Prius Plastic Wheel Trim removal
One of my first impressions of the Prius was how fugly the wheels were. It was not until after I purchased my car that I realized that there are some rather nice-looking alloy wheels hidden under those platic "PlaySkool" trim rings. Removing them is just a matter of yanking them off with your fingers. They are held on with spring clips, and easily pop right off. I actually removed mine right in the dealer's lot, and drove home with them in the cargo area where they wouldn't embarrass me. :)
Here is how they come from the factory - I put them back ON for this picture.
But I did it in the garage where nobody could see!
Just hook a couple of fingers like this (and use your other hand in an adjacent
spot) and yank toward you. Extra style points for not falling on your butt
when it pops off.
And here's your prize. The flash makes it look a bit more extremem. In the
daylight the wheels are much better looking without the trim rings (IMO)!
Suddenly, you have a sports car! And yes, you'll hear folks saying that the
trim rings are there for aerodynamics. Of course nobody has presented any
hard evidence to support the rumor, and certainly no significant gas mileage
difference has been reported by anybody who adds or removes them. If Toyota
was THAT concerned about aerodynamics, why not hide the antenna? Skirt the
rear wheels? Make completely smooth wheels? Who knows? All I know is that
I like my car better without the rings. Still can't make a pig fly... but
you can make them look better trying!
Here's the whole car without the wheel rings (or emblems).
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