Excuse my ignorance, but what is the advantage to hubcap-less wheels? Or is it a purely subjective aesthetic preference?
Take the hubcaps/wheel covers off. Weigh them. Now imagine that your wheel hits a bump and your shock absorber has to absorb the shock and rebound the wheel to recontact the pavement. It now has less weight to move because you have removed unsprung weight from the wheel. Why don't racing cars use steel wheels and instead use magnesium or aluminum or some other very light yet strong alloy? Same reason. One of the primary ways to improve handling has always been to reduce unsprung weight. And when you ask the car to accelerate, less mass to move. Probably as much less as the weight I gained over Xmas. Does it really matter a great deal? No. But think, if Ferrari drivers are willing to pay over a thousand per wheel to have fancy alloys in imitation of racecars, why does Toyota use em and cover them up with cheap plastic covers? Beats me. Your choice, no reason you should choose mine.
Got mine yesterday from Dashenka2007 on Ebay and they look factory. Install is press in till they snap. $29.99.
sweet mikefocke! I'll have to check those out. I would like to get some black ones to match the wheels....
I'd imagine it is for aerodynamics. Making that wheel shape out of all aluminum is probably heavier than using aluminum as the skeleton and plastic to get the aero shape.
