2010 Prius w/ 15" Tires - Covers on or off?

I didn't get a chance for long term testing of fuel economy with on/off, only short term on a rental.

Having them off allows you to clean the wheels easily. With them on, dirt builds up behind covers.

The Toyota plastics center caps off 2nd gen Prius fit perfectly on the 3rd gen, but they are $22 each from Toyota. I'm pretty sure you want to cover up the hole as there is something like an axle in there.

Might as well take them off and try it out, or if don't own a Prius yet, rent one and try out.

Good luck!

 

ON please! The 15 inchers just look too funky for my taste.

 

Ouch. They list for under $16 each with lower prices available. I bought my 4 online from a dealer for about $60 including shipping.

 

Yeah I think Toyota could have done better, they make the car look cheap! They look best on a shelf in the garage!! Put them back on when you sell or trade it in. Maybe..1 or 2 MPG!

 

You misunderstood my vote. I said "ON." As in leave the covers on. Also, as in the "rims" look terrible. As in Toyota took 5 of these:

and put them on a wheel. But even these prongs would look better than Toyota's "rim," since these are at least thinner, longer, and lower profile.

 

Leave 'em on till you get used to driving the car (to prevent curb rash.)
Then: owner's choice.
Since I'm not a kid anymore, and people's opinions of the OEM wheels vary widely from "kewell!" to "JUNK!", I'd let the owner flip the coin on that one.

I gave up worrying with wheels when 40 got smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror...

 

Pardon the meat utensil picture. A tuning fork is what I was going for.

I've looked at a lot of pictures of rims (especially on Priuses), so I've developed a very discriminating taste.

 

Not even a question......They look 10 times better OFF! The plastic hubcaps do make great garage wall art though.

Craig

 

Exposed looks too much like lame after-market wheels found at places like Auto Zone.
I'd rather keep the plastics on (even though they are fugly, too) because the wider cover design fits the 15" better IMO. Why did they make them look like tuning forks anyways??
Either way feels like a loss.

 

You comments don't sound like you have

 

Please tell me what comments you are referring to.

What rims look good to you?

 

Actually - I took my plastic caps off because they were quite loose - and rather than see them flying off on the hwy, I decided to rip them off before that happens. They do make nice garage wall art.... Used center caps can be found on eBay at much more reasonable prices.

However, I am not sure what the original source for those are/were. Probably best not to ask, I am grateful for less than $12 each for my center hub hole dust covers.

 

If you are looking for the center caps, check EBAY. I recently bought a set of four at $10 for the set with shipping included.

 

I don't like the plastic hubcaps because they look cheap even though the retail price is about $90 each. I keep them on only to protect the wheels from scratches and maybe reduce wind noise and wind resistance / increase fuel economy.

I would probably remove the hubcaps at resale time and get center caps because you can then list the car as having "alloy wheels" and add more money than the cost of the caps to the book value.

 

I ran both ways and could not detect any mpg difference. Finally put them back on because there was no where to store them in my garage.

They do look good without the caps.

 

I just took mine off for a trial. I'll run through 2 tanks and let you know what I get. They do look a bit industrial but I kind of like them.

 

I prefer them off.