BRAID FSAE Specifc Wheels

[braidusa]

Hi,

I was wondering how many of you have heard of BRAID wheels, since we have sold quite a few sets to US teams this year without any promotion on our part. They have been popular In Europe, where they are made, for many years but seem to be finding a home here now.


http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp83232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv3%3C5%3A6%3E nu%3D3356%3E36%3A%3E%3A%3B2%3EWSNRCG%3D3%3B545%3B9 6%3B3336nu0mrj


Many of those shown above are designed specifically for Formula SAE and as such are probably the lightest, stiffest and strongest wheels you can put on your car. You can find out more from our European site: http://www.braid.es/wheels/products/competition-wheels_p8/formula-student-wheels_p83.html as they are not represented on BRAIDusa.com.

The wheels are made in our European factory and distributed throughout North America by BRAID USA. We are offering teams a 25% introductory discount this year in exchange for a small decal on the car. Email me for prices and specifications or, of course, any questions.

[Claude Rouelle]

Paul,

Does your company publish engineering specifications about its rims: drawings, weight, inertia, camber and lateral stiffness etc...?

As FSAE / FS is NOT racing but it is an engineering competition based on a race car (and BTW implicitly a project management competition too), I bet the interest of the students for your products (and maybe your sales) will be greater if you could establish a communication with an engineering language.

Of course publishing you rims engineering data could make you enter en a spec war with your competitors ("How did you come with that number? How was this measured / calculated? Does this take into account that?" ...etc Been there, Done that). But even if your rims do not have the best weight + inertia + stiffness Vs price ratio, the fact that the students could use your engineering specifications in their drawings and calculations would be a plus.

Tire data are available for students via the TTC, bearing and rod ends and spherical joints load capabilities are available on catalogs, ans so it is for brake pads coefficient of friction and so on.... so why not making this info available for rims?

[JT A.]

the lightest, stiffest and strongest wheels you can put on your car.

Pretty big claims...prove it. My teams wheels were well under 4 lbs each (for a 13" diameter) for reference.

[jd74914]

Paul,
Does your company publish engineering specifications about its rims: drawings, weight, inertia, camber and lateral stiffness etc...?


Sad as it is, even just publishing models so students could do FEA, weight trades, etc. would be a huge advantage over most wheels in the market place.

[Claude Rouelle]

Jim,

Why do you write "Sad as it is..." ?

Claude

[Adam Farabaugh]

Probably because almost no rim/wheel manufacturers publish any CAD for their products, let alone specifications, which is sad.

Adam

[Claude Rouelle]

Not necessarily true. As a race car designer, besides the usual catalogs of bearings, spherical joints, rod ends, springs that are now easily found on line, I got all the rim drawings I wanted (and caliper and brake discs and master cylinder and brake pads and gearbox and steering rack and drive shaft with CV joints and damper and ECU and data logging unit and steering wheel and steering wheel quick release adapter and exhaust muffler etc... and most of the time engine - at least the outside = enough for the installation)

....when I asked.

I don't see why it could be different for a FS team...

[jd74914]

Probably because almost no rim/wheel manufacturers publish any CAD for their products, let alone specifications, which is sad.


Claude,

Adam's sentiment was what I was implying. My experience has been that nearly all other component manufacturers (save engine) will readily provide models (shells) for packaging purposes either on the websites or when asked, but all most no rim/wheel manufacturers do the same. Perhaps it is because we generally have used lower cost manufacturers (DWT, etc.). It just always seemed very strange to me since inner-wheel packaging is so critical, especially with smaller rim diameters.

[Claude Rouelle]

Then either you decide that the supplier is not worth it (after all you are the customer) or you go through the pain of making a 3D scan of the rim for your drawing purposes...but in that case you will neither have a nice relationship with your supplier neither make advertising for him... I can't imagine why a rim manufacturer wouldn't provide drawings in such a competitive market where everybody measure what everybody else is manufacturing. If a rim manufacturer A does not have drawings to share, I bet competitor B has A's drawings.

Claude

[braidusa]

So, I guess we are not getting notifications. Sorry about that.

[braidusa]

And yes, we do supply potential customers CAD models for packaging purposes etc.

Five North American teams signed for 2015! Obviously, this is not one of them:

http://www.braid.es/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3026&g2_serialNumber=2

http://www.braid.es/wheels/formulastudent.php

[braidusa]

Now up to SIX teams :)