ESE’s development of a carbon fiber wheel was the subject of this feature article in CompositesWorld by Scott Francis, who interviewed CEO Carlos Hermida about the use of tailored fiber placement and custom presses to minimize waste and improve scalability.
Carbon fiber wheels offer a range of benefits by reducing rotational inertia and the combined mass — known as the unsprung mass — of a vehicle’s wheels, suspension and other directly connected components not supported by the suspension. This reduction in rotational inertia and unsprung mass, which can be as high as 50%, typically results in faster acceleration with less effort, reduced braking distance, improved handling thanks to good road contact (mechanical grip) and reduced road noise.