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Newbie hubcap question

Discussion in 'Prius c Technical Discussion' started by winnertakesteve, Dec 31, 2012.

  1. winnertakesteve

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2012
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Please forgive if this question betrays my new-ness to the world of car ownership!

    I have the prius c with 15" alloy wheels, and I recently got my snow tires put on a set of steel wheels for the winter. The bare steel wheels are of course uuuuugly so I wanted to put on some snap-on hubcaps if possible.

    I went and bought some appropriately sized ones, but when I went to install them, it seems that the lug nuts on my steel wheels jut out further than normal (they look twice as long as the ones on my alloys).

    So my question is: how much of a "thing" will it become trying to sort this issue out? Like I'd ideally love for my dealership's service centre to just be able to throw on a smaller set of lug nuts (could they even use the alloy ones or are they likely a different fit?) and send me on my merry way. But is this more of something where I'm going to have to book an appointment in the new year and end up paying another $50 in labour just to put on a cheap set of hubcaps?

    Thanks for any thoughts or advice!
     
  2. Revan86

    Revan86 Animal nerd and alt car guy

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2012
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    Location:
    All over northern IL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    One of the guys I work with has really REALLY nice wheels and there for takes them off in the winter. What he did to get around your very problem was order on line what he calls "dog bowl hubcaps" for 35$ total. They go over everything, the whole steel wheel. He says they keep the snow off his break. Not quite sure about that but what do I know. They look pretty cool on his PT Cruiser and I have thought about it because I am sure they have better aerodynamics.
     
  3. winnertakesteve

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2012
    121
    35
    6
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Thanks Revan86. I swallowed my pride and just asked at a Toyota dealership how much it would cost me to put some smaller bolts onto the wheel. It ended up being $24 and they didn't charge to put them on. So It worked out reasonably well in the end, although I still wonder why, if there was a small bolt option, why they would default to a larger one that limits your options for things like wheel covers. Does anyone think there is a bit of an assumption that is made about c owners being "cheap" and not caring about cosmetic things like hubcaps on steel wheels? By comparison when they put snows on my dads Camry, they just went ahead and included hubcaps from the get go.
     
  4. Revan86

    Revan86 Animal nerd and alt car guy

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2012
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    0
    Location:
    All over northern IL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    Well the whole point of the C is that it is cheap than a lift back prius. If we are talking new cars it pretty much takes every bell and whistle you can get on a C it make it more than a lift back base. That being said its not a cheap car even at the base model. Even if it was cheap no one buys a brand new car and not care about how it looks at all.