Carbon One to introduce eco-friendly carbon wheels

British design firm Carbon One is poised to introduce a new range of wheels manufactured with carbon to achieve reduced weight targets. The firm estimates that using “next-generation lightweight materials, such as carbon fibre composites, could reduce passenger car weight by 50 per cent and improve fuel efficiency by about 35 per cent without compromising performance or safety” – and wheels are the latest component to which it is seeking to apply this thinking.

The downsides to manufacturing with these materials are the additional expense and complications in manufacturing. Carbon One says it is working with prestige car manufacturers to develop the next generation of wheels using carbon and carbon/metal hybrid materials capable of enduring higher impact resistance than that of metal wheels.

Initial testing on wheels using the new generation of carbon fibre composites “is proving very encouraging”, Carbon One tells Tyres & Accessories, with major energy savings over metal wheels: they use approximately 50 per cent less energy than an aluminium wheel with a 45 per cent reduction in moment of inertia from the lightest of metal alloy wheels, the company states. What this means is that they reduce fuel consumption and emissions and increase the power output of a vehicle.

Some initial testing on high performance vehicles have showed a saving up to nine per cent on fuel consumption, eight per cent on CO2 emissions and up to a 10 per cent increase in power output. With these figures, car manufacturers can see these advantages as critical, as they can translate in major cost savings in engine development.

Another benefit Carbon One identifies is the new wheel technology’s versatility. It says prototypes have shown excellent impact and blast/ballistic properties with air portability thanks to weight reductions that have generated “significant interest for military applications in the UK and US,” the company reveals. The company says it will soon launch its new technology with a line of carbon wheels aimed at high performance vehicles.