Hi All, Forgive me if this question has been previously asked ( am a complete newbie to Hybrids and their technology ). I have Prius T-spirit 2010 GEN III and would like to change the alloy wheels for some aftermarket ones (mainly cosmetic). I hope to use the tyres from the existing alloys and had thought that it will be a like for like refit (like my previous cars) However when I visited my local shop for prices, he had advised that upgrading to aftermarket alloys has a negative impact on the car, mentioning MPG, tuning, etc. Is there any truth in this? Or did he just not want to serve me? Saul.
Hi Saul, There is some truth in this fact. If you stay with 15" aftermarket wheel with same tire size, you should not see a drop in mpg. However, if you upgrade to a larger aftermarket wheel (16" and above), you will definitely see a MPG decrease. For instance, I upgraded to 17x8 (stock: 15x5) wheels and larger tires (215/45-17) and I am seeing a decrease in 7-8 mpg. But they are worth it!
Hi Eprius, Thank's for the reply. I currently have oem 17" on them and wish to swap directly for 17" aftermarket. Therefore there shouldn't be any loss of mpg, correct? Saul.
If you reuse the OE tires on 17 by 7" aftermarket alloys, you should in theory retain the same mpg. Getting lighter alloys won't help much in this department and any increase you get might be canceled out if the aftermarket alloys are less aerodynamic than factory alloys.
The current tyres on the car are Michelin Primacy, so don't think they are stock OE. Am thinking now of having the OEM rims vinyl wrapped. Saul.
Actually, a few members with the T-Spirit have said they came stock with the Michelin Primacy HP so they might actually be OE tires. It's true that off-the-rack Michelin Primacys get worse mpg than any of the OE tires (Bridgestone Turanza EL400-02, Toyo Proxes A20, Michelin Pilot HX MXM4), but if yours were stock then they're not the same tires and were custom-made for Toyota to equip at factory. You could also get your wheels powdercoated if you want a different look.
This is what i was also thinking, and the link you gave has some in black that look quite good. Will look into this, thanks for your advise. Saul.
