Installing Prius Wheels

Say goodbye to the hubcaps!

As part of my quest for better looks and performance, I’ve swapped out the stock steelies for a set of 15″ alloys from the 2nd generation Toyota Prius.  At the time, I had a fresh set of Yokohama Avid TRZ rubber on the car, so keeping the stock size was a priority for me.  Plus, these 15″ alloys are only 14.2 pounds each, making for very light weight wheels, at least for the price paid ($200 for the set of four, via eBay).

A note of caution: the steel wheels use an acorn style lug nut with a tapered seat.  Most factory Toyota alloy wheels (including wheels from the Celica, Corolla, Prius, etc), use a mag style lug nut, with an extended shank and integral washer.  The acorn style lug nut that the steel wheel uses will not work with these, and you’ll have to get the correct lug nut.  It’s available from Toyota, or from aftermarket sources.  The mag style nut does have a small acorn seat at the end of the shank, though, so it can be used with the steel spare wheel, in case of a flat.

These wheels look real sharp without the plastic trim ring.

I like these much better.

Those tires look nice and thick on these wheels.