Gen 4 Wheel, Tire and Center Cap Specs

Saw a late model Corolla the other day, they can make a decent rim. Seems a case of Prius come'n go, but lamebrain ideas just accumulate.

 

Got the cap installed. It's beautiful. All $80 beautiful

 

Just got an email 4/30/2016, that the parts have shipped, but the link provided does not have an eta.


merged

Mine was delivered by ups today.

They do install with a very positive snap. No fear of them popping out.

 

i wanna know the diameter too

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The ones from Amazon I bought didn't fit , for your reference it was this one that didn't fit:
not fit prius "v" or prius "c") diameter = 55mm compatible part number 42603-52110 only usa/canada shipping available.

I believe the ones that do fit must be smaller than 55mm perhaps 54mm?

LG-H901 ?

 

Measurements

 

There is a raised ring in the hole which makes it complicated to fit a cap. AFAIK, the best ones to use are the 42603-52170 which fit perfectly. And the silver Toyota emblem on a black background looks really good on the wheels.

 

I really try to muzzle myself on this topic, but have to say:

Toyota is way off the mark with these utilitarian alloys and plastic covers. When new car owners in droves are cobbling solutions, they should concede: give with some decent rims.

 

Yes. I noticed that raised inner ring also.
Yes, ideally one would buy the original 18$ each cap price.
I'll await on a copy part for 42603-52170. Thought perhaps that there might be something smaller than 55mm out there but didn't see anything. I believe the original part size is somewhere in the region of 54.X mm?

LG-H901 ?

 

Why muzzle yourself? Nobody else here does.

I am convinced the covers are purely "decorative" because I cannot think of any function they might serve. I wondered if they might be little fans to draw air out from under the car, but then they would be different left and right. Besides, the covers on my neighbor's late-model Gen 3 sit right on top of the black spokes of the alloy underneath. I imagine Toyota intends that they will make the car look jazzy. to me they make the car look like a toy - anybody remember Tonka toys?

To me, the alloys underneath look simple and tidy, do not draw attention away from the shape of the car or clutter the overall appearance.

I think Toyota should save money (the caps MUST be cheaper to make than the covers) and sell at least the Model 2's with caps rather than covers. The covers could be sold as an OEM accessory for those that want them. And/or they might be included on the higher end models (hopefully redesigned!) as one of the extra features included in the upgrade.

I also sent a message to Danny suggesting he sell the caps through the PriusChat Shop. No reply.

Per kmcrg's drawing above, 2.125" x 25.4 mm/inch = 53.975 mm, say 54 mm

 

Yeah step one would be if the caps were readily available at local dealerships, and say around $20 tops for a set of four. At least they've gone back to silver painted rims, in the 15". For now.

I'd suspect Toyota doesn't like owners taking off the covers, that it's a bit of a nose-thumbing at their design. Fair enough, but... Also, the Prius design team seem strangely cloistered; I don't believe there's another Toyota model having this alloys-with-covers.

This one "feature" tipped us to go with the Canadian Touring model (has the bare and nicely finished 17" rims). Sadly for 2016, they all have plastic. The 17's in particular look pretty funky with the plastic pulled off: black, spindly, and with exposed lugs for the plastic bits.

 

Told my wife to sell the caps wheel covers 40 a piece eBay lol. She disagrees.

LG-H901 ?

 

I agree - I think the alloys look fine. It just boggles my mind that they'd go through the trouble to make alloys, and then put wheel covers on them. I'd prefer the caps or just provide steel wheels with covers, and pass the savings on to the customer in either case...

 

They're used for economy reasons. They reduce turbulence.

Imagine spinning an uncovered wheel in water. Now do it with the cover on. Easier to turn.

Those spokes will catch air.

Huge difference? probably not. But with a car like this, it's everything especially with achieving highest mpg #s possible.

Plus it's a simple way to give a lightweight wheel a finished look. If you want a finished look without the cap, you have to go bigger/larger. of course you'll sacrifice mileage

 

I phoned Toyota "Customer Experience Center" this morning about something else, and while I had them on the line I asked if the wheel covers serve any useful purpose. They said nope, no function.

Here's a photo of that late model Gen 3's 15" wheel with the OEM wheel cover. Lots of open area there, it's hardly "covered".

My guess is that airflow in that area is very disturbed anyway due to the wheel well, the spinning wheel, and air burbling out from under the car. Even assuming partial wheel covers might have some small benefit in preventing disturbance in a laminar flow situation, exposed spokes would have little impact in air that is already highly turbulent.

But handwaving theories are never good either way. It would be nice to see some actual data.

 

I thought the gen 3 alloy wheels were the same as the gen 4 alloy wheels except for the gen 3 was painted black under the wheel hub caps.
They are totally different right? Judging by the center caps not fitting the gen 4.


LG-H901 ?

 

Yeah, that was determined, on page 1~2 I think. The 3rd gen has a groove, in about 1/4". Fourth gen is different somehow; the cap tangs from third gen just don't work.

 

I agree, mostly. Steel wheels would likely add mass, though. So far, Toyota has failed to provide convincing evidence that the aerodynamic advantage of the covers is more significant to fuel consumption than the 3.5 pounds (on 3rd-generation version) dead weight they add. They've claimed that 15" aluminum wheels aerodynamically equivalent to the covers would weigh more than the present wheels with covers.

The silly covers also complicate checking and adjusting tire pressure. My compromise is to use them only on long trips, when aero drag is a more significant factor than in local short trips (which are generally at slower speeds with a lot of stops and hills).

 

In this thread about replacing the OEM Gen 4 wheels, the OP came up with a weight of 19lbs for the OEM 15" alloys:
'16 OEM wheel weights & options | PriusChat

Tire Rack lists steel wheels for the Gen 4 that are purported to be 19lbs.

 

Steel rims are pretty light, neck-and-neck with light alloys I think. My back confirms this whenever I put the 15" steel rims with snows on. But then, our OEM are the (porker) 3rd gen 17" alloys.