Flow Formed Wheels & Rims

Cast aluminum wheels are strong and light, and a significant upgrade from steel wheels. You can often enjoy a performance benefit from a cast wheel’s lighter weight if the wheels are close to OE diameter. However, when you upsize in diameter and fit bigger wheels, you may end up with wheels that are heavier than what you had before and suffer reduced performance. Forged rims, the strongest and lightest aluminum alloy wheels, can be the answer but their price is out of reach of many car buffs. Flow form wheels are the affordable performance solution.

The flow forming process strengthens and lightens a cast wheel in the most critical area for weight – the outer perimeter, known as the “barrel”, creating a custom wheel that is strong and light, at a reasonable price. And as is evident from the many exquisite designs on the page before you, flow form wheels combine their performance advantages with exceptional style. Even if high strength, less weight and better performance weren’t your highest wheel choice priorities, you’d want a set of our flow form rims on your ride just for the appearance boost.

Forged wheels begin as solid chunks of premium aluminum billet, which is heated and forced into shape using extreme pressure, and then finish machined to its final form. Forging compresses the metal so it is very dense, forming a wheel that is exceptionally stiff and strong, but also very light. The forging process involves a lot of expensive tooling and specialized equipment, and forged rims are priced accordingly. Flowform wheels are less costly because instead of starting from scratch with raw aluminum, this technology begins with a special low-pressure aluminum casting. The wheel is heated and spun while rollers apply great pressure to the barrel, mechanically elongating the barrel to the desired width, while at the same time changing the mechanical properties and grain structure of the cast rim, increasing strength and stiffness, and reducing weight.

Lighter wheels reduce unsprung weight, making your suspension’s job easier. The springs and shocks have an easier time keeping the tires in contact with the road, so you get the traction you need for acceleration, braking, cornering, and general road holding. The beauty of flow forming is that when the wheel is manufactured, weight is removed from the area of the rim that is most crucial for performance, the barrel. A cast wheel has a heavier barrel than the same size flow form wheel, and a larger diameter cast wheel will have an even heavier barrel. The heavier barrel has a great deal of inertia when it spins, which can negatively affect steering and braking. A flow form wheel, with its lightweight barrel, will reduce unsprung weight and rotational inertia, for more responsive steering and faster braking and acceleration.

As you can see, if performance is important to you but you don’t have unlimited funds, flow form wheels are the way to go. This is true if you just want lighter, stronger, and of course, better looking rims than your car’s OE equipment, but it especially applies if you want to upgrade your car’s appearance and performance with larger diameter aftermarket wheels. Because of the way flow form rims are formed, you’ll get strength, stiffness, and durability, without a weight penalty, so you can get big wheel looks with handling improvements, including those that can be realized with low-profile, performance tires. Our flow form rims come in a range of diameters from 15” to 26”, and in a selection of bolt patterns, widths, offsets, and backspacing. And if you’re unsure which flow form wheel dimensions will enable you to get the performance and look you want for your vehicle, our wheel and tire specialists are just a phone call away.

Of course, no matter how much wheels boost your car’s performance or how well they fit, you’re not going to consider them unless they complement your car’s appearance. Our flow form wheels deliver in all areas: performance, fitment, and as you can see from our extensive selection, incomparable wheel design. We offer a large assortment of spoke shapes and patterns, wheel face and lip configurations, and degrees of concavity, in a wide range of finish treatments. From traditional chrome, polished and brushed, to ever popular black and many other colors, you’ll find them right here, many with special effects including complementary and contrasting color accents, machined spoke faces and milled accents, simulated bolts, and much more. Or choose custom painted wheels for a unique and distinctive appearance.