Pretty much true, that's just about spot on, although the base element does majorly determine the properties, subject to modification by alloying elements.
However there is a range of quantitative properties that can be obtained for many various Al alloys and various Mg alloys. In general terms the range of Al alloys, particularly ones usually considered for wheels, density is obviously always higher, but you will also find that the range of most properties for magnesium sits lower than the range of properties for aluminium. (thermal conductivity being the key one people are talking about here; also bulk, tensile, compressional and yield strengths, fracture toughness and Young's modulus). So although yes definitely you can vary the properties significantly with various addition levels of different alloying elements, the base metal used still sits in a particular range for most properties.
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