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54-455: Fondmetal S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of alloy wheels , founded in 1972 by Gabriele Rumi. A Formula One constructor of the same name, also owned by Rumi, competed in the 1991 and 1992 seasons, scoring no championship points. The company also sponsored, and supplied wheels to, numerous other constructors from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. In 2014 the Fondmetal brand expanded to

108-453: A Grand Prix but it was announced to be used in a 1990 Le Mans car called Norma M6 . The car was presented and attempted to race, but failed to qualify over engine issues. Finally, AGS had to use Cosworth engines again in 1990 . That year brought no improvement at all, Dalmas's 9th in the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix was the best result and by the beginning of the 1991 season the team was obviously close to its end. The team lacked money – at

162-412: A demand for the manufacturing of parts for the automobile industry. In Palosco they made induction manifolds, water conduits, clutch bellhousing, oil pumps, cylinder heads and engine blocks for clients such as Maserati Biturbo, Fiat, Iveco, OM and Magneti Marelli. For Rumi this was not enough. He found himself too reliant on his customers in a sensitive time period following the oil crisis. This led him to

216-606: A disaster. AGS had a solid sponsor - the French Bouygues group - which promised to support not only the racing activity but also the completion of a new factory outside Gonfaron. After AGS had started work on the new facility, Bouygues withdrew from the team, leaving Julien without any support. To save the team, he eventually had to sell it to Cyril de Rouvre , a French entrepreneur with various ambitions. Things went soon from bad to worse. The new team management changed frequently (Vanderpleyn for instance went to Coloni ) and brought

270-523: A half years on his own. He initially persevered with Osella's driver, Olivier Grouillard , until he tired of the Frenchman's reckless side and attitude problem, replacing him with Gabriele Tarquini . The new team was no more successful than in the Osella days, sometimes the results being even worse than those of its fellow back row contenders Coloni or AGS . For the 1991 Formula One season, Osella Squadra Corse

324-454: A handful of race participations were possible, but results were poor, although Grouillard did qualify 10th for the 1991 Mexican Grand Prix , ahead of Andrea de Cesaris in the Jordan, who eventually finished 4th. In the end, Grouillard was replaced by former AGS man Gabriele Tarquini who finished twice (from three attempts), although he also failed to pre-qualify once; but no points were scored in

378-453: A lot of disorder. Worse was to come; Streiff was paralysed in a testing accident in Brazil before the 1989 season. Streiff was replaced with Gabriele Tarquini , who surprised with some great performances in the first half of the season. He was very close to the points in both the 1989 Monaco Grand Prix and 1989 United States Grand Prix , but retired in both races. Then things went better in

432-518: A modular wheel are held with bolts. BBS RS is one of the most famous three-piece modular forged wheels. A sizable selection of alloy wheels are available to automobile owners who want lighter, more visually appealing, rarer, and/or larger wheels on their cars, going from 14 and 15-inch standard wheels up to 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30-inch wheel sizes. With the larger alloy wheels came Tru-Spinner Wheels and spinner wheel add-on spinners that would free-spin and continue to free-spin after

486-574: A more expensive trim package . However, alloy wheels have become considerably more common since 2000 , now being offered on economy and subcompact cars, compared to a decade earlier where alloy wheels were often not factory options on inexpensive vehicles. Alloy wheels have long been included as standard equipment on higher-priced luxury or sports cars, with larger-sized or "exclusive" alloy wheels being options. The high cost of alloy wheels makes them attractive to thieves; to counter this, automakers and dealers often use locking lug nuts or bolts which require

540-495: A more open wheel design can help dissipate heat from the brakes , which improves braking performance in more demanding driving conditions and reduces the chance of diminished brake performance or even failure due to overheating. Alloy wheels are also purchased for cosmetic purposes although the cheaper alloys used are usually not corrosion -resistant. Alloys allow the use of attractive bare-metal finishes, but these need to be sealed with paint or wheel covers . Even if so protected

594-456: A pay-driver in order to get through the 1992 Portuguese Grand Prix , but decided instead to close his team. During 1992 Sergio Rinland and his Astauto team started to work on a 1993 F1 car in the hope that Fondmetal would carry on. That was not the case, since the contract was cancelled by Fondmetal in September 1992, well before the end of the season due to lack of funds. The design of that car

