It is an open question on purpose. I'd like to hear some thoughts, and hopefully competing ones, with reasons.

Obviously, the price difference is huge. But what else?

I'm not sure what there is to discuss. If your budget allows, go forged. They are lighter and more durable. If your budget is tighter, flow formed is a great middle ground.
I suppose on paper, flow formed is more susceptible to damage but that's more dependent on how hard you hit the curbing. Plenty of people have great success with flow formed.

Well
It all depends on the company.
Apex Wheels is what we all use because are race proven.
Apex wheels Flow formed are sturdy.
If there is a scale from
0 to 10. And 10 is fully forged. Theur Flow formed is 8.
Is about 3-4 lbs heavier than fully forged. So 12-16lbs of rotation mass is a key factor also why they cost more.
Many of us ran Flow formed for years. Time trials and w2w. No issue.
One note. Treat a wheel as a consumable.
They can bend because sxxt happen to anyone lol

Junkyard Dog said:

It is an open question on purpose. I'd like to hear some thoughts, and hopefully competing ones, with reasons.

Obviously, the price difference is huge. But what else?

Click to expand...

The tradeoffs aren't totally obvious between the various wheel types. As @Ewheels said, forged are stronger than cast or "flow-formed". Think of the difference this way - I've seen a forged wheel that hit something hard in an off-pavement incident where the outer edge of the rim was folded back almost to the center of the wheel where the lug nuts were. It was massively bent, but it didn't break. A cast rim would very likely have shattered under that kind of impact.

Now, about weight. You can, because of the increased strength, run a lighter forged rim than a cast rim. It's just that the lighter a rim is, the more it flexes under lateral g loads. And flex, which is stress over strain, is a function of the metal, not the manufacturing method. A forged rim shaped the same as a cast rim will bend the same amount. Being stronger doesn't make it stiffer.

Though I have owned a bunch of Flow Formed Apex wheels and had super luck with them a change in the last few years has caused me to primarily recommend their " Forged Wheels." The Flow Formed wheels used to be knurled on the outside edge of the interior barrel so that the tires might not rotate under torque stress and track caused G's. I never got a real answer, as I could not believe knurling said edge was that expensive , but since the Forged versions are still knurled I would go that route. I have rotated tires on my wheels , especially with slicks and Hoosiers, and it would not surprise me to also do the same with some of the sticky 200 TWR rubber, so with their fair pricing on Forged spend the money. Heck, half the time if you wait they will have a solid sale and the trick I have found is often there can be differences in pricing if they have an abundance of one or two colors. The last Forged Wheels I purchased I really wanted a set in the bronze color , but since the platinum were offered at 400 bucks less per set I decided quite rapidly I really liked that color better ,ha. They want to sell their new designs and their hot colors, but when everything is on " Sale " my value is based on track use and I often figure a savings like 400 dineros is almost the price of one gumball tire and bingo I have a new color I love ---- fickled aren't I,ha!?

Forging is a better process for a race wheel but I’m sure there are less well designed forged wheels which are inferior to the flow formed wheels.

Unfortunately even as an engineer you might not know which are truly better without taking your own data- so the answer is, unfortunately, “it depends”.

It’s often said that forged wheels are lighter and stronger, but I think more accurately they are lighter OR stronger. Check out the Apex specs carefully, plus their Enduro line of forged wheels.

Billy Johnson wrote an interesting article a while back about the significant flex of wheels under normal track use. I didn’t realize that was a thing, and carbon fiber wheels aren’t in my track budget, but it got me thinking about stronger as opposed to lighter wheels.

stevbd said:

Check out the Apex specs carefully, plus their Enduro line of forged wheels.

Click to expand...

Which specs should I be carefully analyzing, and by what standard? <---- I am not really sure that the specs would mean much to me. Can you educate me a little?

I was referring to the load ratings and weights for flow formed vs forged vs forged “enduro line” for the same model and size of wheel. Apex is good about publishing that info for each wheel.