If you have a mild interest in cars, chances are you’ve heard of carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is a composite material invented in the late 1800s. It’s possible that Thomas Edison invented it.
Today, we use carbon fiber in many different industries for many different purposes. The aerospace industry, for instance, is the biggest user of carbon fiber. Other users of this material include car enthusiasts looking for performance parts.
Why use carbon fiber in high-performance sports cars, though? What is it about this material that makes it so desirable for so many people? We’ll answer those questions in this article.
Low Weight
Carbon fiber is a very light material, especially when compared to its strength. It’s roughly one-fourth the weight of steel and one-third the weight of aluminum. Lighter weight leads to more power, which is ideal for high-performance sports cars.
The car doesn’t have to use as much power to lift the vehicle, so more of it can be used to move forward, increasing its speed. However, speed is not the only factor that is improved by lowering a car’s weight.
Fuel Efficiency
Not only can lighter cars go faster than heavier ones, but they can also drive for longer. Less weight means that less force is needed to move the car, so the same amount of fuel will get you further in a lighter car than in a heavier one.
This a vital feature for high-performance sports cars, because the less you have to stop for fuel, the more time you’ll have on the track.
Better Handling
Low weight tends to improve handling, as well. This has to do with the basic laws of motion, namely inertia. Inertia states that equal or greater opposite force must be exerted to stop a moving object.
It’s the ‘equal or greater’ aspect that makes weight an issue. Cars are heavy objects, to begin with, and the heavier they are, the more force you need to stop them completely. This means that lighter cars can stop more quickly and maneuver more easily.
Improved Strength
The strength of carbon fiber might be its most impressive property. Carbon fiber threads are tiny by themselves, smaller than human hair. When you take small materials and weave them tightly together, the result is a dense product.
Carbon fiber is also chemically bonded at the atomic level, so the strings of carbon are already dense before the weaving even begins. Altogether, this makes carbon fiber stronger and denser than steel. This allows it to absorb impact better, which makes it safer than steel as well.
Carbon Fiber and High-Performance Sports Cars
Carbon fiber has long been a favored material for high-performance sports cars, and it’s not hard to see why. From speed to handling, and even safety, carbon fiber outperforms most other materials in almost every way.
You can learn more about carbon fiber and other composite materials by reading our blog. You can also contact us at SMI Composites if you have any questions or concerns.