bigger wheels on gen III prius II

If anyone is looking for stock rims of any kind I suggest ebay or craigslist
I have found many things locally. You might be supprised and find a great stock set of scion stock rims and tires at a good price.
also check other forums, they should have a marketplace.
If anyone is looking for some light rims I have found that Kyowa are light, enkie, 5zigen and if you have the money to spend avants or avan not sure on the spelling.

 

That looks hot. A couple more questions for you:

1. Did you go 18x8?
2. Did you notice any rubbing at all?
3. Did you notice a big difference in ride quality?
4. What size tires did you put on there? Are they the same circumference as stock wheels/tires?
5. Did you have the stock TPMS put on the SP10s?

SP10s are my second choice. These are the ones I'm looking at (17x8 because i think the 18s would be too rough a ride for the Northeast with all the pot holes):

 

Those are beauty! What's their weight, cost, brand? I'm also thinking 17" over 18".

 

Brand is ROH (Made in Australia), model is FURY, finish is Black Ice. I'm not sure how much they weigh and I'm trying to get a package price through www.groupawheels.com. So far we are at $900 for the set of wheels and Kuhmo AST 215-45-17s mounted, balanced and shipped. I'm still shopping around though.... If you happen to call them, let me know what sort of deal they get you. I might actually head over to their shop tomorrow in Long Island.

 

1. Yes.
2. Not yet. Planning on lowering springs to reduce the amount of gap between fender and top of tire.
3. Ride quality is so hard to describe, for me it's fine but for someone else maybe not. Car definitely feels more stable and handles much better. Can't wait for shocks/springs!
4. Tire size is 215/40-18. Diameter is 24.8", which is the same diameter as 215/45-17 on the factory 17" wheel pkg.
5. Yes.

I was also considering 17" wheels but I'm glad I went with 18" instead. Imho 17's looked too small in the wheel well. I chose a multi-spoked wheel to try to "hide" the small brakes. Just my 2 cents.

 

Those wheels look great! :rockon:

 

Can anyone who has switched out for rims comment on their new MPG?

I am curious what type of hit I will take if I go for it.

 

About 3 mpg less for me. Not enough to be concerned about.

 

The 18" rims don't look as big as I thought (compared to factory 17") judging from your photos, although the tires definitely look thinner/lower profile. I take it because the overall diameter remained the same. They do look very nice for aftermarket rims.

This is even with 18.3 lbs for the 18" rim vs. 24.2 lbs for factory 17"? Are you taking a bigger hit on mpg because of other factors?

 

Thanks for the compliment, "32kcolors."
Yup, overall tire diameter remained the same = lower tire sidewall = firmer ride.
Regarding the mpg, I believe it has to do with the design of the wheel with mine having open spokes. The oem covers/wheels have more of a flush/flat look to them.
Also the width of the wheel, oem is 7" mine is 8" wide and wheel offset which oem is 45/50mm I think and mine is 40mm.
This probably creates more drag/turbulence in the wheel wells causing mpg loss.
Oh yeah, also rotational mass of the wheel. The engine works harder to spin the 18" than 15"
It was really important for me to chose a light weight wheel because I didn't want to lose what little power I had! LOL!

 

As soon as we got our Prius IV home (40 miles) I took off the 15" wheels / tires and put on a set of Enkei RS-M 17" rims (only 16 lbs) with a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus 215/45-17 tires (see pictures below). Remember, weight is a big issue with these cars, so you'll want to keep the wheel and tire combo as light a possible or your performance will suffer.

We think that made the Prius look more like the $30K car it really is. The ride may a bit firmer, road noise didn't change, but the better traction and handling is a night/day difference.

Bottom line: Get the rims you want, put some good rubber on them, and ENJOY your Prius!

 

Love the weight of these and that you can get them with a 48mm offset. It seems that these are only available in a 7.5 for the 17" 5x100 combination, what is the impact of the extra 1/2" width compared with the stock V rims?

 

Congrats on the nice looking rims! Enkei makes quality wheels at affordable prices.

*For all the people worried about the mpg hit, I say just go for it and enjoy customizing it the way you want just as AF-Vette mentioned!!

A new generation Prius and a new generation of people who want to mod a hybrid!

 

Does anyone know the part # for the stock 17" wheels?

 

+1 on the part number for the stock 17"s, need to know if this part number is on Toyota Australia's master file.

 

For those of you who are wanting the stock 17" wheels, if you can hold out just a bit longer I will be looking to sell mine once I can get the aftermarket wheels I want. I will be selling just the wheels, no tires or TPMS as they will be transfered to my new wheels. But I do know for sure in the coming months they will be up for sale. I would prefer not to ship them so if you're local maybe we could work something out to make the process go quicker. We'll see what happens and how much is offered for them at the time.

 

Keep me in mind. I am looking for a set of the Prius V wheels. I will for sure pick them up from you for the right price. I just need the wheels so that is a great chance for me. I tend to stay with OEM wheels, but those Enkei's are nice.

 

Dakine & JonnyBonz: Do you both happen to have pics of your cars from the rear?? I noticed that one of you has 225/40/18 and 215/40/18. I would love to see the rear stance if both of you have any pics. Just curious how good the wider tires look from the rear view. I am trying to talk my husband into getting 18" wheels and Tanabe springs if and when they come out. ;-) He is fixated on getting 50 mpg, so he is says no bigger than 17". However, Jonny's wonderful post about his current 50 mpg with the 18" wheels was a welcome sight. I hope Jonny is still getting that same mpg and my fingers are crossed that Dakine's mpg is going up a bit too. ;-)


Signed... wifey of NJCHPD ;-)

 

Dakine took a 3 mpg hit going from stock 15" to aftermarket 18" (18.3 lbs vs. 24.2 lbs for factory 17").

 

All Lexus wheels are 114.3x 5 except the new LS 460/600h L Well the ES 250 wheels are 100 x 5 but doubt you want that