Aftermarket 17" Alloys

[Westender]

Thinking about gettings some new 17" alloys for my Gen 3 Prius as the originals are badly scuffed by the previous owner. I'm a newbie to purchasing aftermarket alloys and have been looking at a few online retailers to give an indication of what might be available. Read somewhere that the stock alloys are 7" wide (7J?) and 50 offset so assume I would need a similar spec. Not sure whether to purchase online or go through my local independent tyre shop. Any advice welcome.

[Sagitar]

I don't believe I can help you much, except to say that if you haven't already thought of it, remember that you do not necessarily have to put on 17" wheels.

When I decided to buy an extra set of wheels to fit winter tyres, I concluded that I would be better off with 15" wheels and tyres with an appropriate profile. So during the winter I am running 195/65 tyres on 15" x 6.5" wheels and in the summer 215/45 tyres on the OEM 17" wheels.

The 195/65s were a bit cheaper than the equivalent 215/45s; they reduce the chance of scuffing kerbs, being a bit deeper; and my impression is that they give a rather more comfortable ride.

When I was looking for wheels, I found the local suppliers a bit useless. They did not seem to have any good information about which wheels would fit on the Prius. Your local people may be a lot better. Because I was looking for smaller wheels, it wasn't just a question of stud pitch, width and offset, but also whether the inner diameter would clear brake components etc.

I found a firm called POTN in Northampton who had good information and I bought from them. I couldn't give them 10 out of 10 because I had a delivery problem at one point, but the wheels are in their fourth winter and I am very pleased with them.

And don't forget to clear things with your insurance company!

[Westender]

Thanks Sagitar for the advice.

[stompe]

Hiya

I used these they were A1 fantastic http://www.paintituk.com/

i changed the colour to Anthracite