As my familiarity grows with the new to me '09 Touring, I pondered the rims. They do look decent at first glance IMO not great. But just thinking about the non-touring rims being attractive WITHOUT the plastic hub cap. Any one else like the non touring rims a little better as well? Just seems like the plastic is a little tacky on "better rims" I know hubcaps are on millions of rims. I think what i am saying is the non-touring have good looking rims without plastic. So just curious if any one else prefers the non-plastic look to all metal look? I know my options- get new rims, or simply take the hub cap off. But it's funny that the non-touring have a (IMO) better option as stock. oh- what would larger rims do to the ride? would a 17" change the feel and improve mileage?
What is the difference between non-plastic and metal? I thought most people liked the look of the touring wheel (sans plastic trim) to the stock 15" wheels (sans plastic trim). *shrug* A 17" wheel will be better for handling and grant a sportier feel but improved road feel with translate to a rougher ride and almost assuredly worse MPG. I have a set of aftermarket 17s that I swap back and forth with and I always drop in MPG. With the newer Fuel Max tires though you may be able to reduce the MPG hit if you choose your 17s wheels correctly.
Search for pix of touring wheels without the plastic covers but with the Toyota logo hub cap. I think that looks almost as good as do the non-touring wheels without their trim rings :_>
There is another option for the OEM Touring rims; paint 'em. Or in my case, have them powder coated: http://priuschat.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=15731&stc=1&d=1245452979 This treatment gets you well outside the chrome-polished alloy- silver color scheme envelope that is the industry default today. I don't expect to see many similar looks in my travels from Maine to Florida. A note of caution, it is very difficult to match both the color and the metalflake size and concentration in the OEM Barcelona Red paint. The match here isn't prefect, but its close enough for me... at ~$575. Once I took off the wheel covers, I found I liked the look of the bare rims. It would have been a lot cheaper to just paint the wheel covers. In the end, customizing is all about the look that you like... Look around, do lots of research, get up your courage, and go for it.
Rokeby- nice lookin ride. That is cool. I tried the hub caps off for a few minutes. i liked the metal and the sheen. But the dark just didn't seem to work with my silver paint. so for now hubcaps. But options will be looked into
When i took the plastic off i was wondering what was missing. then it dawned on me- the center caps. Are those sold? thanks
I also have an 09 Touring - Silver. I hadn't wondered about the hubcap with/without question ... until you brought it up. Good question. Now, I think I'll remove the hubcaps from one side of the car, and leave them on the opposite side. And then, I'll come to know which I like better.
