Pics of after market wheels NOT lowered

It's really tricky. Many will look "funky" or "goofy" not lowered, especially with 18" wheels. I've seen only very few 18"-wheel Prius that don't look funny not lowered. Here's one example of an undropped Gen III with 18" wheels that I consider comparable to the stock Five.

 

I ran around for years with 17s on my GenII and it was not lowered. I think the GenIII has larger wheel wells though. I know it's not a GenIII but maybe these pics will help you, Ryan.

Before lowering

 

The larger diameter wheels will really help improve handling of the car. I recently swapped back to my 15" wheels and the car now feels much like it did with the 17s before lowering but much less body roll. The roll I had always attributed to the tires was actually from the suspension. What's my point? The OEM equipment contributes to horrible handling. By installing lowering springs and/or 17"+ wheels you can significantly improve the handling and road feel.

 

I posted some before and after pics of my Eibach springs here: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-accessories-modifications/93220-lowering-my-2010-prius-2.html

The springs definitely improve the look, handling/cornering is much better and I got extra bump in MPG as a bonus.

 

Just to provide perspective, I think most lowering looks horrible. It doesn't matter for me, as I scrape bottom at stock height, so lowering isn't in the cards. I have seen people praising lowering that actually made the car literally undriveable. At that point one has to question their aesthetic judgement. F8L's before picture looks right to me.

 

+1

 

If you look at the majority of real sports cars you will find small wheel well gaps not large 4wd looking gaps like on the GenIII Prius. Many people lower their cars to reduce this gap and clean up the lines of the car. Obviously the appearance may not appeal to everyone but I think the majority of people prefer the looks of a lowered car, or small wheel well gap if you prefer. Next time you are driving around take a look at the sports cars, BMWs and Mercedes on the road. They generally have small gaps. Companies put a lot of money into researching the market so I doubt they all failed when designing cars that appear lowered.

I'm not saying Corwyn is wrong. It's a personal taste thing and I appreciate his input.

What cannot be argued is the positive affect in handling. It improves handling dramatically.

 

Prii is not a BMW or Mercedes. It is not even a sport car. It looks beautiful the way it comes from the factory :wub: Of course it’s all a matter of personal taste, that's why we customize our cars

 

Very true BUT it can definitely handle like one with the right mods.

 

Here is a thread with pics of my 17 wheels with snows on them. It's not lowered.

 

How about just extra bumps. Kidding. I like the looks of a lowered car if its done with taste and the right equipment.

 

Lowering is almost a requirement in order for the car not to look goofy in case you upgrade to bigger wheels (especially when deviating from the factory 17" specs) even if you don't care about performance/handling.

The factory 15s ruin the look of the car so that's not an option for some of us.

 

here's mine when it was not lowered.....







here it is with df210 lowering springs:





and finally with tein coilovers (sorry for the pic quility - no proper photos yet)...





more info on this here http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...ons/93991-after-1-year-jdm-zvw30-project.html

 

Lowering rocks. If you disagree you are a L7.

The formula for BMW handling is easy. Low suspension, wide chassis, wide OEM rims/tires. Done. It's amazing how many people don't get this.

 

Maybe I'm aging myself, but what is a L7?

 

a square.

 

^ Gotcha :thumb: