Want To Buy - 17" Rims And/Or Tires

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Green Speed @ Aug 7 2006, 11:24 AM) [snapback]299063[/snapback]</div>

http://www.centerlinewheels.com/wheels_det...id=36&sw_id=261
Check out the centerline storm 17" They are much lighter than those you are considering and won't hurt the mph near as bad.

 

The WedsSport TC-005 is one of the best looking wheels available IMHO. I wish I didn't have my wheels, or I would buy some. I am tired of chrome. I like the dark gray finish. The TC-005's are very light also. Most here that went with the WedsSport did the 16". You can get the from tirerack.com. They are pricey, but sweet!

The answer to your question is:

I'm pretty sure it's a 5-100mm bolt pattern, and a 42mm offset.

What you're seeing on Ebay is probably the Scion TC tires and wheels. You will have a drop in mileage. Most here report 4-7 MPG, but they really look good. For 600, new, I'd do it. That combo is the same weight as what I have. It's really heavy at 43 lbs. per corner. That is adding about 10-12 lbs. per corner of unsprung weight compared to stock. You can definitely feel it in the acceleration.

 

Look around, I bought 17" Chrome Scion rims with tires (3,000 miles on them) for $400.00 cash.

 

Check out my post on this thread:

http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=21271&st=60#

I just put Enkei 5+ 17" wheels and terrific BFG g-Force Sport 205/45/17 tires on our Prius. They look and ride great!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Green Speed @ Aug 7 2006, 12:24 PM) [snapback]299063[/snapback]</div>

Since you own a 2006 Prius, if you do this, I advise you to remove the TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) sensor-transmitters before letting go of your OEM wheels. Moving the sensors from one set of wheels to another shouldn't be much harder than breaking the seals (partly dismounting the tires) if they fit the new wheels. This should cost less than $50 dollars for all 4 sensors since they shouldn't have to rebalance the tires.

If you sell the sensors with the wheels, buying new sensors and paying a Toyota dealer to register the new sensors with the car's ECU will cost you closer to $500, as DocVijay can tell you. If you'd rather just do without the TPMS and cover or learn to ignore the TPMS light, you could probably sell the sensors you removed from your old wheels for a couple hundred dollars.

Aside from the lugnut spacing and the offset, the other dimension is the center bore diameter. I'm not sure if the Prius wheels are hub centric (bearing much of the weight on the center hole) or if they bear all the weight on the lugnuts. If the hub-centric wheels have the wrong center bore, they may fit but will not ride well. Adapters can sometimes correct this. Reputable shops should take care of this for you, but not all ebay sellers will.

If you're only concerned about traction and handling, not cosmetics, you may find that just replacing the lousy OEM tires (but not the wheels) can give you what you want at a lower cost. Sumitomo HTR 200 (fuel efficient summer high performance) tires in a size 205/60HR15 might work nicely for you at a total cost of less than $300.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Green Speed @ Aug 9 2006, 04:28 PM) [snapback]300382[/snapback]</div>

The Prius uses a 5x100 bolt pattern. Many other Toyotas and Scions use this pattern, as well as Subaru Imprezas and such. There are many, many options out there. Just remember to keep offset between 42 and 48mm.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Green Speed @ Aug 9 2006, 04:28 PM) [snapback]300382[/snapback]</div>

The sensors are integrated with the metal valve stems. The sensor and transmiter part is attached to the valve stem and hidden 'inside' the wheel, between the rim and the tire. My understanding is that installing the sensors is not much harder than installing screw in metal valve stems. The hardest part is breaking the seal between the tire and the rim to access the sensor-valve stem and then resealing the tire. Some tire shops will only charge you for remounting the tires. If they carefully mark the position of the tires in relation to the rims and the balancing weights are not secured to the lips of the rim, they may not have to perform or charge for rebalancing. The $50 to install the tires is the $50 to install the sensors. (Tire shops rarely charge separate labor for replacing valve stems, but do often charge the part cost of rubber valve stems, which you don't need.) If you are selling your old OEM tires and wheels mounted and buying mounted and balanced 17" wheels and tires, double my estimate to around $100 for remounting 8 tires in order to swap valve stems, moving the TPMS sensors. BTW, remind them not to break the sensors when breaking dismounting the tires.

My total cost here would be less than $300 (including shipping, tax, installation, balancing, valve stems (or TPMS sensor stem swap once they're removed from the oem wheels), disposal, road hazard). Since you're whole reason for new wheels is the look, new tires on the OEM rims won't do much for you. The tirerack can give you a good conservative idea of what tire sizes will work. Perhaps the widest is 225/50-15??

You probably don't want to lower the height of your sidewall much without buying larger rims. Doing so would reduce the rolling diameter of your tires, altering your 'gear' ratio and speedometer calibration. I would worry that a >3% change in tire diameter might confuse or hamper the effectiveness of the computer controlling the hybrid system, ABS, VSC, etc.

Don't believe anything they or I say without confirmation; unless they are the tirerack .