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Steel Wheels

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by spiderman, Jul 27, 2009.

  1. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    Hi all,
    Didn't get any bites on this topic in the modifications forum so thought I would post here:

    I am planning to go to a tire shop here tomorrow to pick up a set of steel wheels that have the 5x100 bolt pattern, 15x6. I never got a verification that in fact these rims will fit on my 2010 or not. I am hoping the people at the shop can determine that, they looked up specs for the 2009. I know from reading other threads that the rims should be hub centric as opposed to lug centric, right? Any thing else I should be concerned with?

    I know FE will likely suffer with heavy rims but with studs, cold weather, etc, I am already gonna take a hit. I am not worried about the TMPS functioning.

    Thanks,
    Peter
     
    #1 spiderman, Jul 27, 2009
  2. Gen 3 for me

    Gen 3 for me Member

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    A few things come quickly to mind:
    1. the offset of the hub face to the rim
    2. the seating of the lug nuts to the wheel may be different from the standard aluminum wheel to what ever steel wheel you go with so you might need new lug nuts
    3. make sure that the steel wheels come from a heavier vehicle than the Prius so you have a better chance that the cornering and radial fatigue specifications necessary for the Prius will be met
    4 obviously brake caliper clearance
    Being a metallurgical engineer who worked for 17 years with steel and aluminum wheel design, development and manufacturing for a auto manufacturer I am not very fond of using wheels other than those specificed for the vehicle by its engineering department. But people do so all the time with out problems, but sometimes they have a problem and it does not necessarily show up at the initial time of mounting the non spec wheels.
     
    #2 Gen 3 for me, Jul 27, 2009
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  3. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    That is probably my main concern. There was talk in other posts about hub as oppose to lug centric wheels and possible problems with wheel bearings. Does that seem reasonable to you?

    Thanks for the feedback,
    Peter
     
    #3 spiderman, Jul 27, 2009
  4. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    Well I picked up the rims today and the shop guy and myself determined they fit just fine. I measured the depth and the steel wheels are about 1/4" shallower than the OEMs That means the steel wheels will stick out 1/4" more. I will get mud flaps as soon as they are available. Other than that they should be just fine.

    I didn't get the all the specs from the shop but they are 5x100 bolt pattern and 15x6. The part number is SWX41557 and they are made in Australia. :rockon: They seem to fit countless number of other vehicles including other Toys.

    Peter
     
    #4 spiderman, Jul 28, 2009
  5. Gen 3 for me

    Gen 3 for me Member

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    I;m not sure what hub vs lug centric means. But the wrong offset can cause bearing problems. Why not talk to someone such as the parts guy at the dealership if Prius Gen 2 aluminum wheels are similar to Gen 3. Or someone on this site might know. If it were mine I would want to use something close for my snow tire/wheel assemblies. Some people might even sell you their Gen 3 15" wheels cheap if they go to after market wheels. Good luck.
     
    #5 Gen 3 for me, Jul 29, 2009
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