What's with the Prius's hub caps?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Skoorbmax, Mar 28, 2010.

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  1. good-sort

    good-sort New Member

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    :(
    Please Help ... I need a wheel cover (hub cap). Mine flew off and someone ran it over.

    If there is anyone who is no longer planning on using your wheel covers -- can you please let me know.

    Thank you!!
     
    #41 good-sort, Apr 26, 2010
  2. mspivak

    mspivak New Member

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    Well, I'm one of the Prius owners that think these hub caps are "butt ugly." I removed them from my 2010 Prius and purchased four center caps from Toyota to show off the really nice alloy wheels underneath.
     
    #42 mspivak, May 17, 2010
  3. Tom183

    Tom183 New Member

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    "Alloy wheels" is one of those searchable terms which gives a vehicle the ability to fetch a higher price. The hubcaps are for aerodynamics and could have gone over steel wheels - which don't have the same selling power...

    I like having the option of either the open look or the aerodynamics - I just wish Toyota could have thrown in a set of center plugs...
     
    #43 Tom183, May 18, 2010
  4. Airbalancer

    Airbalancer Active Member

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    Here an answer I got on Facebook for Toyota Canada

    That's a good question Mark, and it comes up often. The reason the Prius has the plastic hub caps is to compensate for air turbulence caused by the spinning wheel. This turbulence can affect the aerodynamics of the vehicle, so these hubcaps actually help reduce the turbulence and improve overall fuel efficiency
     
    #44 Airbalancer, Aug 9, 2010
  5. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    Lots of people are selling them on eBay.

    I wonder why?:D
     
    #45 xs650, Aug 9, 2010
  6. Skoorbmax

    Skoorbmax Senior Member

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    Thanks!

    So basically it sounds like they engineered a poorly designed standard aluminum wheel and then realized that the only way to "fix" it was to put slabs of silly plastic on. Or alternatively they knew before hand what they'd end up with but without plastic slabs a prettier aluminum wheel with similar aero qualities would cost too much to make.
     
    #46 Skoorbmax, Aug 9, 2010
  7. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    If they were full wheel covers instead of 5-spoke wheel covers, I would give that Facebook statement some credibility.

    Or if they even threw in some numbers from an official Toyota technical source.:eek:
     
    #47 xs650, Aug 9, 2010
  8. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    A 5 spoke wheel should cost less to cast or forge than a 10 spoke wheel.

    Another possibility is that someone at Toyota decided at the last minute that the II-IV models shouldn't have better looking wheels than the V so they kludged up some ugly 5 spoke plastic covers for the II-IV
     
    #48 xs650, Aug 9, 2010
  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    No. They engineered a lightweight alloy and used plastic to fill in the design (note how the 3G Prius has twin spoke alloys instead of the solid 5-spoke of the 2G).

    Also, the 1G Prius has wheel covers too. It's only the 1.5G that we had over here that had fully machine-finished alloy wheels (multi-spoke) without covers.

    Besides, it's like having two rim designs!

    Sounds exactly like what the Chief Engineer told us ;) (and what those of us who were at Detroit said)
     
    #49 Tideland Prius, Aug 10, 2010
  10. johalareewi

    johalareewi Member

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    When I had my first service, the dealer's service manager noticed that the hubcaps were missing and asked if I had taken them off. He then said that I should put them back on because they were there to cool the brakes. :confused:

    Can't see how that would work because the brakes don't get a lot of work anyway so aren't going to get hot and if the hubcaps channeled air to the brakes, there would be a left hand and right hand set and all four of mine are exactly the same.

    Anyways, they are still off. :cheer2:
     
    #50 johalareewi, Aug 11, 2010
  11. Paul58

    Paul58 Mileage Miser

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    Can you post pictures of these caps installed on your rims?
     
    #51 Paul58, Aug 11, 2010
  12. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    Google is your friend
    42603-52110 - Google Search

    Google often has results for car part numbers
     
    #52 xs650, Aug 11, 2010
  13. Paul58

    Paul58 Mileage Miser

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    Who'd a thunk? I did Google the part number, but didn't think to look at Google Images. I just had a bunch of parts distributors pop up, and none of them had pictures! Thanks...
     
    #53 Paul58, Aug 11, 2010
  14. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    The GIII comes with -wheel covers-, not hubcaps. The post above with the google link is for hubcaps. These are very similar to the GII hubcaps on the non-touring. Toyota uses a few slightly different designs, as you can see in the link. If they all fit the same diameter hole I'll be floored! ;)

    The "hot setup" for the GII touring was to remove the "wheel covers" and install the "hub caps". For looks only, of course.
     
    #54 David Beale, Aug 11, 2010
  15. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    For anyone interested, here's my summary of the Toyota center caps known to fit the 2010 Prius 15" wheel:

     
    #55 Boo, Aug 11, 2010
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  16. Downrange

    Downrange Active Member

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    The Toyo caps look nice, but you can get the 2 inch electrical panel plugs at Home Depot for a buck each! Bend the tabs out a little and they pop right in. 4.00 vs. 40.00. Takes yer choice!
     
    #56 Downrange, Aug 11, 2010
  17. Skoorbmax

    Skoorbmax Senior Member

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    I can't imagine brake cooling is of any relevance at all on this car. Mine are hardly ever even hot. You'd have to be autocrossing to warm these things up thanks to regen braking.
     
    #57 Skoorbmax, Aug 11, 2010
  18. Prius Team

    Prius Team Toyota Marketing USA

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    Bingo. Keep in mind our engineers scrape for .01 MPGs so they can achieve their targets (in this case, 50 MPG). So you might not notice a lot of these improvements individually, but they are very important to achieve the overall goals.

    Definitely the latter, but it's also a weight issue. Tideland nailed it in his post. Think of the alloy wheel underneath as simply the minimal structure needed for wheel stiffness. All the extra "design" elements were carved away. To make it aesthetic (well, to some people anyway), the cap was designed. Plastic is much lighter than the alloy material.

    Yes, the Chief told myself, and then Tideland as well as many others.

    Doug Coleman
    Prius Product Manager
    Toyota Motor Sales, USA
     
    #58 Prius Team, Aug 11, 2010
    Kevin_Denver, Sporin and radiocycle like this.
  19. cit1991

    cit1991 New Member

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    There's a saying in aviation...If it looks good it flies good. I guess the equivalent saying in the automotive world is...If it looks ugly, it's efficient.
     
    #59 cit1991, Aug 11, 2010
  20. TeacherMan

    TeacherMan Junior Member

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    Boo,

    Just out of curiosity, has anyone here found a chrome or stainless steel trim ring that works with the 2010 alloy wheel? I think it would really dress the wheel up but nothing seems to be available.

    Tom
     
    #60 TeacherMan, Aug 11, 2010
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