Hi,
A quick explanation of types of wheels and how they are built:
1. Cast Wheels. These wheels are typically 356.2 AL wheels. Made by any of the following methods: Gravity / Tilt / Low Pressure / Counter Pressure (square). Porosity listed from highest to lowest in this case.
2. Flow Form. Imagine a potters wheel making a vase from a disk. This is the concept here. The disk at the bottom is the face of the wheel. This disk is normally either Gravity or Low Pressure. The barrel is then flowed out of this. This enables you to have a thinner barrel as it is less porous. This is where you have a weight savings. Some bigger wheels today will flow both sides if there is a huge lip. Porosity on Forged is better than 1 or 2.
3. Forged. This is done out of 6061AL typically and is cnc'd out of a 8,10 or 12K ton forged Disk/Barrel. Some even will forge stamp the design if the quantity is enough. The Better or more Pure AL polishes out better and of course cost more $.
4. Flow Forged. Same basic concept as #2, but the disk is Forged. This gives you an even better barrel than #3.
This is kinda a brief overview. There are other things that go into making a wheel. I have always said you can have a good craftsman doing a gravity cast wheel and a monkey making the low pressure one, and the low pressure one is not as good as the gravity one. Each item above,1-4, also has design advantages and disadvantages.
Most OEM use Low Pressure as the number of units obtained from the core molds is the most cost effective.
We were looking at our full lineup being LP Cast or Flow formed. Honestly Flow Formed on our trucks may be a reach, as its not like the giant 33-37 inch tires are light weight. I also can do Forged on any of our wheel and true bead lock for those that want that added strength/look.
I hope this helps, and am here for those that want to ask questions or of course have comments. Thanks as always in advance for reading and comments.