488 - Carbon rims protection | FerrariChat

488 Carbon rims protection

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by islandtrader, Apr 7, 2020.

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  1. islandtrader

    islandtrader Formula Junior

    Jun 30, 2013
    369
    Anybody have any ideas? My most impractical option on my pista though cool!


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  2. RayJohns

    RayJohns F1 Veteran
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    May 21, 2006
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    Ray
    Carbon fiber wheels are more practical than most carbon fiber options out there. Just make sure you don't curb them :)

    I had carbon fiber wheels on my motorcycle. They are more durable than you might expect.

    What sort of protection are you referring to specifically?

    Ray
     
  3. islandtrader

    islandtrader Formula Junior

    Jun 30, 2013
    369
    I guess I don't want them chipped. Its carbon so I'm paranoid!
     
  4. SoCal to az

    SoCal to az F1 World Champ
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    Nov 25, 2012
    14,209
    Arizona
    They are gorgeous and this is the reason I didn’t order them on my car. Too scared to actually drive with them!!
     
  5. RayJohns

    RayJohns F1 Veteran
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    May 21, 2006
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    Carbon fiber rims are a lot stronger than you are probably imagining.

    Before I purchased them for my motorcycle, I remember I was doing research on which wheels to buy. One day I was at Laguna Seca during MotoGP and walking around talking to some of the different vendors. I remember I was walking around when suddenly I came around a corner and saw this guy bouncing a wheel off the ground from about 4 or 5 feet high and then catching it as it bounced back up in the air (directly off the concrete). What the hell?

    As I got closer, this guy kept bouncing the wheel right off the concrete and catching it in his hand. He was saying, "Try this with your aluminum motorcycle wheels and see what happens". I wish I had video taped it, because it was pretty unreal. I stopped to chat with him for a while and it turned out he was bouncing a carbon fiber wheel off the ground. Wow?! Crazy. I must have watched him do it 10 or 20 times in a row, while we were talking.

    They were demonstrating how strong carbon fiber was and how resistant it was to impact. Even though he was bouncing the rim directly off the concrete (no rubber tire, just the rim itself), if you looked at it, it had no visible damage to it whatsoever. I don't recall if it was gloss or matte finish (like the wheels I ordered for my motorcycle), but seeing that demonstration really left an impression on me as far as how strong carbon fiber actually is.

    Later on, a buddy of mine called me up... he had a carbon fiber seat post for his racing bike, which was about .010" too large to go into his bike frame. He wanted to know if I thought I could chuck it up in my lathe and turn it down. I told him not really, but maybe we could put it in the lathe and sand it down. Man oh man, you'd think we were trying to turn down Titanium or something. Just to remove a few thousands, it took quite a bit of work. Carbon fiber is really tough stuff.

    I've since done a bit of work with carbon fiber parts and they are strong as can be. You might as well be working with steel.

    I have also mounted my own motorcycle tires onto carbon fiber rims, using a jig I welded up for the job. Let me just tell you, carbon fiber wheels are super durable. As long as you don't push them beyond the point where they fracture, then they are extremely strong and resilient. If cost weren't such an issue, I'd happily run carbon fiber rims over forged aluminum rims any day.

    Even if you damaged the top glossy coat, I think repairing that would be fairly straight forward. The wheels on my motorcycle were matte finish, so they were even more durable. Below are a couple of photos of the wheels I ran on my motorcycle. I never had even the slightest problems with them.

    Ray

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  6. MoreGarages413

    MoreGarages413 Karting

    Jan 21, 2019
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    Suburban Philadelphia PA
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    Jay B
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    To protect those who expensive wheel, i recommend curb feelers. I imagine they would look even better on a Pista than on this baller caddy.


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  7. Newjoint

    Newjoint Formula 3

    Jan 17, 2016
    1,066
    I had them on my 2 Ducati SLs and they looked and felt great on the road
    Curbing them is nonentity on motorcycles but on low profile car tires an issue cosmetically. A little gloss or matte clear coat touch up would probably take care of most minor scratches
    The effect of CF wheels on unsparing weight and handling are measurable


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  8. dolphins08430

    dolphins08430 Formula Junior
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    Jun 2, 2011
    449
    F-Dealer sells wheel protection policy $7k ..... Covers everything for 4 years.
     
  9. RayJohns

    RayJohns F1 Veteran
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    I'm starting to wonder if Ferrari is a car company or an insurance company :)

    Ray
     
  10. DoubleD33

    DoubleD33 F1 Rookie
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    May 2, 2012
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    Dan D
    Wheel protection policy for 7k. Something tells me there is a repair procedure for damage or rims are a high profit item for them.
     
  11. RayJohns

    RayJohns F1 Veteran
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    I doubt very much if there is a repair procedure for carbon fiber wheels, given how they are produced. I think it's more reasonable to assume that Ferrari's cost to replace a carbon fiber wheel is not as expensive as you think.

    If I had to wager a guess, I'd say each CF wheel probably doesn't cost Ferrari much over $2000 or $3000 each.

    Ray
     
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