Hubcaps or no???

[bkndacn]

Ok I have a 2009 HB Bayou Blue and I just recently painted my center console blue and when I was sitting there admiring my car from the outside I realized that the hubcaps are the only silver thing on/in the car :frown: so do you think that Yoshi will look better with or without the hubcaps?

not to mention that I have a few gouges on the hubcaps that I don't particularly enjoy :mad:




PS: Is there some kind of secret trick to takin these puppies off :iono: I thought that they just popped off but it feels like I'm gonna brake it!

Thanks in advance for your help YW peeps are AMAZING!!! :headbang:

this is him with them on (before they got scratched)

[Bella]

I recently lost a hub cap after I had my tyres changed and the tyre-place didn't put them back on properly. Being as pedantic as I am, I couldn't stand the thought of driving around with a missing hub cap, so I took the other three off til I could either a) afford new wheels + tyres, or b) find another Yaris YR hub cap.

Personally, I hate it. I feel like I'm driving some smashed up bomb driving without hubcaps, but that's only because I'm so pedantic! The only thing that is making me feel slightly better about it is that it's snow season, so a fair few cars are driving around with steelies since they have to put chains on to go up the mountains. Plus, I keep getting people asking me if someone stole my wheels and I had to replace them with steelies.

To get them off, there is a tool that was provided with the car. It's stored under the carpet shelf in boot floor, next to the spare tyre in a black plastic case. All you have to do is put the flatter end under the edge of the hub cap and pull it back towards you. They seem flimsy but they should come off fairly easily.

[MadMax]

No hubcaps looks ghetto poor, and I think your Yaris looks pretty good as it is!

Cheers! M2

[GrimlockGT]

Definitely keep the hubcaps.

[firebob]

I took off my hubcaps before I drove off the lot. I don’t see why people think they should cover up there rims, but I got the car for what it was not thinking it was something else.

If it looks that ghetto people might pass on to the next car before they go to break into it.

[HTM Yaris]

Loose the hubcaps ! The Yaris looks GHETTO "with" the caps . If you clean then wax your steelies they will look good and stay dirt free longer . Plus when they do get dirty , you can just rinse off . Not to mention that you won't have to worry about your hubcaps coming off and doing damage to someone or another vehicle .

Oh and about removing the caps ..just pull ....

[big lo]

Well I ve seen some painted in flat black, it looks cool but then again save some money and buy some rims for your car. When I purchased the sedan, it came with stock rims, after two hours I went to a tire and rim shop and brought, rims and suspension for the sedan, and it gave a new different look, you just do you, if your happy keep it the way it is, if not get some rims later, holla at me.

[UTVitz]

Just give each one a fast tug and they'll pop right off. See if you like the look. I like the caps on because they give the car a more filled out look-black tires/black rims seem to disappear under the car and the black rims always look dirty.

[Qmobile]

I'd say yes or if you want a different look you could get beauty rings, there are(least used to be) a hand full of people runnin beauty rings on here. Ultimately it's your decision. I know mine came with steelies n caps but within like a month I tracked down my rims....kept the steelies though just in case

[RedRide]

Fist off, the stock hubcaps are very well made and this is why they can be somewhat dificult to remove.

I took mine off and replaced them with trim rings and center caps.
Personaly, I do not like the stock caps.
The reason is, they pretend to be alloy wheels and one definition of "rice" is somthing that pretends to be something that it isn't.

Anyway, I like the look of the trim rings and center caps on the Yaris HB. :smile:

[firebob]

What is a good center cap to cover up the castle nut? I have not seen any thing that was cheap and didn’t draw attention to it’s self…

[Billiam]

If you have steel wheels with no center caps and trim-rings, use the hubcaps. Just doesn't look right without them IMO.

[bkrownd]

Do the covers serve a useful purpose by keeping junk out of part of the wheel, or are they 100% cosmetic?

[firebob]

From what I saw the hub caps are mostly cosmetic. They would keep some stuff from hitting the castle nut and the threads on the front end, but keeping it on the road I don’t think there is a lot of stuff that hits it with mass. If nothing is covering it up you will remember to spray some kind of lube on it from time to time to keep it from rusting.

[KRAZGRL]

Hubcaps = Ugly!

For my Yaris and another one, I simply pulled them off. Just give it a good tug and they'll pop right off.

I took my hubcaps off simply because I like the look of no hubs vs stock ones I don't care for. I just washed my car... I'll take some pics and post them. Plus, I like the look of the dark stock wheels with my dark tint (white 09 3door).

(My goal is to get new wheels when I need tires... I'm considering the Konig Heliums in matte black.)

[firemachine69]

I had a wheel get bent last winter, so I even'd out both sides by taking off both hubcaps when I replaced the one rim.

My axle threads and nuts are now a pile of rusty junk.


Keep them on.


Unless you're like me, and planning to get some aluminum interceptor-style covers made up by a millwright... :evil:

[KRAZGRL]

Okay... mine w/o hubcaps. Can't wait until I can get the wheels I want.

