Off with the ring! -- Trim Ring Poll

[cyberprius]

Unfortunately for me (and you people, since I have too much time on my hands...), I did a number on my shoulder while trying to ride my bike over a cliff so I have been doing lots of "resting."

That rest includes poking about and finding lots of good Prius information, including Darrell's site with various Prius modifications. One thing he had intrigued me and that was a pix of the Prius wheel without the chintzy plastic ring. It's beautiful naked

Prius Wheel Trim

I've searched PriusChat and found lots of back and forth, but no formal poll...so, what about it? Off with the ring, or "if it's good enough for Toyota, it's good enough for me."

[donee]

Hi Cyberprius,

I say why have naked rings, rather than naked wheels. When one can wrap the rings in shiny aluminum flashing!

[Pinan]

My fugly rings are long gone, and my neighbor ripped his off as soon as he saw mine sans rings.

I doubt that there is any perceptible MPG loss due to there removal.

[mitch672]

donee,

have you found any improvement in MPG with that foil wrap, versus rings only? could reduce turbulence around the wheels, I suppose.

mitch

[seasalsa]

What protection? They just hide dirt.

[hyo silver]

Mine are off, but when I finally get the time to mate them with the 'moon' disks, they'll go back on. Not that anyone will see them.

[Boo]

On the Standard Prius, the trim ring should stay on. The wheel beneath it is ugly without the ring because the wheel's indentation and lip are clearly designed to accept the ring. Without the ring, the wheel looks like it's missing something -- not unlike a plain painted steel wheel that's missing a hub cap.

However, on the Touring Edition Prius, the wheel cover should be removed. The wheel beneath it looks complete and better without it.

EDIT: IMO, the poll should be simplified to "Looks Better On" or "Looks Better Off".

[dogfriend]

Originally Posted by Boo

On the Standard Prius, the trim ring should stay on. The wheel beneath it is ugly without the ring because the wheel's indentation and lip are clearly designed to accept the ring. Without the ring, the wheel looks like it's missing something -- not unlike a plain painted steel wheel that's missing a hub cap.

.

I think even the standard (non-touring) wheels look better without the plastic ring. Plus, they trap dirt underneath.

I pulled mine off the first week I had the car.

I think they may be a homing device for aliens. That is the only logical explanation of why they would be on the wheels in the first place.

[donee]

Originally Posted by mitch672

donee,

have you found any improvement in MPG with that foil wrap, versus rings only? could reduce turbulence around the wheels, I suppose.

mitch

Hi Mitch,

Have not done the aero-drag test yet. Have not figured out how to do the test! And winter is somewhat variable in temperature, humidity and road conditions. By ear, which is fraught with hopeful delusion, they seem to result in less aero noise.

But, they also help with corrosion of the brake rotors. Which with the winter we are having here makes them a worthwhile modification. There is still corrosion on some Monday mornings, but the rough braking noise is gone after a few miles of normal driving. Previously, I would need to do Hobbit's neutral braking repeatedly to keep the rotors smoothly braking, on any weekend with precipitation.

The metal is .009" flashing, which is much thicker and stronger than kitchen foil. They have gone through allot of snow driving, and highway driving next to trucks without any damage. Yes, one could kick a big dent in them easily. But the light weight is advantage to reduce unsprung weight, and keep additional angular moment to a minimun.

[Grunthos]

I hadn't seen a picture of what it looks like with them off before, but now that I have, I am seriously thinking about removing them. I can't imagine that they actually affect the gas mileage to any noticeable degree.