Carbon Fiber Gear is all about covering the latest in carbon fiber, and finding unique carbon fiber products, parts, & accessories.

A Japanese company by the name of Weds Sport has come up with the first full carbon fiber wheel.  They unveiled the wheels with what they call their Dry Carbon Wheel Project at the last Tokyo Auto Salon show.

One wheel weighs in at just 2.76kg, which works out to be 6.08475844 pounds.  Interested in getting a set of these for your car?  Expect to pay around $10,000-$12,000 for the set.  While it sounds expensive, you can easily spend $8,000+ on custom three-piece forged wheels from a company like HRE.

I tried to get somebody to translate the Japanese from the above display at Tokyo Auto Salon, but this was the best I got from user fithamoto on the Nissan 350Z forums:

Its kinda of complicated, but it basically says its a Dry Carbon Fiber process that can be used on automobile & motorcycle tires. Something about the weight and color too. It points out the differences between a wet CF proces & Dry CF process.

Sorry, really not much help after all. I guess your gonna need to get a first gen. Japanese to translate it correctly.

If anybody else can translate better, we’d love to know what the rest says…just post a comment below.

Weds Sport’s display also featured a wheel with a carbon fiber face, but more than likely a forged aluminum wheel surrounding.  This is probably a much cheaper solution, and potentially arguably better looks.

There is some concern about a wheel being 100% carbon fiber that I’ve seen from people online…especially considering the weight of the wheel.  Is it strong enough to support a car normally driving, let alone at a race track?  What about the cost of repairing the wheel if something gets damaged?  Does it need to get fully replaced, or can it be fixed for substantially less cost?

There is another company by the name of Dymag that makes carbon fiber wheels (which we’ll cover in a future post), but their hub is made out of magnesium.  Apparently this is for strength reasons, which makes me think these fully carbon fiber rims should only be used for show cars.  I’d like to hear Weds Sport’s thoughts on this.  If you have any insight, feel free to post your comments.

We’ve already covered Alpinestar’s lineup of carbon fiber motorcycle gloves, but I bet you didn’t know you could also get a carbon fiber styled t-shirt! There are two types that I’ve found online. There is the purple shirt with the solid Alpinestars logo in a carbon fiber print:

Alpinestars Carbon Fiber tee. Basket-woven Alpinestars logo screen printed front and center. Small label on left sleeve. Alpinestars logo label woven on low left. Short sleeve. Crew neck. Pre-shrunk. 100% cotton. Machine wash.

I’ve only found this available in purple and can be purchased at Amazon here.

There is also the carbon blaze tee from their Fall 2008 lineup that can be had in either black and white and features the astars logo outlined in a carbon fiber pattern:

6 oz. 100% Carded Cotton jersey. Short sleeve tee with rib neckline, reinforced neckline tape, double needle hem and sleeve cuffs. Carbon fiber pattern logo print.

I’ve found these in a variety of sizes in both black and white on Amazon as well that you can see here.

Maybe we should get some shirts made with some carbon fiber accents to sell on here, what do you guys think? Is it something you’d be interested in?

Related Links

• Alpinestairs clothing homepage
• Alpinestars carbon blaze tee homepage
  
• Alpinestars purple shirt on Amazon
• Alpinestars carbon blaze tee on Amazon

This one is for those exotic car lovers and pure automobile enthusiasts.  The guys at RaceChairs.com have a unique paperweight which utilizes a 6″x6″ piece of real carbon fiber, a colored suede underside, and a real gas cap from a Ferrari 355 (Also available with a Lamborghini Diablo gas cap). We sell this on Carbon Fiber Gear Direct as well.

As with the carbon fiber mousepad and carbon fiber coasters that we looked at previously from RaceChairs, the carbon fiber weave is absolutely perfect and clearcoated for shiny finish.

The bottom of the paperweight is covered in suede, you have the option of choosing black, yellow, or red.  Our sample unit was red, the true Ferrari color.  The suede is soft, and ensure that you won’t scratch anything.

The Ferrari 355 gas cap is highly polished aluminum, and displays the Ferrari logo on the center.  It’s a perfect weight to hold your papers down.  The cap is brand new, and was never actually used on a car.

You may optionally have an engraved plaque added (perfect for special occasions like Father’s Day) as well as wall hangers if you want to just display it.

MSRP on this paperweight is $325, but is available on RaceChairs.com at the time of this writing for $199.

Related Links

• Buy this on Carbon Fiber Gear Direct
• RaceChairs.com
• RaceChairs product page

Geoff Packer works for a specialist stair manufacturer by the name of EeStairs.  Aside from doing a variety of work for them, he also designs stairs.  One of his designs is a pair of amazing carbon fiber staircases that take my breath away:

He has been working in the construction industry for 10 years now, and has a degree specializing in architectural visualizations.

The spiral staircase is made with ultra thin carbon treads, stainless steel pole and handrail. Glass panels form the balustrade.

For more information, you can contact Geoff here.

Related Links

• EeStairs
• DNA Stair

If you’ve got a spare $595 laying around, you may want to consider picking up a carbon fiber tennis racket from the ladies of Chanel:

These are geared quite a bit towards our lovely women readers, considering the rackets have a big Chanel logo on the strings…oh, and did I mention a rose?

These are apparently pretty tough to find, and you may have to go to an actual Chanel boutique to order one.  You may also want to give Chanel customer service a call at (800)550-0005 to see if they can find one for you.

If you happen to have this racket, or end up buying one, please send us some real world pictures!

If the HJC carbon fiber motorcycle helmets just aren’t cutting it for when you track your Ferrari F430 Scuderia, then it may be time to consider this option…German helmet maker Schuberth Helme was called upon by Ferrari to create a custom helmet to match their F430 Scuderia.  The helmet is only available directly through the Ferrari store with a price tag of around $3,400.