The last 2 pics are for fun... just messing around with the wide angle lens. :tongue:

[firemachine69]

Well you west-coast folks don't know what rust is. :tongue:

[KRAZGRL]

Well you west-coast folks don't know what rust is. :tongue:

Rust? What's that? :biggrin:

[Qmobile]

Well you west-coast folks don't know what rust is. :tongue:

:clap: well said well said indeed :clap:

[yarrr]

laughing too hard to answer almost anything.

1st, bella, pedantic doesn't mean what you think it does. Try anal retentive
2nd, everyone who thinks steelies look ghetto, plastic rims aren't?
3rd, well made hubcaps? rofl, i never scraped or hit anything and I lost a toyota emblem. ghetto pieces of garbage that make your car look like a toy.
4th, west coast people know quite a bit about rust, just not on cars. Ocean air rusts just about anything. We just don't poor corrosive salt all over our roads.

[bkndacn]

Well Yoshi (my Yaris) spent the first 2 years of his life in Maryland even during the worst winter on record (which I tottaly drove through :headbang:) so this lil guy knows rust :frown:

I live less than a mile from the ocean and ive noticed that the ocean mist makes my car a different kind of dirty!! :cry:

[RedHatch08]

I've been having this discussion with myself.

Keep the caps?
Pull the caps and go with steelies?
Paint the caps?

Can't afford rims right now, so I'm just sticking with the caps.

Previous owner scratched the sh!t out of the front right one, so they're not attractive right now.

I'm not a huge fan of steelies either though. I used to have a Sentra coupe that I bought nice aftermarket caps for, and they got STOLEN pretty soon after I got them. HUBCAPS STOLEN. So after that I just ran with steelies and said fukc it.

[KRAZGRL]

laughing too hard to answer almost anything.

1st, bella, pedantic doesn't mean what you think it does. Try anal retentive
2nd, everyone who thinks steelies look ghetto, plastic rims aren't?
3rd, well made hubcaps? rofl, i never scraped or hit anything and I lost a toyota emblem. ghetto pieces of garbage that make your car look like a toy.
4th, west coast people know quite a bit about rust, just not on cars. Ocean air rusts just about anything. We just don't poor corrosive salt all over our roads.

Oh gawd... The last house my parents ownded had an ocean view, so we had the "nice ocean breezes". Well, we also had all kinds of things rust/become corroded (lamps, door knobs, COMPUTER parts).... Ugh, I'm glad I now live about 20 min away. Great to be close, but not too close. lol

[bkndacn]

I've been having this discussion with myself.

LOL its really not good to have a conversation with yourself! In Germany we have a saying for that .... roughly translated it is "the men with the white tennis shoes are going to come pick you up" :bellyroll: meaning your goin to the crazy house!!! LMFAO jk :thumbup:

[RedHatch08]

That's great.

I'll watch out for the men with the white tennis shoes.

When I see them coming I'll know why they're here.

[Qmobile]

. I used to have a Sentra coupe that I bought nice aftermarket caps for, and they got STOLEN pretty soon after I got them. HUBCAPS STOLEN.

:laughabove::laughabove: who steals hubcaps!?! seriously.....I'm both amused and shocked by this!!

[RedHatch08]

^
Yeah EXACTLY!

And this was when I still lived in Canada. This was not Detroit sh!t. I got some nice 5-spoke style caps, and I looked out the window one morning ... caps were GONE.

I was not amused, but definitely shocked myself.

[KRAZGRL]

I've been having this discussion with myself.

Keep the caps?
Pull the caps and go with steelies?
Paint the caps?

Can't afford rims right now, so I'm just sticking with the caps.

Previous owner scratched the sh!t out of the front right one, so they're not attractive right now.

I'm not a huge fan of steelies either though. I used to have a Sentra coupe that I bought nice aftermarket caps for, and they got STOLEN pretty soon after I got them. HUBCAPS STOLEN. So after that I just ran with steelies and said fukc it.

If you give me $5 and pay for shipping, I can send you out one of mine (off of an '09) to replace your scratched one. lol

[yarisugi]

I like what YAR1S did - blacked out steel wheels with trim rings and center cap.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y294/Cheekyllama/IMG_3040.jpg

I also liked what Thirty-Nine did - painted the black steel wheels silver.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v225/Tekka_Maki/Yaris/WinterMode.jpg

Or both? Painted the wheels silver and put back the wheel covers.

[bkndacn]

WOW! :eyebulge: Thats crazy that I was just on Youtube looking at how to paint my wheels!!! I wonder if I could get the exact Bayou Blue color and just paint my wheels the same color of the car :drool: that would be sweet!

Where would someone get such a paint?
Where would one get such stylish trim rings and caps (and possibly paint them Bayou Blue!:clap:)


PS: Would I absolutely have to take my tires off the wheels to paint them? bc on Youtube some did and some didn't....(I dont trust them but I trust YW people!:biggrin:)

and what about that brake-thingy that you can see through the wheels on some cars? can you see them through the Yaris wheels? bc they sometimes dont look too good....

