Can anybody give me a good reason to not rip off the ugly plastic wheel covers off the rims?

I'm in the "they are hanging in the garage" school. I am just waiting to see how much they'll be worth on eBay next year... :lol:

Not too worried about putting 'em back on for resale as, a) I have no intention of selling any time soon--certainly not before the rings get eaten and lost forever in the garage, and B) I can't imagine anyone buying a VERY used Pri is gonna care--or possibly even KNOW about the rings...

 

I pulled them off before I washed my car to see what they look like. Still can't decide whether I like them better on or off. But I do think pulling them off once in a while to wash the wheels is a good thing, because there was some dirt built up already behind the covers on my 7-week old car.

Without the covers, the rims look a little unfinished. However, I think the styling of the covers is a little "frilly", and contributes to the toy-like image of the Prius. The car itself isn't at all frilly or feminine -- it's sort of chunky in fact - so the rim covers remind me of the hippos wearing tutus in Fantasia!

The following are pictures so you can compare -- covers on, covers off, one off/one on.

Right now I have them back on. They are easier to take off than to get back on. I haven't decided whether to keep them on though, so opinions are welcome!

Perhaps I should keep them on on one side and off on the other -- that way I can look at the side I prefer depending on the mood I'm in!
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I think you should leave them on cause it makes my Prii look better.

 

I have the trim rings on my car but I also covered them up with racing hubcaps from Hubcap Mike's.

See my post here. Racing Hubcaps

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(theforce @ Aug 6 2006, 12:37 PM) [snapback]298648[/snapback]</div>

I found out about the Racing Hubcaps from TheForce's post. Here they are on my silver Prius.
Aerodynamic Hubcaps
I changed the name of them to "Aerodynamic" because outsiders were getting the wrong idea.

I can highly recommend Hubcap Mike.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Aug 6 2006, 10:10 AM) [snapback]298638[/snapback]</div>

Voting in my house was 3 for 3 WITHOUT trim rings.

And you can set up a GREAT 4 ring circus for drunken WeePri drivers with 'em off the car! :lol:

 

Coincidently, I scratched one of the right rear trim rings on my car when I cornered a curb too sharp today. Because I occasionally make mistakes like that, I'm keeping mine on.

Maybe some of you guys would like to sell me yours so I have spares? I've got pocket change!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sl7vk @ Aug 2 2006, 02:45 PM) [snapback]296565[/snapback]</div>

I agree with you. I'll be taking them off my car's wheels soon as I get it. I might have the wheels polished too, I think they'd look good with a bright shine and it doesn't cost much to have done. Much less than buying a set of custom wheels!

Godfrey

 

Can't give you a single reason.

I took mine off just so that my Prius wouldn't look lke every other one in NJ. I didn't have to worry about that. NO ONE in NJ that I've seen has modified their Prius in any way. No BSMs, mud flaps, rear bumper protector, longer rear wiper, shark fin antenna, nothing. Not even a bra on the front. It's sad, really.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Whitestar @ Aug 7 2006, 10:40 AM) [snapback]299130[/snapback]</div>

I'm constantly amazed how those of us who seem agreed to owning the next-best thing to a perfect car, immediately try to undo so many of its features. Toyota should have sold us a bare frame and allowed us to roll our own. An amazing amount of energy is being spent removing, disabling or modifying a good car. It's one thing to do all this for improvement. (The BT plate fits in nicely here.)

But to get rid of items meant for our safety or the car's protection just so it looks different seems self defeating. The shark antenna has been documented to give REDUCED reception yet they can't make them fast enough. Nothing approaching "sad" here. It's just a car. Nobody but you will notice these things. I wouldn't even notice if you took off the rims.

People have given at least one good reason. The rims act like the hood bra in protecting the wheels. But, hey, if you've never nudged a curb, who needs them?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alnilam @ Aug 7 2006, 11:01 AM) [snapback]299139[/snapback]</div>

Sorry Alnilam...but *I* prefer to go braless myself...and I took the trim rings off. And put the cool looking sharkfin antenna on the car. It's all about comfort of one degree or another for some of us. And if we weren't MEANT to have the choice about the rings...why make them so easy to remove and not structural? This is not a "pimp your ride" choice. It is purely esthethic. Yeah, *I* notice...no one else DOES matter. *I* like the way it looks. Gives me psychological satisfaction for FREE. Where's the problem?

