Forged vs. Flow Formed Wheels

[D-O]

I know that a forged wheel is going to be both lighter and stronger, but is it really money well spent over something like the Apex flow formed wheels?

[Feffman]

D-O

Flow formed are good but if you are racing and/or tracking a lot, spend the extra for the forged. My lugs snapped at Mid-Ohio a few years ago and the forged Bimmerworld TE;AL wheel bent but did not break.

Feff

[Tbonem3]

But I've seen some forged wheels crack recently, the made in china forged wheels . If you want forged, get japanese imo.

I think flow formed is the sweet spot. Even if a wheel does bend/break, they're cheap enough to replace easily. Forged is barely lighter than flow formed, sometimes not even lighter at all.

[lcrain]

I have been racing on the bimmerworld flow formed wheels for ~5 years and have had to replace 2 of them due to excessive damage. That is hard racing, banging curbs, going off road from time to time, one broke because I got whacked into by a newer racer (in a practice session no less). They are a consumable item for me and the flow formed wheels are quite a bit cheaper than forged so I will stick with them. I also run an 18x11+25 so until very recently there have not been forged options available in that size (now Apex makes some).

[bigjae46]

I think a forged wheel makes sense for the street for most of us. It will see more potholes and bumps in that setting. If for no other reason, should resist increasing run out which will degrade ride quality.

On the track, I've considered a forged wheel. They come out about 2-3 lbs lighter per wheel To most, $100 per lb in savings isn't worth it. I'm well into that realm of being willing to spend $150-$200 to lose a lb because I don't have many other options.

[D-O]

I think a forged wheel makes sense for the street for most of us. It will see more potholes and bumps in that setting. If for no other reason, should resist increasing run out which will degrade ride quality.

On the track, I've considered a forged wheel. They come out about 2-3 lbs lighter per wheel To most, $100 per lb in savings isn't worth it. I'm well into that realm of being willing to spend $150-$200 to lose a lb because I don't have many other options.

Agreed Jae. My RAC street wheels are forged. Light (for 19's), strong, and great looking (IMO). You have considered a forged wheel, as in you are currently not using them?

My first thought was go with forged - I was thinking along the same lines as Feff. Of course, when I began to consider that I will likely do something like four or five track outings per year, I started to wonder if it would really be money well spent.

Icrain's experience with flow formed is helpful - good to know that they will hold up fairly well.

I am looking at Apex ARC8 and EC7.

EC7 forged (ARC8 forged on BO) is essentially twice the price of ARC8 flow formed (EC7 flow formed on BO). The forged wheel will support 1600 lbs vs. 1550 for flow formed. The forged wheel is only 0.4 lbs lighter per wheel (to Tyler's point). Unless there is a real safety issue involved, the forged wheels, at least from Apex, don't seem worth it.