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648-504: A selection of differently sized alloy wheels from 16 to 19 in (41 to 48 cm) all outfitted with the same make and model of tires showed that both acceleration and fuel economy suffered with larger wheels. They also noted that ride comfort and noise were negatively affected by the larger wheels. Magnesium alloy wheels were the first die-cast wheels produced, and were often referred to as simply "mag wheels". Magnesium wheels were originally used for racing, but their popularity during

702-447: A special key to remove. Most alloy wheels are manufactured using casting , but some are forged . Forged wheels are usually lighter, stronger, but much more expensive than cast wheels. There are two types of forged wheels: one piece and modular. Modular forged wheels may feature two- or three-piece design. Typical multi-piece wheels consist of the inner rim base, outer rim lip and wheel center piece with openings for lug nuts. All parts of

756-522: A wheel manufacturer. ( key ) Alloy wheel In the automotive industry , alloy wheels are wheels that are made from an alloy of aluminium or magnesium . Alloys are mixtures of a metal and other elements. They generally provide greater strength over pure metals, which are usually much softer and more ductile. Alloys of aluminium or magnesium are typically lighter for the same strength, provide better heat conduction , and often produce improved cosmetic appearance over steel wheels. Although steel,

810-404: Is further transformed into a wheel, in cases of one-piece forged wheels, or into a wheel part in cases of multi-piece wheels. This process uses a die arranged in a large machine that has high closing force to clamp the die closed. The molten magnesium is poured into a filler tube called a shot sleeve. A piston pushes the metal into the die with high speed and pressure, the magnesium solidifies, and

864-409: Is hard to ignite but pure magnesium wheels can be ignited by a burning tire or by prolonged scraping of the wheel on the road surface following a puncture. Alloys of magnesium were later developed to alleviate most of these problems. In fact, US Federal Aviation Administration has conducted wide-ranging tests over the past decade, and has reached a conclusion that potential flammability of magnesium

918-473: Is no longer deemed to be a concern. Modern surface treatment technologies provide protection from corrosion and significantly extend the average lifecycle of magnesium rims. Forging can be done by a one or multistep process forging from various magnesium alloys, most commonly AZ80, ZK60 (MA14 in Russia). Wheels produced by this method are usually of higher toughness and ductility than aluminium wheels, although

972-504: The 1989 Mexican Grand Prix , where he finished sixth and scored his first point. But after these highlights, the team was never able to be as competitive again. In the second part of the 1989 season, the team had to prequalify - a task that was nearly never achieved by Gabriele Tarquini and Yannick Dalmas . AGS then finished 15th in the Constructors' Championship, equal with the Lolas used by

1026-454: The Belgian mechanic Christian Vanderpleyn , who had been with the garage (and the racing team) since the very late 1950s and who would stay on until 1988. Soon, AGS went progressed and manufactured its own Formula 3 cars, which were ambitious but not good enough to compete seriously with the state-of-art Martinis which dominated the series at the time. AGS took another step ahead in 1978 when

1080-607: The Italian Grand Prix in Monza , its first Formula One race. Its structure was somewhat bizarre: The team had no more than 7 employees and was still operated from the Garage de l'Avenir in Gonfaron. AGS appeared with a car that was once again penned by Vanderpleyn. The JH21C was a strange mixture between former AGS F3000 vehicles and Renault F1 parts which were used extensively. The car

1134-443: The Italian Grand Prix in September 1992, the team withdrew from the championship for financial reasons, having scored a pair of 10th places, although Tarquini managed to qualify for all thirteen races in which the team participated in 1992 and Chiesa (in ten attempts) and van de Poele (in only three) qualified three times each. The team's mounting debt coincided with a global recession . Rumi contemplated racing Giuseppe Bugatti as

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1188-545: The Larrousse team. During the summer months, there were strong rumours that AGS would soon use a new W12 engine developed by the French designer Guy Nègre . This strange MGN ( Moteurs Guy Nègre ) machine saw the light of day in late 1988 and was tested in an old AGS JH22 chassis in the summer of 1989. It was clear that AGS was not related to these tests; they were completely private attempts by Nègre. The engine never found its way to

