"Would you buy forged wheels for your car?"

That's all the factory offers for my car and I would not use anything else anyway.

However, for basic transportation is it overkill. Even police cars use steel wheels. So it depends on the application.

I agree, physical properties differences would be the only improvement......but why?

Spin formed/forged aluminum wheels are superior to cast product in terms of strength, ductility and avoidance of porosity. This is due to avoidance of surface flow imperfections and internal grain structure and alignment. The nature of the alloy(s) used in forging also presents a more ductile failure mode (and generally higher tensile strength) than a typical casting in case of impact ... so you get a dent rather than a fracture when you hit that big pothole in the road. The functional advantage of aluminum (and moreso magnesium at 1/3 less weight than aluminum) over steel is less unsprung mass. Less unsprung mass improves steering and handling response (with some improvement in braking and a slight gain in fuel economy) due to lower moment of inertia.

I would choose (spin) forged over cast aluminum wheel product. In either case there should be radiographic evidence of good product at the supplier to allay any concerns about product quality. The value proposition always points to steel if performance and looks is not a factor.

Many years ago a leading German car magazine tested light alloy wheels for weight savings over standard steel wheels. They compared the same size wheels/tyres.

Only 2 makes actually saved weight, BMW & Merc, all the rest were actually heavier...

If you then take into account the fact that most light alloy wheels are bought also wider that the steels they replace........!!!

They just look nicer......

As an engineer I object to the anecdotal data summary from the magazine. Engineering analysis of vehicle dynamics/unsprung mass would argue otherwise... but only if design is optimized to take advantage of the opportunity for weight reduction. You can overdesign any solution especially if the overdesign of typical sections (hence added weight) is a result of concern with consistent properties of product as manufactured (cast vs forged).

As a consumer I suspect the overview from Mr. Germany is valid unless handling performance and response is an important factor.

Drop/spin-forged magnesium wheels would make a difference (on the order of 1/3 the weight of steel wheels) ... ask the guys on the Formula 1 circuit.

i have no vanity, the wheels are there to eep the chassis from rubbing along the road, and to give the gearbox somthing to turn, so pressed steel wheel will do for me.

it depends on what your going to use car for, going to and bac from wor anything round would do.

racing and putting high torque and sideways thrust when cornering then you need maximu strengh.