What's with the Prius's hub caps?

Whey you go to have the wheels balanced the center caps will need to come off to fit on the balance machine.

 

Re: Does anyone know about www.carwarrantyprotection.com?

Why don't you look into the warranty offered on this site

 

I can get 3rd gen hubcaps off by pulling on two adjacent spokes. No use to pry the edge. Grap adjacent spokes and give a tug. They will come off and not break. Be nice if Toyota just gave a set of something like Insight wheels, in the Threes and Fours. Toyota needs to balance look of car and wheels. IMO, Insight 15" just right for its body. Prius on right, wheels 1" too small (Leaf has 16's and efficiency is paramount, why not Pri?)

 

If you're a waffler and can't decide between wheel covers being on or off, there is one important thing for you to be aware of: Snapping your wheel covers on and off a lot will damage the lip of your rims. Basically you're scraping your rims with the wheel covers' attachment clips everytime you pull it out or pound it in. At least this was the case for my Touring rims. You can tell that the rims are a little chewed up along the edges where the clips for the wheel covers attach.

Well, my wheel covers are off now, and I'm never going back.

 

Not an issue on the 2010-11. The covers are all plastic with spring steel hoops that force the clips (which are molded as part of the cover) outward. The actual contacts are, in fact, plastic, so there's no damage to the wheel other than the possible abrasion of dirt within the wheel itself.
That's probably why they're so easy to remove/lose/steal: no metal digging into the wheel.....

 

I know it's all plastic. My Touring rim covers are plastic too, but pull it on and off enough times and you'll see what I mean.

 

I knew that yours were plastic, but I thought that they had metal clips molded in....
Caution, then, is warranted...:thumb:

 

IMHO, the covers aren't for improved aero. Toyota engineers could have easily designed the alloy wheels for max aero and had them manufactured so. Wouldn't have added to the cost of manufacture and they wouldn't have needed covers. So, there has to be some other reason. FWIW.

 

Possibly to cover a wheel that was already used on another Toyota in a different (foreign?) market, and to give an "aero" appearance?

 

I have a 2010 prius II, and I can confirm that the hubcaps scratch the hell out of the rims. Plastic or no, they scratch and strip the rim clearcoat where they attach.

I recommend ditching the hubcaps asap before you have the opportunity (e.g. a flat, etc.) to take them off, remount them, and subsequently scratch the rims. Either that, or protect the rims somehow, where the clips mount. Toyota you $#!@.

 

Management said "Make the lower model wheels uglier than the V wheels, so they added the wheel covers.

 

This has been touched on here but I think it is simply this:
The stylists / designers came up with the look of the 15" 3rd Gen wheels. The executives loved them but the engineers said they would be too heavy (those would be thick spokes). So they made a light weight alloy rim and put plastic hub cabs in the shape they loved. Problem solved. A strong, lightweight wheel in the distinctive look they wanted.

Obviously style is subjective though. Its nice we have a choice.

 

^Heh. *clap* *clap* *clap*. Pretty clever there.

 

ah, bummer..... Well, hopefully I'll get a response from Tommy Kaira regarding the body kit. Due to the tsunami and earthquakes in Japan, getting responses from them has been RIDICULOUS. After I get the body kit and get it installed and painted, then that will help me see the "big picture" and get a visual for what wheel would look best with it....

 

So can you simply take them off? Any photos without the hubcap?

 

Wow. Seems to be obvious they look better without the wheel cover.

 

It's all subjective, I like them better on.

 

I prefer them "on" myself...I had originally sprayed the alloys black but the appearance without the hubcap makes the rim look smaller so i also sprayed the hubcaps and am happier with the results.

 

I'm going to keep my covers on for now. My wife is notorious for scratching up wheel covers. She scuffed the hell out of the oem wheel cover on our Toyota Sienna and almost bent the steel rim that was behind it. I was so pissed. :argue:

I was thinking I could get away without the covers on our Prius. I had this idea that if she needed to drive the Prius, I would instinctively yell "WAIT ONE SEC!", run outside, and put the covers back on but that would get really old pretty quick and possible trigger another argument with her.

I still miss our old Nissan Xterra with alloy wheels, the tires were so fat that there was no way a curb could touch it, but I don't miss how it guzzled expensive gas.