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The new Shelby GT350R, which has just been launched in the US, is considered to be the best-selling Mustang model ever. In order to ensure the performance and control of the model, Ford is equipped with all-carbon fiber wheels for the first time. Mass production of carbon fiber wheels.
Previously, some car-modified brands and super-running manufacturers offered carbon fiber wheels to a small number of super-running customers, but this time Ford needs to meet the new challenge with Australian supplier Carbon Revolution – to create the first mass-produced mass production. Carbon fiber hubs are standard on the Shelby GT350R.
To this end, Ford has adopted the highest quality standards in the design, development and testing of the carbon fiber hubs, resulting in unprecedented chassis performance improvements, significant weight reduction and even higher driving dynamics.
In the early testing phase of the prototype, this carbon fiber hub showed significant potential – improving suspension response, chassis dynamics, steering quality and ride quality. In the end, Ford decided to apply it to production cars, which means that the wheels developed by the engineering team must meet Ford's stringent durability, quality, craftsmanship and higher quality standards.
Why choose carbon fiber?
In the "dream performance component list" of sports car enthusiasts, carbon fiber wheels occupy an important seat. Even in the world of choice for the super-sports car, only Koenigsegg currently offers carbon fiber wheel options.
In general, reducing the quality of the kerb is beneficial to improving the dynamic performance of the vehicle, while reducing the unsprung weight (those vehicle components that are not suspended, such as the hub) can significantly improve the handling performance of the vehicle. The lower unsprung weight helps reduce the wheel's moment of inertia, significantly reducing the vehicle's reaction time to the driver's movement, allowing the vehicle to have faster start, stop, and steering speeds. Under bumpy and undulating road conditions, the suspension plays a vital role in maintaining the vehicle's grounding performance. The lower unsprung weight will greatly reduce the operating output of the suspension components under complex road conditions, making the body posture more comfortable.
“The GT350R's carbon fiber wheels and custom tires are the parts we have with the best track racing strength,†said Adam Wirth, head of Ford's global performance vehicle chassis. “Compared to aluminum alloy wheels, carbon fiber hubs will reduce the weight of the car by nearly 28 kg, while providing better rigidity and a more sensitive steering response.â€
Set new benchmarks
Ford's partner, Carbon Revolution from Australia, is a leading manufacturer of carbon fiber wheels. For this reason, Ford and its suppliers are well aware that only significant innovations can be made to meet the performance requirements of the Shelby GT350R. The project will set the industry standard for mass production of carbon fiber wheels.
Ford has set a very high test requirement for the wheels. The hub must withstand a series of tests such as curb impact, UV and chemical contact, and extreme high temperature endurance testing. The GT350R wheels need to meet all of these requirements for mass production.
A common misconception about carbon fiber is that carbon fiber is high in strength but brittle. In fact, some carbon fiber formulations may have such hard but brittle properties, but the high durability of carbon fiber resins is what the hub components are pursuing. The Shelby GT350R's carbon fiber hubs are designed for high rigidity, light weight and high flexibility.
One of the toughest tests the wheel faced during Ford's development was the impact of the curb at high speed. This can cause serious damage to the hub and tires if not properly designed. With its light weight, advanced construction and resin composition in the hub, and the extremely advanced MagneRide electromagnetic damper, the Shelby GT350R suspension responds quickly to impacts, and the carbon fiber hubs reduce the unsprung weight of the vehicle. Further increasing the suspension reaction speed can greatly reduce the damage of the impact.
During the track test, the brake system generates a lot of heat under extreme conditions, which is a challenge for carbon fiber composite resin materials and requires the use of state-of-the-art thermal barrier technology. The brake temperature test results show that the Shelby GT350R's super-brake system produces brake disc temperatures in excess of 900 degrees Celsius, which requires the hub design standard to be upgraded from road-specific specifications to more suitable for racing.
For decades, in order to improve durability under extreme heat conditions, the aerospace industry has used ceramic coating methods to treat turbine blade materials. This technology is also used in top-of-the-line racing cars (like F1). Ford and Carbon Revolution used the same technology for thermal barrier coating systems developed for carbon fiber wheels.
Carbon Revolution's thermal barrier coating systems are designed for racing and aerospace applications where extreme temperature conditions are encountered. The system uses a multi-stage, multi-material coating formulation that provides excellent thermal barrier. The ceramic material is liquefied using a plasma arc spray gun and applied to the critical part of the inner ring of the hub and to the back of the spoke. The coating is extremely thin and diamond-hardened. It can reliably use resin insulation to reduce the temperature of the wheel and enable the vehicle to withstand the intense driving of the most aggressive drivers on the track.
