[ronaldopn]

Hello everyone. I just recently purchased a Black 2004 Prius with all the bells and whistles - nav system, and all. I am completely happy with it, but was wondering if anyone out there has any recommendations on rims/wheels that I can get?

I used to drive a VW GTI with 18inch chrome rims - very sporty. I just want to make my Prius look a bit different, and more sporty/futuristic looking.

Any suggestions? :?:

 

[richard schumacher]

First, pop off the plastic trim rings. You may like the naked factory wheels well enough. If not, then gold spinners :_>

 

[finman]

rims...

Do a search here or at Priuschat.com for 'rims' or 'tires'. I do believe many Prius owners have put on 17" rims and report just 2-3 MPG decrease, but a 20-30 increase in SPH (smiles per hour!). Their cars do look great with bigger rims/tires. Hope this helps. Drive fun, drive clean, drive Prius!

 

[mrfredsporty]

wheels, rims

i agree with richard. first of all get rid of the halo type plastic rims. it makes the car look much better (my almost humble opinion). after that i think extreme investigation into new wheels would be in order. i think aside from looks that weight is the most important. i would get the same or lighter weight rims.
fred from nashville

 

[ronaldopn]

Related Threads

Thanks for the advice on searching this site...I was able to find a usefule related thread (http://priusonline.com/viewtopic.php?t=861).

In summary, the advice in the thread states the bolt pattern of the Prius, so that when you shop for rims, you know what wheels can fit. For simplicity's sake as well, one person advised that you can simply search for rims that fit an '03 Corolla, which are the same specs as the Prius.

 

[WPhaklid]

"Custom Wheels"

HI, the dealer I bought my car from had the wheels removed, paint removed, and the wheels chromed. Charged me a bunch I didn't really want to spend, but they do look nice (without the rim pieces). Don't know how much it actually cost the dealer, but I am sure it was less than a new set of wheels!!

 

[BIF]

I guess I just don't understand the whole "wheel thing" that people have. I've never really thought that buying new rims would be a good expenditure for any of my cars, even when I owned expensive sports cars.

Plus, you have to keep in mind that one day, 5, 6, 7 years from now, you may hit something in the road and damage a rim beyond repair. Will you be able to find a replacement? Chances are, you won't have that problem replacing a factory wheel, but with an aftermarket? Who knows, maybe you'll end up having to buy a whole set of four new wheels.

As such, I think the Prius' factory wheels are just fine. They rotate. The rubber stays attached to them. The whole assembly stays attached to the car. What more do I need?

Good luck with your decision anyhow.

 

[zinzindorff9]

You want to see what your Prius would look like with every possile wheel combination? Try this http://www.vassfamily.net/ToyotaPrius/r ... sCaps.html

 

[jamarimutt]

The stock rims and tires are fine for me. Spending a sizable amount of money on new rims and tires seems to defeat the money-saving (lower gas consumption) nature of the car. You should also consider that different rims will not increase the resale value of the car, but will most likely decrease it.

 

[melgish]

Just get 4 of these, and at least at night, nobody will notice the rims

http://store.tireflysonline.com/tireflysprouv.html

 

[Joel]

My perspective on the whole low profile tire situation is this - I'm a big car fan - have always enjoyed good looking cars that perform well - the past two cars, before the Prius, were Lexus IS300 and MR2 Spyder. So, car people like their wheels to look nice and work well - the after market wheel also gave me a wide variety of tires to choose from, when it comes time for replacement.

So if you have a hard time understanding why someone would put fancy wheels on a Prius, think of it as a compromise - we want the efficiency, the technology, the environmentally friendliness - but we still like those wheels to look cool, and we like the improved stability in rain and at highway speeds.

 

[arizona charlie]

I put s gorgeiys set of 17" wheels on my Prius. BIG MIS

Looks were a 10. Problem was it reduced my mileage to an average of 37mpg. I left them on for two months and the average mileage did not increase or decrease.

Took them off and put the factory wheels back on. Mileage is now 46 to 47 mpg. Most of my driving is on the freeway. A 90 mile commute between my city home and my weekend home.

The wheels and tires now sit on a shelf. I will sell them to someone cheap and never again think that I am smarter than the engineers at Toyota who determined which tires to put on the car.

Yes, I know that Prius cars in Europe and Asia come with 16" wheels but I remain very happy with the factory wheels that came on the car.

Arizona Charlie

 

[Joel]

Part of the process for shopping for after market wheels is finding some that weight less than the stock wheels. In the end, the only thing that should be chewing up extra MPGs is rolling resistance from the wider tires.

At 17800 miles I get 49MPG - 40 miles round trip to and from work highway miles.

 

[FireEngineer]

Does anyone know what the weight of the stock wheels would be?

 

[zinzindorff9]

I have to agree with Charlie. "Anything" you add to these cars will have some effect upon milage. Do what you will for please of mind. Wheels, tire tread, mud flaps, roof racks, bicycle carriers, all will change performance figures and none will improve upon Toyota's. Of course there comes a balance whether you want more traction or milage. You have to weigh the differences. Personally I think if the Prius becomes "common" on the road and you want a change of looks I would seek out a custom paint shop and use some "trim" modes. That way you have your cake and can eat it too.

 

[ken1784]

Does anyone know what the weight of the stock wheels would be?

US/Japan 15X6JJ PCD=100mm offset=45mm 6.45kg
EU/Japan 16X6JJ PCD=100mm offset=45mm 6.90kg

Regards,
[email protected]

 

[ryecatcher]

Thanks for the wheel weight!

Thank you! I've been trying to find wheel weight info for a while now. For us non-metrics here in the US, the weight for our 15" is 14.19 lbs. THis is a pretty lightweight wheel (the 14" on my Miata weigh 12 lbs and are among the lightest). I would not replace these wheels with anything that weighs more.

 

[ken1784]

I have a set of used Prius original 16" tires and wheels (4 pairs for a vehicle).
They are for Japanese and European market.

Tires: Michelin Pilot Primacy (OEM) 195/55R16
Wheels: Toyota Prius original 16x6JJ PCD=100mm offset=45mm
Wheel caps: Toyota Prius original for 16" wheels

They are very slightly used, less than 500 miles.
I don't know how much will be needed for shipping from Japan now.

If anyone interested, please send me e-mail.

Regards,
[email protected]