As you can see the helmet has some pretty neat features, including exposed carbon fiber.  Some of the other notables include the following:

• Only weighs in at 1 kilogram (2.2 lbs)
• Removable chin guard
• Internal pull-down visor with distortion/scratch/fog free visor
• Vents for better airflow
• Low noise rating of 92 dB at 62mph
• Twin stripes going through the helmet to match your Ferrari F430 Scuderia
• Ferrari prancing horse logo up front in case people didn’t realize you were driving one
• Comes in a red fabric carry black that features a black prancing horse logo

The helmet is derived from Schuberth J1 helmet, the same helmet that Ferrari’s F1 mechanics wear.  It’s also certified to use for motorcycles everywhere except for the US and Japan.  Note, that it’s not certified for F1 use.

Related Links

• Schuberth Helme
• Ferrari store product page
• Schuberth F1 helmet

[Sources: MotorTrend, Autoblog, Ferrari, Sybarites]

Last month we wrote about Case-Mate’s carbon fiber leather case for the new Apple iPhone 3G. In the post I mentioned that Case-Mate was sending one over to use so we can get a hands-on look. It came in, and I wanted to mainly post some real pictures of it and give you my true thoughts.

I unfortunately didn’t have access to a 3G iPhone, but the difference in size between the 3G and original is very minimal. The original iPhone seemed to fit perfect:

Here’s a closeup shot of the carbon fiber leather:

Here’s a shot of the inside material, it’s pretty nice, and has Case-Mate logos embedded into it:

Here’s a final shot of everything that comes with the case, including the screen protector and a protective wipe:

Overall the material looks really great in person. It feels nice as well, more like leather than carbon fiber. The only problem with the case is that the iPhone users I’ve shown it to feel that makes their phone too bulky. I think every case that is actually going to be a protectant against this like messing up the edges from a fall are going to be slightly bulky like this, but to each his own!

If the Air Jordan XVII’s don’t meet your carbon fiber shoe taste, Puma can step in to try and meet your needs. Puma has a series of shoes called the Trionfo that offers a wide variety of carbon fiber styled aspects to its shoes. Trionfo is Italian for triumph, and the original versions of these shoes (Mid pro boots) are actually used by race drivers…we’ll cover them first. There are a ton of different versions/styles…too many to write about all of them, but I’ll cover a bunch. Many of the styles are only found in European stores, so I’ve found that eBay is one of the best places to find these shoes.

PUMA Trionfo Mid Pro II

With the Trionfo Mid Pro II PUMA introduces the new statement product for the race tracks of the world. Function and minimalism are key to this boot. Asymmetric lacing prevents the foot from falling asleep during long runs on the track. A split heel construction gives an additional cushioning effect and weight reduction at the same time. This adds the necessary comfort when walking in the boots. A new innovative material from Schöller gives a feeling like wearing a second skin with its smooth and lightweight features. The real carbon element provides best heel stability to the driver and rounds off the picture of 100% performance and most lightweight boot ever. FIA approved. These are available in black, blue, and red, priced around 240 Euros. Available in the European Puma Store.

PUMA Trionfo Lo GT II Exclusive

The PUMA Trionfo Lo GT II Exclusive is a low cut version of the professional Trionfo Mid Pro boot featuring almost identical details. It has the same great fit and look, but doesn’t feature fireproof lining. The characteristics of the outsole creates the feeling that you can maneuver your car as the professional pilots do in their race cars. The Trionfo Lo is made of soft pig suede. The Lo GT II Exclusives come in three colors; black, light brown, and brown, and feature carbon fiber styled accents as well as a Ferrari textual logo. MSRP is $149.99.

PUMA Trionfo Lo LL II

As the takedown version of the real professional boot Trionfo Mid Pro II the low cut version features almost the same details as the pro boot. It has the same great fit and look. The characteristics of the outsole give you the feeling that you can maneuver car as the professional pilots do in ther race cars. The Trionfo Lo LL II is made of soft anilin leather, soft suede and TPU carbon heel counter, oil resistant and non-slippery rubber outsole (not fireproof). These are available in black, silver, and white and priced around 129.95 Euros.

PUMA Trionfo Lo II Massa

The fashion version of the SF Trionfo Mid Pro II is not short in function and inspired by the Scuderia Ferrari Collection. As the pro model it features an asymmetric lacing, split heel construction to ensure better cushioning and anatomical comfort. A non fireproof canvas and a look alike carbon TPU counter gives the same look and feel as the real boot. The TPU carbon element provides best heel stability to the driver. At the same time the boot catches everybody’s attention when wearing it on and of the paddock. Soft suede, Ferrari shield and Massa Logo. Priced around 115 Euros.

PUMA Trionfo Lo II Raikkönen

The fashion version of the SF Trionfo Mid Pro II is not short in function and presents the Scuderia Ferrari Collection. As the pro model it features an asymmetric lacing, split heel construction to ensure better cushioning and anatomical comfort. A non fireproof canvas and a look alike carbon TPU counter gives the same look and feel as the real boot. The TPU carbon element provides best heel stability to the driver. At the same time the boot catches everybody’s attention when wearing it on and of the paddock. Soft suede, Ferrari shield and Kimi Raikkönen Logo. Priced around 115 Euros.

PUMA Trionfo Lo L II

The original fashion version of the Trionfo, available in a gold-bracken brown color. It features Anilin leather, soft pig suede, and a carbon heal. Priced around 80 Euros, and available at the European Puma Store.

More Special Edition Trionfo Shoes

Here’s a couple more special styled Trionfo shoes that I’ve found:

Puma Trionfo GT II FM Brasil

Puma Trionfo DuoCELL

Puma Trionfo LO US