my 15" wheels... next level 2.0

In your shoes, I'd be inclined to just go shopping for some new 15" rims. Have a look at TireRack? Taking the plastic covers off and putting (pricey) center caps on what you have is meh..., your year is black, right? Plus they're kind of utilitarian looking.

When we were walking around the lot, looking for our 2010, it didn't take long before we were hating the looks of the 15" with plastic wheel covers. That tipped us to getting the (Canadian) Touring model, which has the 17". Love the drive, still, I know the 15" would yield better mpg, and replacement tires are cheaper and good variety. You can't get the Michelin Energy Saver in 215/45R17, for one.

Anyway, rambling... I really wish Toyota would give up on this plastic covered alloys nonsense. If they pay any attention to online opinion, or are getting feedback from dealerships, you'd think they'd wake up on this.

 

Maybe the covers at least look a little better for 2013? Sometimes I'm not thrilled with something, but weighing everything, decide to just live with it.

 

A cheap improvement is to toss the wheel covers, buy chrome center caps from Toyota and with a little sandpaper around the outer lip of the wheel remove the black paint. This is best done with the car on a jack and spin the wheel while sanding the edge creating a bright silver thin accent stripe. Hand paint a protective coating, like Krylon clear, to keep the tarnish away on the fresh aluminum. This minor change makes a big improvement to the ugly stock wheels.

 

After some research about gas mileage, I sprang for the Enkei RPF1 16" wheels and new Michelin Defenders. Now need center caps. Enkei wants $25 per center cap. Any suggestions for a less expensive, better looking alternative?

 

I like the looks of the stock "hubcap less" wheels. My 2011 has the silver, wish they were black. Might plaint th