Have you had any issues with aftermarket rims?

I have no problems with my rims. I have 18" and no bends. I look out for pot holes and dont go over them, but I have had bigger rims all my life and never bent or broke a rim.

 

+1

I've never had any issues with any wheels on many different cars over the past 30+ years. Not sure what you are experiencing to be honest. You will increase the chance of damaging a wheel if you use a tire that has little to no sidewall.

 

The only rim I ever had that got damaged is my OEM rim. Hit some debris on the freeway, blew out my tire and bent my rim.

 

Many people opt for the larger diameter wheels which drives the after market. Larger wheels = low profile tires. Some low profile tires look like no more than a rubber band on a wheel.They may look "cool", if you can tolerate the negatives. Google "low profile tire problems". Nuff said??

Do you remember when a wheel was composed of a hub, spokes and rim? Now the whole thing is referred to as a "rim".

 

It really doesn't matter. The "lip" is just a matter of offset, how much the spokes are offset from the centerline of the wheel. Even if there isn't much offset, and there isn't much "lip" on the outside of the wheel, there will always be a much larger "lip" on the opposite side of the spokes toward the inside of the wheel. Therefore, the strongest wheel would have an offset of zero, which places the spokes directly in the centerline of the wheel.

 

The Belle Tire store manager recommended that I put winter tires on my factory wheels as they stand up to winter slush and potholes better than most any aftermarket wheels. My only problems on the Prius is reliability of aftermarket TPM sensors.

 

+2

My second car with 40 series tires with 18s and never an issue. I would not go lower than a 40 series tire however...at least not for a daily driver. You have to take care...similar to the care needed if you lower the car.

 

A friend who owns a tire store told me that the problem isn't so much with the rims bending after installation, but is that the rims wouldn't be "round" in the first place. And if they aren't round in the first place, there can be a weak spot on them, thus more susceptible to bending. But he also said that most aftermarket rims are pretty good these days as opposed to 10 years or more ago.

Mike

 

For sure you will lose mileage...the exact loss is dependent on the wheel and tire characteristics (size, weight, LRR, etc)

 

Here is one data source for mpg with different sizes (keep in mind this is only one example of many variations and results. Also note that is 15s and 17s...

SoCalBPrius's profile | Fuelly

Look up user "F8L" here...he is pretty much the expert on these matters.

 

PIP wheels are 18.25lbs. The GenIII Prius OE 15s are 16.3lbs.

 

Wheel weight yes but the 18" tires are much heavier.