1242-546: The 1960s led to the development of other die-cast wheels, particularly of aluminium alloys. The term "mag wheels" became synonymous with die-cast wheels made from any material, from modern aluminium alloy wheels to plastic and composite wheels used on items like bicycles , wheelchairs , and skateboards . However, pure magnesium wheels are no longer produced, being found only on classic cars. Pure magnesium suffers from many problems. Vintage magnesium rims were very susceptible to pitting , cracking and corrosion. Magnesium in bulk

1296-523: The 1992 Fondmetal. Its drivers found it an improvement over the GRß1, but it had disappointing race results, with minor problems often stopping the cars after they qualified well. The team was poorly funded so tests were few and development was slow. Finishes were rare. Tarquini often qualified his car relatively high in the order, and at the Belgian Grand Prix put in Fondmetal's best qualifying performance of

1350-567: The Swiss debutant Andrea Chiesa . Tarquini showed speed, but the car broke down frequently. In late spring Rinland's new chassis was ready to race. The GR02 had nothing in common with former years' Osellas and Fondmetals. The roots of its design dated back to late 1991 when he was working for the Brabham team on the Brabham BT61 that never saw the light of day. Elements of its design were carried over to

1404-625: The United States and became known as Fondmetal USA. All wheels continue to be made in Italy and are TUV approved. In 1961, Gabriele Rumi took over the iron foundry business that had been established by his grandfather in Brescia . A motor racing enthusiast, the business allowed him to compete in hillclimbs and in the Formula Monza category during the 1960s. Rumi had a passion for cars and racing and saw

1458-573: The alloy wheel itself came to rest. American inventor James JD Gragg of International and American Tru-Spinners were the original ones and were leaders in the industry. Another function of Tru-Spinners was they could also spin backward as the alloy wheel was rolling forward. Although replacing standard steel wheel and tire combinations with lighter alloy wheels and potentially lower profile tires can result in increased performance and handling, this doesn't necessarily hold when increasingly large wheels are employed. Research by Car and Driver conducted using

1512-430: The aluminium wheel took the place of magnesium as low cost, high-performance wheels for motorsports . Lighter wheels can improve handling by reducing unsprung mass , allowing suspension to follow the terrain more closely and thus improve grip, however not all alloy wheels are lighter than their steel equivalents. Reduction in overall vehicle mass can also help to reduce fuel consumption . Better heat conduction and

1566-521: The cheapest of any process. This has allowed small batch production, flexibility in design and short development time. Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives AGS survived as a prosperous Formula One driving school, in Le Luc , near Gonfaron . The team was founded by the French mechanic , Henri Julien , who ran a filling station , the "Garage de l'Avenir", in Gonfaron , a provincial French village. In

1620-402: The costs are much higher. Forging is a complicated process that involves such processes, as heating, rolling, applying high pressure, hammering and/or combination of these. As a result, the crystal structure of the alloy changes, and as a result the material becomes stronger and more lightweight. There are one- two- and three-piece forged wheels. Every piece is originally an alloy billet, which

1674-475: The courageous decision of launching his own product line in 1972. The choice of product was alloy wheels, due to his involvement and passion for the automobile industry. From there the Fondmetal brand grew, and was established as a leader in forged and cost wheel design, engineering and manufacturing in Italy. Fondmetal first appeared in Formula One in 1983 as a sponsor for Italian driver Piercarlo Ghinzani . In

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1728-558: The die and pressurized air/cover gas mix is used to force the molten metal up a straw-like filler tube into the die. When processed using best practice methods, low pressure die casting wheels can offer improvements in ductility over magnesium wheels and any cast aluminium wheels, they remain less ductile than forged magnesium. Gravity-cast magnesium wheels have been in production since the early 1920s and provide good ductility, and relative properties above what can be made with aluminium casting. Tooling costs for gravity-cast wheels are among

1782-400: The die is opened, and the wheel is released. Wheels produced by this method can offer reductions in price and improvements in corrosion resistance, but they are less ductile and of lower strength due to the nature of high pressure die casting. This process usually employs a steel die, it is arranged above the crucible filled with molten magnesium. Most commonly, the crucible is sealed against