The test did not end here. In order to achieve the durability required by the Ford standard when the hub is exposed to extreme harsh UV environments, corrosive salts and road chemicals, special coatings need to be developed to protect the resin from the environment.
Ford requires all automotive parts to have a perfectly smooth surface, which is extremely challenging for carbon fiber components. Ford has developed a new process to achieve a high-strength, high-gloss black lacquer finish that not only looks good, but also ensures a longer life of the hub.
High standard testing and production
The first step in making a carbon fiber hub is to make a preformed internal carbon structure that consists of precisely manufactured carbon chains that are arranged into the woven fabric. These structures will then be placed into molds using advanced manufacturing techniques.
An RFID chip with a unique tracking number is embedded in the structure, and each hub data is individually entered into the warranty system. Once assembled, the structure is filled with resin and cured at elevated temperatures.
This production process ensures a one-shot molding of the carbon fiber hub, reducing the bonding of the spokes to the rim, thus ensuring the highest strength of the hub.
61 individual inspection results and more than 246,000 data points are recorded before the hub is solidified and removed from the machine. In order to ensure the quality of the parts, the hub was analyzed using a three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) imaging process, and more than 18,000 X-ray images were taken. Through the inspection of the wheel hub, the valve stem is machined, drilled, then painted, painted, assembled, dimensionally inspected, and finally shipped to the Flat Rock assembly plant for installation on the new Shelby GT350R Mustang.
Superior performance
There is no doubt that the Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang has an amazing speed, but by reducing the weight of each wheel to nearly half of the aluminum alloy wheels (15 kg for aluminum alloy wheels and 8 kg for carbon fiber wheels), handling and acceleration performance Will be greatly improved. The substantial weight reduction of the hub also reduces the moment of inertia by more than 40%, further improving acceleration and braking performance. The reduced unsprung weight also allows the vehicle suspension system to respond to changes in road conditions at a faster rate.
“We believe this industry's first mass-produced carbon fiber hub will bring new changes to the industry,†adds Adam Wirth. “This is another perfect example of Ford's performance innovation.â€
Ford lightweight strategy milestone
Lightweight is a very critical part of Ford's sustainability blueprint. For this, Ford's principle is: "At the right time, the right material for the right model." For improving vehicle efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emissions, more advanced materials such as carbon fiber and other types of composite materials are needed.
• 2015: The new Ford GT, which unveiled the veil in January, is based on the use of new materials, which has achieved a shape that was previously impossible to shape with metal sheets. High-strength bonding materials allow tight bonding of carbon and aluminum alloys. Therefore, the aerodynamic performance of the new GT can be achieved under "non-traditional" solutions (such as the "flying arch" design).
• 2015: In April, Ford and Dow Aksa reached a consensus on the mass production of “car-grade†carbon fiber materials, a move that would benefit the entire industry in terms of lightweighting.
• 2014: Ford's new F-150 raises the standard for the application of aluminum alloys in production cars. Not only that, but the next-generation Super Duty series will also use the same aluminum alloy solution. The use of high-strength steel and aluminum alloy gives the new F-150 a stronger drag, faster acceleration, shorter braking distance and longer cruising range.
• The lightweight concept of the MMLV (Mixed-Materials Lightweight Vehicle) allows a Mondeo-class midsize car to weigh only as much as a Ford Fiesta-class compact car, reducing weight by nearly 25%. At the same time, we explored the possibilities of applying advanced materials to the production of future production cars.
• The lightweight concept uses a holistic approach called “remixing†to achieve weight reduction – incorporating advanced materials including ultra-high-strength steel, next-generation hybrid polishing and chemically strengthened glass into the overall design of the vehicle Including powertrains, chassis, batteries and automotive interiors such as seats.
• The windshield is an extremely important part of the lightweight concept – each windshield is made of chemically strengthened glass, similar to the material used in smartphone screens.
• The 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine under lightweight concept has also been weight-reduced, including composite modular construction, carbon fiber reinforced oil sump and aluminum alloy connecting rods.
• 2005: The Ford GT is the first Ford to use all-aluminum materials, using the single component of the largest carbon fiber car at the time – the rear inner cover.
• 1992: Ford began extensive research on weight loss with advanced materials. The All-Aluminum Model (AIV) project has designed 40 AIV prototypes that demonstrate the durability, impact and serif (NVH) requirements of the aluminum body structure and the corresponding stamping, welding and bonding capabilities.
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