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Dirty wheels causing vibration

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Dummy, May 7, 2023.

  1. Dummy

    Dummy Member

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    Lately I’ve been traveling a lot of dirt roads and the dust builds up in the wheels causing them to be unbalanced. The factory plastic wheel cover makes it hard to get it all out at the car wash so I’m looking for a cheap alternative wheel or something that allows quick easy clean out when they’re dirty. Any suggestions?
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    That's one of the craziest things I've ever heard kind of like the movie with the mud in the tires But anyway be that as it may the 15s without the plastic wheel covers which can just be stored in the trunk and the spare tire well or in the garage there's some of the easiest cleaning wheels front and back you're going to find even easier to clean than steel wheels I'd venture to say even with the plastic wheel covers on a quick blast with a garden hose rarely a pressure washer needed should yield all the red clay out of the tires front and back That's pretty easy access on this model especially if you have something like a pressure washer wand with the skinny metal on the end of it you can just be standing there and be hitting the back of the wheel actually knocking all this stuff out I do this with my garden hose I park on red clay every time it rains and my gold car is a red clay color so not sure where you're located and what's happening and you're in a construction site where they're digging up tonnage of dirt?
     
  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    I've had tons of dirt in my wheels just for my driveway and we definitely drive the car 55 plus everywhere we go never had a shake or a shimmy ever not in a generation 2
     
  4. ColoradoCrow

    ColoradoCrow Active Member

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    Hi. If you are spending a lot of time off road. Rampart range....etc. (I did that a lot when I lived in Colorado) I had similar problems. Off road is bumpy. On older shocks I lost wheel weights which made the wheels hop and vibrate on pavement like crazy...twice on 2 cars. The 3m tape only holds for so long..:rolleyes:..I had to have all 4 wheels cleaned and rebalanced with new weights.. Check yours for missing weight by seeing a sticky residue left where the weight is gone. Happened on my Rover as well.o_O Off road requires more diligence and maintenance.
     
  5. Dummy

    Dummy Member

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    Thanks for the replies. The wheel weights are fine. If I wash out all of the dirt the tires a perfectly balanced again. The plastic wheel covers prevent me from getting all of the dirt because they block the area behind them from the water spray. I will probably just remove them but I expect that it would make the car look incomplete.
     
  6. Dummy

    Dummy Member

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    I’m not off-roading, just traveling about 100 miles per week on a gravel road. It’s extremely dusty and collects in the wheels. When I park it the dust falls off the top and stays on the bottom. Overnight dew then glues it to the wheels causing them to be unbalanced. I’m just looking for a quicker way to clean them. I thought someone here might know of some cheap wheels that looked ok and allowed easy cleaning access.
     
    edthefox5 likes this.
  7. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    I understand what your saying but its a small 15 inch wheel so any wheel may be difficult to get to the back rim to clean it. Maybe a mag wheel with super thin spokes? There's a million different style wheels out there but may end up being expensive.
     
  8. ColoradoCrow

    ColoradoCrow Active Member

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    Ok. I would pull the covers off for sure. Then super clean them dry them, and spray them with PAM every monday morning. We used to do that trick for muddy MTB and Dirt bike racing.
     
    edthefox5 likes this.
  9. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Dang I live in the red clay in the southeast United States of North Carolina where every time it rains that stuff is like running glue everything in the state turns a red terracotta color from 14 in up all the way to the ground some places 25 in up all the way to back to the ground I've never had the out of balance mud in the tires like in the movie but sounds like a thing The 15 in I've never had tapeweights on mine they have a JJ lip the JJ lip is made to accept the standard beat on wheel weights on both sides of the rim like a regular steel wheel does even the 17s can take a regular weight I believe I'll have to go out and look and I always have my rims mag balanced with a weight on both sides of the rim and preferably clipped on not taped I never liked the tape weights even on the fancy Porsche brand tape weights they just don't do so well oh well.
     
  10. Dummy

    Dummy Member

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    The vibrations start above 70 mph on the interstate
     
  11. Dummy

    Dummy Member

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    This is what it looks like under the cover

    IMG_2880.jpeg
     
  12. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Yeah I guess I'm just different My wheels look similar My plastic covers have been off for 5 years they're hanging on a nail in the carport All four of them I don't carry a spare that area is full of tools My vehicle's a service vehicle generally in the beginning of season I have to hose my car off pretty much every morning just to drive it because the pollen is so thick on it You can't see out the windows My hose is a 3/4 in diameter rubber garden hose with a pretty good sprayer nozzle on it so every morning at 5:30 6:00 when I'm going out to my vehicle the hose is right there coiled up next to the car so I turn it on go over the car very quickly blast off the wheels and especially the glass and the hatch go back and finish my coffee while all that water soaks into the ground and then about 30 minutes later I come out and get in the car and head off and this is almost a morning routine sometimes I'll be out during the day driving the car on trails where I've got construction of various things going on bunkers Earth birmed buildings various and sundry funny shelters shipping containers getting buried in the ground all kinds of weirdness.I guess my trick is I don't see a lot of interstate over 70 driving some over 70 driving on backcountry roads maybe I'm not by any stretch saying this can't happen I just find it pretty wild because our vehicle is a service vehicle We drive the piss out of it it's got 300K on it It only gets an alignment about every 5 years The tires wear so evenly there's not even a discussion to have It's kind of funny.