haha...
exactly!

Originally posted by Andy@Ross-Tech.com
You guys are arguing about the dumbest things. What really matters in terms of wheel weight is how quickly they can stop when you drive into the back of a speeding semi trailer:

http://www.sfxb.co.uk/80sfgfx/knightjuggernaut.jpg
Well, we'll have to watch and see what they use in the re-make of the italian job when they drive the three mini's into the back of the bus :D

Originally posted by BrantV
Well in some cases, astonishing things really do happen. In the case of forged vs. cast with aluminium and many other metals, lighter forged parts are in many cases actually stronger than cast parts...


Yeah, sure, and if you combine one part of that with about 19 parts of titanium it's stronger still ;) but you're talking about two completely different things. The point was not whether forged wheels have higher strength to weight, but whether a wheel made with more aluminum would be stronger than one made with less, all things being equal. That point holds no matter what process you're talking about. Geez.

Geez indeed.

You stated:

And, of course, a light tire and 15lb wheel that have just crumpled in a bad pothole in DC or some other real-world city probably won't accelerate or corner very well at all...

To which Brian replied


Ah, and that 25lb wheel will crumple just as easily as the 15lb wheel. A big piece of swiss cheese is no stronger than the small piece.

Perhaps it was a bad assumption on his part to assume the 15lb wheel was forged. It is commonly accepted that heavy aluminum wheels are typically cast. Anything that would be destined for a small car like the MINI anyways.

It was possibly a bad assumption on my part that the 15lb wheel was also forged. After reading his posts I can't imagine him using anything else. And by swiss cheese he's referring to the cast aluminium. An accurate analogy that has been used several times. Yet this time he forgot to label the small piece of cheese as solid cheese. Sure you can probably find dealers willing to sell you cheap cast parts in that weight. After all aluminium is recyclable. :)

A 25lb wheel in the context of small cars is almost guaranteed to be cast. If it is forged, then it's over-engineered.

A 15lb wheel should be forged. Unfortunately there are some exceptions which become expensive lessons.

So yes, a 15lb wheel can be as strong or stronger than a 25lb wheel.

Cheers,
Brant

Not meaning to add to the confusion, but I have always asumed that a 15 wheel would be both lighter and stronger than it's 17 twin, and with more rubber to go, you would have a package that is both lighter and can take more of a beating??