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Removal of wheel covers

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by xyzzy, Dec 16, 2014.

  1. xyzzy

    xyzzy Junior Member

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    I always thought the wheel covers on my 2012 Prius IV were dorky but wasn't willing to spend to upgrade them. Then I got a flat tire, and you have to remove the wheel cover to take the wheel off. Wow, the naked wheel looks GREAT! Blackout metal with nice spokes. I had seen Prii with similar setups on the road and had assumed they were a customization or an upgrade. Who knew? The only problem is the lack of a center cap, which is really only apparent when looking at the wheel straight in from the center, which hardly anyone does.
    So I pulled all four wheel covers off and stored them.

    Have others who have done this seen any negative consequences? Especially to not having a center cap?
     
    Burna J likes this.
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I wouldn't say they look great, and I'm not a big fan of the gloss-black look. Then again, guess who's driving around on black steelies (with snows) right now.

    I just wish Toyo would shelve the whole wheel-cover-on-alloy debacle, go back to decent looking conventional alloys, as God intended.

    That and smarten up about the damn centred-on-dash instrument panel.
     
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  3. xyzzy

    xyzzy Junior Member

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    Gloss black isn't normally my preference either but it seems to work well on my dark blue Prius, and is a vast improvement over the factory covers, which for lack of a better description have "spokes" that look like bowtie pasta.
     
  4. Burna J

    Burna J Knot Right Performance....

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  5. Blizzard_Persona

    Blizzard_Persona Senior Member

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    When I had my Barcelona red three, my wife lost a hubcap, so I popped the others off and never looked back. Bought the little toyota center caps and it looked good.
     
  6. Phil Wheeler

    Phil Wheeler Junior Member

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    At this point I prefer the wheel covers. If I lose one, I'll consider removing them as one option.
     
  7. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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  8. KenSoren

    KenSoren Junior Member

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    I bought the center caps from Amazon and so far will not put the wheel covers back on. What I would like to find is some chrome or stainless steel trim rings that will fit the 15 inch alloy wheels - that would make a really nice looking wheel!
     
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  9. DoubleDAZ

    DoubleDAZ Senior Member

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    If you find some, please let me know. I dislike the full black against the Blizzard Pearl and trim rings would really make the difference. I thought about dipping the wheels to white, but then the size of the 15" sidewalls really looks out of place, IMHO.
     
  10. css28

    css28 Senior Member

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    I've removed the covers and bought OEM Toyota caps for the holes in the wheels.

    As the owner of an earlier Gen III (2010-2011) my wheels are painted silver so they look very nice.
     
  11. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    When we were shopping, walking around the lot, they had one 2010 (Canadian) Touring model, tucked way in back, with the 17" alloys, and a lot with the 15" wheels avec plastic covers. It was a "say what" moment when I saw those covers, a new one for me. We went for the Touring, and that one factor tipped us as much as anything.
     
  12. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Here's a previous post that used some trim material on the wheels, pretty sharp IMO. Perhaps you can find some in chrome or silver?:

     
    #12 xliderider, Dec 18, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2014
  13. KenSoren

    KenSoren Junior Member

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    Great idea! Even a thin silver strip would make the wheel look much better. I also have the blizzard pearl white and the black wheels look sharp along the white but the little bit of silver/chrome on the center cover and the outer wheel rim makes it look even better.
     
  14. Blizzard_Persona

    Blizzard_Persona Senior Member

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    image.jpg Edit, found better pic: So here a pic of my old tinted out Barcelona red prius 3 with the caps off right before I regretfully traded her in. Live and learn.
     
    #14 Blizzard_Persona, Dec 18, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2014
    Friend of Bill W. likes this.
  15. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    I bought the hub caps seen in the above photo from the Toyota dealer. They are the GII units. car front quarter - small.jpg
     
  16. DoubleDAZ

    DoubleDAZ Senior Member

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    xliderider, I missed that post somehow and will have to look for some in white. Thanks a lot.
     
  17. LowproPrius

    LowproPrius New Member

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    Hey I think I might've bought that car. Did you happen to trade it in at Del Toyota in Thorndale/Coatesville? I bought a car that looks EXACTLY like that. ALL windows tinted, the black rims, back in like April 2014. I always wondered why someone traded it in. They (Del Toyota) told me the couple had twins, but I imagined a repo from Coatesville lol. How'd that one rim get scraped up? (If it was your car lol).
     

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  18. Mick Dave

    Mick Dave New Member

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    I have a 2015 Prius and 2 of the original wheel covers have come off. Was thinking center caps would be a good and less expensive alternative. What "size" should the center caps be. I see a few sizes on ebay listed as 62mm, 57mm and maybe one other smaller maybe low 50s, can't find it right now. And I measured the other day and can't remember that right now either but I'm thinking it was in the 50s and so guessing the 57mm are what will work. Anyone know for sure?