1836-525: The end. At the end of 1991, the British subsidiary Fomet was sold. Its designers had been working on a new Formula One car since the previous summer. Tino Belli sold the designs of the new car to the Larrousse Formula One team which left Fondmetal without a new car for the next season. In late December 1991 Gabriele Rumi commissioned Sergio Rinland from Astauto to design a new car. It was not ready for

1890-425: The first two Grands Prix of 1991, in Brazil and Phoenix the team's mechanics had to pay for their own hotel rooms. In the race itself, Tarquini finished 8th, which was the last finish ever of an AGS car. De Rouvre sold his team to some Italian entrepreneurs, Patrizio Cantù and Gabriele Rafanelli. Both changed little except for the driver line-up ( Stefan Johansson was replaced with newcomer Fabrizio Barbazza ) and

1944-608: The following race in Portugal did Capelli see the finish. For the team's first full F1 season in 1987 , Vanderpleyn penned the JH22 , which used a normally-aspirated Cosworth DFZ but was otherwise much the same as the JH21C. The car was initially driven by Pascal Fabre , who had driven for the team in Formula 2 in 1982. He proved to be a reliable driver, finishing eight of the first nine races, but

1998-464: The late 1950s and early 1960s, Julien regularly attended racing events in minor classes. Although not an outstanding driver, the technical knowledge he gained eventually prompted him to start constructing racing cars. Julien's first car, the AGS JH1, saw the light of day in 1969. It was a small single-seater , intended for the category of "Formule France". The car was designed by Julien's former apprentice,

2052-490: The manufacture of safer wheels that were not as brittle. Until this time, most aluminium wheels suffered from low ductility , usually ranging from 2–3% elongation. Because light-alloy wheels at the time were often made of magnesium (often referred to as "mags"), these early wheel failures were later attributed to magnesium's low ductility, when in many instances these wheels were poorly cast aluminium alloy wheels. Once these aluminium casting improvements were more widely adopted,

2106-536: The mid-1980s, the company supplied wheels to Williams , Tyrrell and Ligier , while continuing to sponsor Ghinzani and, later, the Osella team. In 1989, Fondmetal became Osella's major sponsor, and by 1990 Rumi had become the team's majority shareholder. At the end of that year, he decided to take over the whole operation. Rumi transferred the team from Volpiano near Turin to his headquarters in Bergamo and ran it for one and

2160-416: The most common material used in wheel production, is an alloy of iron and carbon , the term "alloy wheel" is usually reserved for wheels made from nonferrous alloys. The earliest light-alloy wheels were made of magnesium alloys. Although they lost favor on common vehicles, they remained popular through the 1960s, albeit in very limited numbers. In the mid-to-late 1960s, aluminium-casting refinements allowed

2214-593: The others), and eventually the team was able to score points regularly. Soon some victories came, too. AGS made history when works driver Philippe Streiff won the final race of Formula 2 in 1984, using an AGS JH19C. In 1985, AGS switched to Formula 3000 with the JH20, based on the Duqueine VG4 Formula 3 chassis. The JH20 used a Cosworth DFV engine supplied through the Swiss tuning firm Mader. Results were mediocre in 1985 and 1986. By late summer 1986 , AGS entered

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2268-682: The previous years' Tyrrell , even Pedro Chaves in his Coloni was ahead of the Fondmetal car. In that hostile atmosphere, pre-qualification turned out to be impossible. But Rumi had high hopes for the European season. By the San Marino Grand Prix, a new car appeared, called the Fomet-1. It was conceived by a newly founded think-tank in the UK called Fomet. The Bicester-based design office was headed by Tino Belli and founded by Rumi who thought that British input

2322-474: The season equal on points with the better-financed Ligier and the returning March team. In 1988 , AGS started with a new car, the JH23 , and Philippe Streiff as the team's only driver. Streiff drove quite powerfully and qualified well, but he saw the chequered flag only four times; in all the other events of that year technical failures or accidents were recorded. Financially, the year started well and ended with

