Has anyone taken off the plastic wheel covers and used the alloy wheels without them. If so, how does it look. Is there any problem with dirt if this is done. Any recommendations for good-looking aftermarket wheels?
Wheel covers ON: OFF: Another view OFF: My dad has his off and they don't get dirtier than with the covers on IMO. Spray em with wheel cleaner and hose it off.
Check out the posting by Bengolf in Thread "What did you do to your Prius today?" Benggolf installed wheel center caps (P/N: 42603-52020) at cost of CAD14.96 each. He posted pictures too. I think it looks very nice. Here is the picture from his thread:
My dad has center caps on his too... I do not know, many people like them without the wheel covers. I'm not a fan of the wheel cover design Toyota chose, but if I had 15" rims on mine I'd probably leave them on, it just seems like something is missing with them off. Like the rims look way too small on the car. The covers make them appear bigger.
This. The Prius looks good without the wheel covers on, but it makes the 15" wheels look like 13" or 14" wheels on the Prius. Maybe a different size tire (lower profile, skinnier tire so it stretches more on the rim for less 'side wall bubble' look), lower the car and put on some spacers, then I think the Prius would look good with those wheels. However that's more effort and money spent when you could've just upgraded to different wheels & tires. That's just my personal opinion, as others have different tastes.
I was wondering if anyone has taken off their plastic wheel covers and noticed a difference in the gas mileage? I was told that the plastic covers are more aerodynamic and increase MPG. Anyone have any experience with this? Thanks, FL2MI
I have my covers on at the moment but will be removing them once I can find some center caps at a much lower price than what the dealers and online vendors are asking for (craigslist & ebay?) I do agree that they look smaller with the covers off but I like the "tuner" look that they have. Maybe paint them a dark bronze and lower the Prius just a tad will do the trick.
I lost a wheel cover on my 2011 Prius and found that they were quite expensive... I went to Home Depot, as suggested somewhere on this site, and bought myself four, inch and a half KO (knock out) seals, of which are normally used to fill unused holes in electrical panels...Once I opened up the prongs to fit the center hole tightly, I painted them to match the rims and it looks great... Each KO seal cost 95 cents plus a $5 dollar can of spray paint...I,m not sure if every Prius has the same size center hole...
