Anybody else dissapointed in the 2012 Prius II stock wheels?

Yes, you can upgrade to factory 17" although they're hot commodity and hence expensive.

I personally think the 2012 wheel covers look way better than the silver 2010/11 alloys with or without their covers.

 

Not going to dig post, but saw unhapiness coming a month ago.

I think they look good with the covers, but I'm cool with covers. I don't tend to like Black wheels on just about any car. Bronze on white body, nice. Silver always good. black doesn't pop.

 

they're the same shape as previous years BTW, just a different color

 

Saw this coming month ago....

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...490-2012-prius-now-dealers-6.html#post1457516

1/25/12
Pics above.

Oh, I don't know about that .... whole lot of people will want to remove them because they are plastic wheelcovers. It might be a stink in threads to come.

Personally, I don't care. It's a Prius and I like my plastic wheelcovers ..long as they don't fall off

 

I think the best looking solution is if someone makes a snap on chrome trim ring that fits the stock wheels, kind of like the old steel wheels of the 70s had. It would highlight the wheel give it a deeper dish look. This would look good with both black or silver wheels, with the chrome center cap and lug nuts. If anyone knows of one that fits the stock 15's, please speak up.

 

I wouldn't expect much OEM. Nicer wheels are plenty aftermarket and for the 2012 I do prefer the wheel covers on instead if I'm riding around 15"...but after going through the 17" aftermkt wheel thread, I swapped mine out.

 

I was just thinking along the lines of an inexpensive trim ring. Most prii I see (including myself) dumps the cheap hubcaps and snaps in the toyota center cap. A chrome trim ring would complete the transformation at minimal cost. I cannot see an OEM ever doing this, for they want many thousands more for the 17" wheels. This is a product, that if priced correctly could sell tens of thousands.

 

I thought about putting them on a lathe and turning the edge very lightly with sandpaper. You could also polish it up this way, very easily.

That is a good idea about the chrome trim ring.

 

Even if you polish the stock wheel, you still have that multi step edge. A trim ring would cover that with a smooth transition that could go into the recessed area at the spoke end. I called a few vendors and noone makes one. There is a real opportunity here. I image EVERY 2010, 2011 and 2012 prius owner (with stock 15s) would welcome the improvement. With over 100,000 annual unit sales, it is reasonable that 5% buy the rings at say $50 set. For the last 3 model years, that amounts to $750,000 revenue. A small price for tooling up.