2376-630: The season to qualify 11th. Chiesa often failed to qualify, and was replaced by Eric van de Poele for the Hungarian Grand Prix . While van de Poele proved competitive, he spun off on the third lap in Hungary, losing the Italian team's last good chance of a points finish. Tarquini had already collided with Herbert's Lotus and with the Ligiers of Boutsen and Comas in the first lap. Only two races later after

2430-525: The start of the season, so the team used the previous year's car for the first few races. The car received a Ford HB V8 engine (from the previous year's Benetton ) to replace the Lamborghini V12 or the Judd V10 that Rumi had preferred. The engine and the chassis did not go together well. There were some cooling troubles, and reliability was poor. The team appeared with two drivers, Tarquini, the other one being

2484-513: The team started competing in the European Formula 2 Championship. Still, the car - by now the AGS JH15 - was self-penned (by Vanderpleyn), self-built and self-run. Formula 2 was a difficult task for the small team, racing 1978 and 1979 without scoring any championship points. The early 1980s were somewhat better. AGS was one of the few teams who ran its own cars (Maurer, Minardi and Merzario were

2538-404: The tires to leak air if appropriate preventive measures are not taken. Also, alloy wheels are more difficult to repair than steel wheels when bent, but their higher price usually makes repairs cheaper than replacement. Alloy wheels are more expensive to produce than standard steel wheels, and thus are often not included as standard equipment, instead being marketed as optional add-ons or as part of

2592-456: The wheels in use will eventually start to corrode after 3 to 5 years but refurbishment is now widely available at a cost. The manufacturing processes also allow intricate, bold designs. In contrast, steel wheels are usually pressed from sheet metal , and then welded together (often leaving unsightly bumps) and must be painted to avoid corrosion and/or hidden with wheel covers/hub caps. Alloy wheels are prone to galvanic corrosion , which can cause

2646-515: Was finished in early 1993. A year later, Rinland sold that design to Guido Forti who started running a Formula One team called Forti by 1995. The team's FG01 chassis still had several similarities to the, by then three year-old, 1992 Fondmetal GR02. Rumi would return to Formula One in a more modest capacity in 1994, with Fondmetal as a technical partner and sponsor of Tyrrell , and for 1996 Minardi . Fondmetal's wind tunnel in Northern Italy

2700-458: Was gone; the team re-appeared as Fondmetal Corse. Initially, Fondmetal entered the FA1M-E car which was a mere carry-over from the previous year (and, in fact, from 1989 as Osella had not been able to construct a new car in 1990). Driven by Olivier Grouillard, the blue and grey coloured machine was uncompetitive by any means. Although Fondmetal was able to use Cosworth engines prepared by Brian Hart for

2754-572: Was leased to Tyrrell , Minardi and other teams. Rumi would gradually increase his interest in the Faenza outfit, becoming co-owner and chairman, even going as far as rebadging the Ford Zetec-R engines in 2000. However, Rumi was diagnosed with cancer, and was forced to withdraw his backing later that year when the team was sold to Paul Stoddart . Rumi eventually died in May 2001. Fondmetal is still in operation as

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2808-458: Was necessary for gaining success. The Fomet-1 featured new aerodynamics, a new suspension and some other improvements, but apart from this, the new car obviously preserved its Osella roots. Finally, things improved a little, but not significantly. With the new car, Grouillard managed to be faster than the Coloni machine, but that does not mean that Fondmetal was able to pass pre-qualifying regularly. Only

2862-475: Was never in serious contention for scoring points and failed to qualify on three occasions. AGS improved in the last two races of the season when Fabre was replaced by the Brazilian Roberto Moreno (who saw his first chance in Formula One since 1982 when he had failed to qualify a Lotus works car). In Adelaide , Moreno scored the first championship point for AGS, which meant that the team finished

2916-432: Was powered by a well-used Motori Moderni turbo engine (the only time these Carlo Chiti -developed engines were given to a customer team) and driven by Italian Ivan Capelli . A few weeks before, the car had been tested at Paul Ricard by Didier Pironi , driving an F1 car for the first time since his leg-breaking accident in the 1982 German Grand Prix . Due to technical difficulties, neither in its first attempt nor in

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