Installing Aftermarket Wheels on the c

yo man those are "ebay wheels". i'd be very suspect about the listed weight of 14.5 lbs.. and even if they are actually that light, i would be suspect about their manufacture quality. oh and $320 isnt a "deal" either, its just a really CHEAP wheel. look at this:

http://wheelsmotion.com/

same wheel, same pic,same price. i say dont do it. buyer beware. spend a little more and get a wheel from a "known" manufacturer. at least you know who makes it/markets it...

 

Agree strongly.

 

Thats the website i found them on. The seller is one city over so my plan was to check them out in person.

 

An interesting thing to note on the offsets. The Toyota spec on front and rear Track is 2cm narrower for the optional 16" alloy wheels avalilable on the model 4. That means that either these wheels have a 50mm offset (instead of 40mm)or Toyota changed the rotors and brake drums for this model. It would be helpful if someone who bought this option could confirm the wheel size and offset.

I agree that 15" wheels are the way to go but if Toyota is using a range of offsets, that might open up the possibilities to fit other wheels.

 

ENKEI rims are super light weight, they currently have 15x7 rims that weight 9.5lbs so im sure if they cut it down to 15x6 they could get weights bellow 9lbs. Plus they are good quailty forged rims, they are pretty cheap, most of there rims in 15 size are under or arround $200 each.



RPF1 9.5 LBS a rim, just an example of how light they make rims. its 7 inches wide, if they cut it down to 5, 5.5, or 6 it would be golden. (id say 5 to match the stock size of the rims and it would be like 8lbs)
http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Whee...se&filterNew=All&filterWeight=All&sort=Weight

If we can get enough of us hybrid owners to message them to show interest im sure they would have a greater chance of looking into it.

i ran some RPF1 on my 350z for track days and they are superlight, almost as light as the 1,200 Each Ray TE37.

 

Hey Guys,

I have a Moonglow Prius C on the way and I want to get the windows tinted as well as some aftermarket wheels. The thing is that I will not do it if it negatively effects MPG. From what I have read as long as you stick with the stock tire you will be fine. Some people say that the 175/65-15 is a bad choice for 6.5" wheels however tire rack STILL recommends them...

 

Great write up! You must work at a tire store! I've been in the business for over ten years now. Great choice in wheels. Nice and light weight. For every 1lb in rotational weight you drop it is equal to 10lbs out of the car. In you case you dropped about 160lbs of dead weight out of the car! Less work for the steering and suspenion! And although nigh unmeasuerable increased fuel economy with less wieght. I was think of the Enkei RPF1 in a 15x7 myself. 9lbs for those! Car looks great!

 

You are dead wrong on this point. The section width of a tire is the widest point of a tire. The 175/65R15tire has a section width of 7". You will never have issues of extra stress on a rim 7" or narrower for the 175 tire. You way how ever get a road hazard in the shoulder of the tire the you would not get if the same tire were on a narrower rim. You also mentioned the TPMS monitor. The monitor is positioned on purpose in the drop center of the wheel. This is where the bead of the tire is placed for installation. It would be almost impossible for the tire to deflect so much during an impact that is survivable (ie pot hole) for any damage to be incurred by the monitor. Even if the tire is stretched to the maximum safe width. I have installed many stretched tire packages on many cars with never an issue when done properly. On our new c III I will confess I opted for the 15" factory alloys for a whopping $390!!!!!! Cause I could never buy wheels for that price that would be light weight and. They don't look half bad to boot. The factory alloy I believe is a 15x5.5 but I could be wrong.

 

I'd love to see the Scion IQ rims on a Prius C!

This place sells them for $108 a rim:
ScionPartsPeople - Genuine Scion Parts and Scion Accessories

 

I like them! When I was shopping I wanted to limit my wheel diameter to 15" so I could use my existing tires. These look to be 16's. I did look at their site (via the link you provided) and only see for xB '04-'06 18" TRD wheels. Did you find any 15's at the site? Great way to go though, if you're changing out your tires. What do these weight? What is their shipping charge to LA?

 

I was really tempted to order a set, but like you I want to keep my existing tires. I tried looking for 15" Scion rims on that site, but they only seem to have the Scion IQ rims. I also considered getting either old style 15" Honda Civic or Acura Integra GSR alloys, but I couldn't find a place that sold them at a reasonable price brand new or even used. The older Acura Integra GSR spoke style wheel is very similar to the Scion IQ 8-spoke, but they came in 15s.

 

I totally understand. I ran the same route. First I considered aftermarkets, then everything that had a 4X100 bolt pattern that came stock on other cars, then considered upgrading to wheels AND tires to 16's. But with the hassle of "offset", "concentric rings", and loosing mpg that may be associated with wider/taller. I just went with the Scions because it was the easiest of all my alternatives, the price was ok, and they were still a "Toyota" wheel. They've been on the car for a week and about 500 miles, I like them.

 

Any updates on the mpg? Have looked and search but no conclusive results yet.

 

Not from my perspective. I've done 2 road trips so far. First one was with stock steel wheels (32oo miles) tire pressure 40 front/38rear -47.6mpg. I just got back last week from a 2600mi trip, Scion wheels, tire pressure 42 front/40rear -47.8mpg .

 

Any new numbers kkim?

 

So, for anyone that has had some other establishment (tire place, etc) install aftermarket wheels, have they had any issue getting the tire pressure monitoring system reestablished with the new wheels?

 

I had a local tire place swap the tires and the pressure sensors, no problems so far. As long as the tpms stay on the car you will be good.

 

I took my aftermarket wheels to Discount Tire they mounted them without any problems.