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About to buy a Prius III =D

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Actor with a Prius, Jul 9, 2009.

  1. Actor with a Prius

    Actor with a Prius '10 Prius : 50 mpg & '90 Nissan 300ZX TT : 5 mpg

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2009
    52
    2
    0
    Location:
    Miami Beach
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Hello everyone ? This is my first post, I'm going to get a Prius in a few weeks! I'm super excited, its really cheesy. Ironically enough, I am on another car forum, TT.Net which is for the Nissan 300zx Z32 Generation chat. I have two of them at the moment. A 94 N/A daily driver, and a 90 2+2 Twin Turbo swap 500+ Hp show car. :mod: My daily driver is falling apart and have been looking for a new car for a minute, and now that Obama's CARS bill got passed, I'm going for the trade in. I was looking at cars that get better gas mileage, and then one day decided to look up a hybrid, and then ultimately the Prius. Honestly, I never liked the Prius, I thought it was kinda ugly and goofy looking, plus I'm a Tuner so I'm used to hooking up my cars and I like power blah blah blah. But, I test drove it, and I'm in love! This car rocks! :rockon: So, I will have my Prius to drive daily, then my Twin Turbo Z to cruise around South Beach in. haha. I'm getting a Prius III with Leather, Solar Package, and an auto dimming mirror. Quoted $29,200 as best so far. I'll end up putting on tints myself, and I want to get some whlees.

    My question, is about the wheels. I like the way it looks with the optional 17" wheels, but $1500 for a set of cheap dealer wheels is wayyyy too much. I bought a set of 19" Chrome Staggered Stern (ADR) wheels for less than $1,000 for my Z! And, I've seen some nice wheels that would look hot on the P.

    Questions....

    1) Does anyone know the weight of the stock 15" and P V 17" wheels?

    2) Does anyone know the width of the 17" stock V rims ? (17 x ??) I'm assuming 17 x 7 as its most common.

    3) I've read other sites about there being a difference in turning radius and wheel well sizing in the III and V ? Will putting 17's on the III rub ? 215/45/17 is what comes with the factory 17's.

    4) Will changing from 15" to a 17" wheel on the III screw up the Speedometer and Tachometer calculations ? Is there a way to compensate or correct it if so?

    Thanks everyone! I'm quite excited to get this Prius. When I do, I'll definitely post some pictures with my new wheels, if I can figure out which ones to get that wont bring me to 30 mpg because of the weight and size. haah !
     
    #1 Actor with a Prius, Jul 9, 2009
  2. gofast

    gofast Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2008
    151
    25
    0
    Location:
    Denver Colo.
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Alright now, Pimp that Pruis out. I would think you need the off sets of the wheels to. You are right about it Not looking Nerdie any more. The Gen III is going to draw a whole new group of people into the "Prius Groupies"

    These are my cars,

    02 Chev Big Dog 4 DOOR Duramax diesel
    69 CHEV Camaro vert
    69 Chev Slammed shortbed
    66 CHev Nova SS
    07 Street Glide Harley

    2010 Prius GEN III package III

    What the Heck am I doing with a Pruis. I guess I like the cutting edge technology,the way it looks and it gets better MPGs than my Harley.
     
    #2 gofast, Jul 9, 2009
    1 person likes this.
  3. jestoy7

    jestoy7 New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2009
    238
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    Location:
    Jacksonville, FL
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    That's awesome, you sound like we do. My wife has a turbo PT Cruiser, I have a 98 Eclipse GSX and our 3rd car is a 08 Yaris that we use to daily drive.

    The Yaris was nice because I hated putting miles on my GSX (new paint job and built tranny) and the mpg was excellent, but the car is too base for us and only 2 doors. We decided to check out the Prius because we liked the commercials and it was all over. We are in love with it and hopefully our Prius III will come in within 3 weeks.

