Carbon Fiber Rims

[Xenoilphobe]

Back on topic - Rick I can't wait either here is some more Carbon Fiber Wheel stuff- this wheel spins for 11 minutes with a slight push.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Also you can see the imbedded RFID check on the Carbon Revolution wheels at 1:47

 

[Tech_Guy]

so no plan to run a security lug on each wheel? I was hoping you might have found a good brand...

Also can you confirm these wheels do not come with the lug nuts you need to run?

 

[shokunin]

These would be really beneficial on the X. Cost aside, you may gain miles vs taking a 10-15% wh/mi efficiency penalty that comes with the 22's on the Model X.

 

[artsci]

Have a question for you guys, saw a few pages back that you had ordered special lug nuts for these wheels, so I'm guessing they do not come with lug nuts? Along that same question have you found any locking / security lugs for these wheels?

thanks for the guidance!!

A very good question as these rims will have enormous appeal in the theft market Ant- theft lug nuts may deter an amateur thief but are worthless for professionals.

For extra protection I've purchase a device that gives a voice warning when anyone approaches the car too closely and alerts me via a phone app as well. Haven't installed it yet but will when the ESE rims are finally on the car. Nothing is foolproof but the goal is to delay the thief's work around as much as possible.

 

[artsci]

so no plan to run a security lug on each wheel? I was hoping you might have found a good brand...

Also can you confirm these wheels do not come with the lug nuts you need to run?

They do not come with lug nuts but the right ones are not hard to find -- they're actual Porsche lug nuts. See post earlier in this thread.

 

[FlatSix911]

Locking lug nuts are available from Porsche and others.

 

[artsci]

Also you can see the imbedded RFID check on the Carbon Revolution wheels at 1:47

I know very little about RFID technology. If RFID is embedded in a rim and the rim is stolen, can you track the location of the stolen rim? Or does RFID serve other purposes for security?

 

[lolachampcar]

Same as dog chipping.... If you have a reader, you can read the ID tag embedded in the rim but it can not work like a Lojack system.

 

[Tech_Guy]

RFID is a small chip that would be implanted... a good way to explain it, its similar to getting your dog or cat chipped, when your animal shows up at the pound they scan the chip and get your contact info and thus don't put your dog down or offer them up for adoption... theres no remote tracking beyond someone physically scanning the chip to reveal the data on the RFID tag revealing you as the owner.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

You can also get active RFID/GPS that is trackable and links by cellular and satellite to geolocate the device. I have a system on my motorcycle that does this. I will look it up tonight I forget the name of it. About $400.

2.0 GPS LOCATING & SECURITY SYSTEM

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Requires a power source. But you could use a kinetic generator on car wheels.

 

[Tech_Guy]

thats interesting bike lo jack basically... while something like that works on a bike mounted to a frame etc you wouldn't want to mount that to a spinning rim also it would be quite obvious to a thief as something that doesn't belong...

Maybe this is a product idea... a center cap for a wheel with gps and a kinetic generator...

 

[artsci]

Emailed Victor and Adriana today to confirm that the wheels will ship at the end of this week. Of course, as is often the case, there's been no response. And there's no sign on ESE's web site, Facebook page, or any other source that the wheels have actually been made.

These people need a good lesson in customer relations and communication. They should do more to keep us informed. If this continues for more than a week or two I'm going so ask for a refund of the full purchase price. I can always order the wheels later once there's real evidence that ESE can actually build what they claim, but as time goes on without any evidence I'm very concern that our $ is at risk.

 

[shokunin]

If they are too busy to reply pre-sale, imagine how they would respond to post-sales service and repairs. Not looking good in my opinion.

 

[lolachampcar]

HMMMMMMMMMMMM
I would have thought I would have heard something if wheels were to ship in one week. I have not heard a word. At least the time horizon is shrinking thus giving us a definitive answer in a shorter time frame.

 

[u00mem9]

Yes, I would suggest checking to make sure you are still able to recover this via you credit card company. There is usually a limit of time after the charge when they will refund your funds for a dispute, but this has really been a long time...and the vendor may know those limitations better than you...

At the risk of being a buzzkill, I think you guys need to be a bit more skeptical here unless losing the $8k is inconsequential to you. This company has obviously never built a wheel. They started development after getting full payment from you. The website shows photoshop wheels and CAD models with carbon texture applied. They offer numerous sizes as if tooling exists when it clearly does not.

I honestly think the worst case scenario here is that you eventually receive the wheels. At that point you will definitely lose the recourse via the credit card company, and I see a very low probability the wheels will function safely on vehicle. The potential loss from a wheel failure greatly exceeds the cost of the wheel (!)

You guys seem reasonably familiar with carbon composites...if so, then you must realize how much space could exist between the expertise required to make a "wheel" looking object (shown above), and that required to make a functional wheel...

 

[bhzmark]

Good point. Seriously consider disputing the charge now. And if they have wheels to deliver then, authorize a new charge starting the dispute clock again.

 

[Tech_Guy]

Spoke to Victor the other day again via the website chat says they are on track for the first orders to ship on the 29th I don't know if any of those are tesla orders though... I told him I felt that the community would like to see some pictures of all these ready to ship wheels / get some emails out to those first customers that your wheels will be shipping soon etc guess we will see what happens...

 

[artsci]

I spoke with Victor this morning and what he told me was all good news. I'n not authorized to reveal the details of the conversation but let me say that all of us who have placed orders will be very pleased with what ESE is doing to finish the wheels and prepare them for shipping. In fact, I felt a bit embarrassed for having overreacted and raised alarm in this thread.