It is now an exciting time for the wheel industry. Two major technologically advanced ideas, 3D printing and carbon fiber, are pushing the wheel industry forward to previously unknown levels of performance and design. HRE has recently shown its latest titanium and carbon fiber wheel made with additive production, and Forgeline has just announced a new set of wheels that has been developed together with Dymag with carbon fiber bins and aluminum centers.
Thanks to the strength, the low weight and the formable nature, carbon fiber gains enormous strength in the world of wheels. Several major manufacturers, including Ford, Porsche and Koenigsegg, add carbon fiber wheels to their high-quality vehicles directly from the factory. Companies such as the Australian-based Carbon Revolution, the provider of carbon fiber wheels for the Ford GT and Ford GT350, also offer aftermarket options that can be used on any car that someone wants.
But full carbon fiber wheels are insanely expensive, partly because of the technology needed to produce them and the amount of time it takes to produce them. So companies such as Dymag, based in England, offer cheaper options that combine carbon fiber with other lightweight materials such as aluminum. That is precisely the configuration that Forgeline offers here.
The Carbon + Forged series, which originally debuted at SEMA 2016 but has since been further modified and improved, includes four different wheel sizes: 20×9, 20×11, 20×12 and 21×12.5. The wheels are equipped with carbon fiber barrels developed by Dymag and CNC-milled forged 6061-T6 aluminum wheels from Forgeline. The two pieces are screwed together to create a single unique unit, and the carbon fiber edge is about 40 percent lighter than an aluminum equivalent. The aluminum can also be finished in different looks and colors, giving these wheels an interesting leg on wheels made of full carbon fiber.
We said these wheels are cheaper, but we didn't say they were cheap, because the cost per wheel is still enough to buy a usable used car. The 20×9.0 starts at $ 3,850 per wheel, the 20×11.0 starts at $ 3,900, the 20×12.0 starts at $ 3,925 and the 21×12.5 starts at $ 4,350. The size 21×12.5 is available at the end of August, while all other sizes are now available. These would look very nice on a 2020 Corvette, yes?