    We are also going to ditch the 15's and put something better. I really like the design of the 17's but that is a lot of money. Here are some answers for you:

    3) The turning radius is the same, but the Prius V comes with a quicker steering rack, so the car feels more responsive in steering. Ever driven an EVO? That is an example of a quick steering rack.

    4) The answer depends on the new profile of the 17's you get. Technically, you are supposed to reduce you tire profile with a larger wheel to maintain the same overall diameter. On my GSX I put 18's on but I did not reduce the tire profile because I wanted to keep some meat, this did affect my reading but it is still within 5 mph difference.

    Good luck with the Z, I love them as they are gorgeus cars, except that engine bay....;)
     
    #3 jestoy7, Jul 9, 2009
    1 person likes this.
  4. wvgasguy

    wvgasguy New Member

    Joined:
    May 6, 2009
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    Location:
    a
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    I sold one my "junk" 300ZX's (1990) on eBay for $3500 a few years back. It was so bad I didn't want the bidding to go any higher. Then traded my 1991 for an Audi TT. I can't imagine the ZX not being worth close to the clunker value. A lot of people will hate seeing that crushed.

    There are a lot of other threads on the 15" vrs 17" so I won't focus there. Just know that when you opt for the V package with the 17" wheels you also get the tighter steering ratio (lock to locks) as well as fog lights and LED's. The $1500 premium buys a lot more than 17" wheels. Personally, among all the options offered I think it is a bargan .

    Everyone is still seeing 50+ mpg with the 17" wheels I wouldn't rule out the V before I drove one for comparison
     
    #4 wvgasguy, Jul 9, 2009
    1 person likes this.
  5. accordingly

    accordingly Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2009
    268
    63
    0
    Location:
    Madison, WI
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    The stock 15" wheels are a modest 16.3 pounds.

    The stock 17" are very heavy at 24 lbs. You can easily find cheap ~$100 wheels that weigh 5 pounds less than that. You could even get down to the 16-17 pound range without anything too fancy or expensive.

    Remember unsprung weight has a much greater impact on the vehicle's MPG (plus power) than the sprung weight, so I have no sympathy for Toyota when they claim weight restrictions prevented them from putting a sunroof on the V when they have so much room to give on those "premium" wheels.

    If you can deal with the slow steering in the III or IV, that's the way to go. I'd test it out first though as Toyota is already not known for its road feel.
     
    #5 accordingly, Jul 9, 2009
    1 person likes this.
  6. Actor with a Prius

    Actor with a Prius '10 Prius : 50 mpg & '90 Nissan 300ZX TT : 5 mpg

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2009
    52
    2
    0
    Location:
    Miami Beach
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Thats smart awesome! I love this site already! hahah...people with turbos and big block Chevys.....and a Prius !!! hahah awesome! I felt like a retard telling my friends that I'm actually excited to get a Prius. I'm sorry, but it doesn't really have a hot sounding ring to it, nor did it ever really look as appealing as it did until now. lol

    Thanks to all of you for the replies, but still havent had the question answered. I've been looking at 17's and found ome nice ones that weight around 18-20 lbs. I'm quite surprised that the Toyota 17's are so heavy. Well, the 19 chrome staggered wheels I have on my Turbo Z weigh 34lbs a piece so....lol

    So does anyone know the offset and the rim width of the stock 17's ? Or what width and offset will work with the III ?? Or at least where to find the info ?

    I dont know much about the tight steering, but I'm really not interested in getting the V. I'm getting the III with Leather, Solar, and the auto-dimming mirror. It should come out to about $29,200 before taxes, as opposed to the V that doesnt even come with the solar package. Plus, its a Prius....it goes 40 mph....I'm not looking for EVO type tight steering lol. After I put a chip, exhaust, turbo/supercharger, full suspension, bore out the pistons, bigger injectors, cams and lifters, and maybe some NOS....THEN I'll work on the tighter tuned steering haha. But for now, as I've test drove her already, as long as I can turn left and right, I think I'll be fine :D
     
    #6 Actor with a Prius, Jul 10, 2009
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