Quote:
Originally Posted by CHATMAN
This looks sweet! I do hope the TSW's hold over the long haul. Since the X3 will be my wife car, I think I need to look at a forged setup...
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I had the same wheel on our SL500 (silver w/mirror face version); the fit was on point and they held up very well. I feel like its a good solid wheel for everyday use. The cool thing about the Mercedes is that the wheels accepted the factory centercaps... People loved them. Everyone just thought that they were another AMG wheel!
The TSWs are rotary forged, stronger than cast, light weight and has the ability to flex. The rotary forged or (flow forged) process stretches and compresses the aluminum in the barrel area of the wheel and in the process, the structure of the alloy is realigned in a way that enhances its tensile strength and stiffness, giving it similar properties to a forged wheel in the barrel area. This process also increases elongation, or the amount that a wheel is able to flex before arriving at a breaking point. This happens to be an important safety feature to consider if you're smashing curbs at a racetrack or pounding potholes on the highway....
The ADV1s that were on my X5M were machined out of a solid block of aluminum. Cool wheels, but stupid expensive....
I will reserve them (or perhaps a set of HREs for my next full on M-car or Porsche)
