series-built automobile to ofer one-piece carbon fber road wheels from the factory. However, owners of vehicles like the Porsche 911, Audi R8, BMW M3, Chevrolet Corvette, as well as various vehicles from Lamborghini and McLaren, have been able to plunk down their money for the privilege of reducing the unsprung weight of their high-performance automobiles since 2013. And while some buyers may have bought them for street cred— at $15,000 a set—most saw this as a performance upgrade on par with blueprinting the motor, upgrading the suspension and adding a turbocharger. "It's not a case of 'Do I like the wheels on my car?'," says Jake Dingle, CEO of Australia's Carbon Revolution (carbonrev.com). "It's a case of bolting on a single technology that gives you better acceleration, better braking, higher cornering force, lower NVH levels, improved steering feel and handling, and increased fuel efciency." The things that attracted Ford as it put together the GT 350 program. Carbon Revolution's composite wheels didn't happen overnight. They followed a long process that originally began as part of an independent R&D; mentoring program for university teams involved in FORGED MAGNESIUM: THE "AFFORDABLE" CHOICE Bill Koenig is a self-described "lightweight freak" and long-time Porsche owner who has been chasing magnesium wheels for street cars for years. The executive vice president of California-based MKW Alloy Wheels ( mkwalloy.com), Koenig—who consulted with Carbon Revolution on its composite design—was able to convince "a Japanese company that builds forged magnesium wheels for multiple Formula 1 teams" to build a forged magnesium design "optimized for both street and track." Though Koenig is unwilling to divulge the identity of his wheel partner, it's likely Rays Engineering Co. Ltd of Osaka, Japan stepped up to the plate. Porsche's 911 is the target vehicle for the frst set of wheels as these owners are not only well-heeled, they also are rabid about using them at track days. Wheels for the 911 GT3, for example, come in a 19-in. diameter and widths of nine inches (front) and 12 in. (rear). However, unlike the $15,000 Carbon Revolution wheels, the forged magnesium rims—which sit between the factory alloys and composite wheels in terms of stifness and heat dissipation—cost $8,800. That's just $700 more, for example, than the carbon composite brake package on a BMW M4. "The Japanese have metallurgists on staf working with suppliers to ensure the magnesium alloys are to spec.," says Koenig, and the design works for "mult- iple applications without having to forge multiple blanks." A good thing since each blank design costs about $100,000. "We developed profles that work on multiple vehicles," he says, "and the reduction in rotational mass is about three times less than a stock alloy wheel," or just short of the reductions Carbon Revolution is quoting for its wheels. MKW's forged magnesium wheels are part of its RSR ("Road, Street, Race") line. Road rims are exemplifed by cast-aluminum wheels. Street wheels use fow-form casting that spins the heated form in order to get the aluminum to fow and bind together. This creates a wheel stronger than a cast design, but with a thinner cross-section. The Race units are the forged magnesium wheels. Eyeing the success of Carbon Revolution's design with Ford, Koenig is quick to point out: "We are open to new projects and vehicles other than Porsche."—CAS t Ford's Shelby GT 350R Mustang is a track-oriented version of the street-focused GT 350. As such, it is 130 lb. lighter, of which 60 lb., or 46%, of the weight reduction is due to a switch from aluminum to carbon fber for the wheels. q Because Ford was very aggressive in its adoption of Carbon Revolution's technology, the CR9 version made for owners of Porsche's 911 bears more than a passing resemblance to the GT 350R wheel. Unlike the Ford version, the CR9 is not painted and shows of the weave of the carbon fber across its face.