And I only found out about the trim rings' removability AND the sharkfin HERE...and the sharkfin was inevitable after the family concluded the car reminded us of the shark in Jaws...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rufaro @ Aug 7 2006, 11:56 AM) [snapback]299176[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, I agree: I skip the bra myself, though it might help.

I know. It's about fun too and I appreciate this. I just don't think BMW owners are as addicted to disabling devices on their boats as we seem to be. PriusChat encourages this by its size and popularity. Nobody on his own would dream up half the ideas we see presented here daily. It's also a youth thing. Since a car is the most valuable item young people can have (at least those outside of the active drug trade) they tend to fantasize them. Us old folks see them more as a mode of transportation.

Lots of things on the car will come off without too much trouble. But since I paid for them I tend to give Toyota the benefit of the doubt and go along. Especially if the car works better WITH them.

I'm just a curmudgeon. I like to laugh at others. (But be careful what you say to me, you hear???)

 

I kept mine off after having a look under them on wash day. They trap a lot of brake and road gunk, and over time I felt that would eat at the surface finish of the wheel, which seems very soft. I like the bare look, but I'll keep them for if/when I sell.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alnilam @ Aug 7 2006, 02:01 PM) [snapback]299139[/snapback]</div>

I figure the trim rings are meant for those people who don't know how to park.

I used the shark fin to cover the XM antenna. Instead of putting it on the dash like Toyota does.

The larger wiper in the back gives better visability.

Everything else is to protect the finish of the car. Can't tell you how often I am glad to have the black plastic rear bumper protector on my car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alnilam @ Aug 7 2006, 12:16 PM) [snapback]299188[/snapback]</div>

YES BUT DO YOU????

As far as Pri owners...seems to me we are, as a group, just a TAD more obsessive about the "hacks." Not so many car freaks I've noticed hereabouts as technogeeks...BIG difference!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rufaro @ Aug 6 2006, 05:46 PM) [snapback]298733[/snapback]</div>

Thanks for the votes! Maybe I'll leave them off next time I wash my car.

Now does anybody have any ideas about how to add a bit of shine to the wheels?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alnilam @ Aug 7 2006, 12:16 PM) [snapback]299188[/snapback]</div>

For the most part, I've been *adding* things to the car that Toyota didn't bother including. I've removed the trim rings and the emblems (do those make the car work better?). But I've added all kinds of stuff that I would have liked the car to have come with. Heated seats. Lumbar support. Extra 12V outlets. Console tray. Tint. Cargo tray. Rubber floor mats. LED interior lighting. Mud flaps. EV button. Shark Fin anenna (done for a specific reason - so the stuff on my racks won't hit the whip). Roof racks. Well, I guess I could go on for an hour or so. It'll be a long while before I'm happy with anything that comes from the factory that is built to be appreciated by the lowest common denominator.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Aug 7 2006, 07:54 PM) [snapback]299423[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, I go along with this mode of modification. My old Mercedes looked like an airplane cockpit with all the add-ons I slipped in. (GPS, radar detector, iPod connection to the radio, fire extinguisher, etc.) I like to add things but am not so eager to disable what is there. I went on a rant elsewhere about the folks turning off the back-up beep. People still like to do this even though there are stories of owners ripping off a door or watching their car take off across the street because a momentary mental lapse caused them to forget the car was in reverse. I'm not so sure of myself that I can't imagine making mistakes.

I knew how to operate my airplane pretty well but never thought I was so smart that I would turn off warning systems meant to keep me safe. It's just my training that I find hard to ignore. I think of cars as a bit more serious object than a toy.

And I take off my hat to the king of innovators! Can't wait to see what you add next.....

 

Personally, by looking at that picture with the trim on in front and off in back, the trim makes the wheels look bigger... without the trim, it looke like a 14" rim... and generally in car fashion these days, the bigger rims appear nicer. so I think I am going to put mine back on...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darkecho @ Aug 14 2006, 02:48 PM) [snapback]303207[/snapback]</div>

And interestingly, I find just the oposite. The wheels look smaller to me with the trim rings on.