Ive been meaning to take those hubcaps off to take a peek but ive been far too lazy! lol

[ufocar]

The hubcaps make the car look like an old persons car. Rims are not fuel efficient which is the reason i got a yaris and I also feel silly getting rims on a car that's not paid for... Thats just me I didn't grow up thinking gold teeth looked good either. Just wax the steelies and they look awesome. I went ahead and painted my lug nuts and these guys saying they had rust on the nuts.. well there was rust on the nuts when i took the caps off 5 minutes after i left the dealershit. <---lol Rims are for kids who parents pay there car payment if you ask me. and they look like gold teeth usually... kinda silly anyone that tells you that your car looks "like you don't have insurance" or "ghetto" because you took some plastic shit hubcaps off should be ignored because they think rims looks good on an economical car.. this is not a honda civic and it wont ever be.. (thank god)

[Yaris Hilton]

I'm running mine bare. I like 'em better that way.

[rye7jen]

I removed mine, when I'm seeing my Yaris with those hubcaps, it seems that it's not progressing. IMO, since the stock tires size here in Middle East are 14", having those hubcaps are just like making the wheels even smaller.

[RedHatch08]

If you give me $5 and pay for shipping, I can send you out one of mine (off of an '09) to replace your scratched one. lol

Thanks but I think I'll just stick with what I've got for now. I really just need to set aside the ca$h for some rims at some point.

I'm probably not going to do much to the car until the warranty is up. I've got about 2,000 miles left, so I'll think more about it then.

[firebob]

Lol $5 + shipping is a lot of money for one of them paper weights. But I sold mine for $30 for the set.

[Rain]

No hubcaps looks ghetto poor, and I think your Yaris looks pretty good as it is!

Cheers! M2

Ghetto poor :laugh:
you made my day

Yes, keep the hubcaps please.

[contraband831]

I would go with painting your hubcaps flat black, but i would roll around town with no hubcaps also, because i am ghetto haha

[KRAZGRL]

Thanks but I think I'll just stick with what I've got for now. I really just need to set aside the ca$h for some rims at some point.

I'm probably not going to do much to the car until the warranty is up. I've got about 2,000 miles left, so I'll think more about it then.

No worries. :)

Lol $5 + shipping is a lot of money for one of them paper weights. But I sold mine for $30 for the set.

I figured 5 bucks to split up the set wasn't too bad. I looked at ebay and one Toyota factory hubcap was going for $35. :iono:

['LilRedYaris]

Decided to take the minor plunge on some trim rings @ the local O'reillys today. But totally struck out on finding suitable center caps / dust covers. What size are they, and where can I find some? Kinda surprised the car didn't come w/ any. Need to cover up the rustiness and/or unsightliness in the centers.

Or can I order some from Toyota themselves? I'll actually be heading to a Toyota New Owners thing at my local dealer tomorrow night.

[krolos]

I thought about getting custum rims for my sedan,but I think too much money
so I took the hubcaps off and replaced the stock steel nuts with capped crome nuts, and I think it looks much better.

[Cosmonaut]

lol ghetto poor? please.

all i did was paint the lip of the steelies red and some people at work asked if i got new "rimz" because they have that red lip. No i just painted it. lmao.

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=346&pictureid=2166
not the best pic i have but it serves it purpose.

['LilRedYaris]

I feel like I've upgraded my Yaris' looks considerably by omitting the stock hubcaps. I've added the O'reillys trim rings and NAPA center caps like some others have done. I spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon cleaning and attempting to polish up the stock steelies. I hated that some areas of the wheels looked brand new and others were dull due to the gaps inherent in the hubcaps. I just had to get rid of them... Hubcaps that pretend they're alloys are no friends of mine.

I like the new look alot! I've included a before picture to compare to. Thanks to the search function I was able to track down the Napa part No. for the dust caps and tips for putting & keeping them on. Without the help YW and it's members give me - this minor mod would've been difficult.

Now, next up: Ultra racing 19mm rear sway bar, and chrome lug nuts. Can't wait! :headbang:

[cali yaris]

awesome - keep it just like that. If I'd known how to do it, I would have done the same when my Yaris was new.

[cali yaris]

just paint my wheels the same color of the car that would be sweet!

Where would someone get such a paint?

www.automotivetouchup.com sells paint in a spray can for your car's color code.

[cali yaris]

Rims are not fuel efficient

LOL, what?

['LilRedYaris]

Thanks Garm! Can't wait to get the package you sent. :D

[SLIK4]

dang...after looking at what steelies can look like i might have to do something along those line :) maybe powder-coated? anyone have a general idea how much it would cost to get all four done? or should i just try to clean em up and maybe paint?

[Yar Is Word]

The originals (all four) got cracked or broken.
Replaced with these from Hubcap Mike.
http://www.hubcapmike.com/424-15c.html
photos from website.

[bkndacn]

so I've decided to get the trim pieces and the center caps but I am going to color match them! I'm excited! but unfortunately I have to fly back to MD for a week in aug so EVERYTHING is on hold..... :-(

[yarrr]

The originals (all four) got cracked or broken.
Replaced with these from Hubcap Mike.
http://www.hubcapmike.com/424-15c.html
photos from website.

sorry, someone calling steelies ghetto poor set me off. Those are by far the ugliest wheels/hubcaps i've seen on a yaris.

[ERA]

ghetto poor. ha.

[ddongbap]

sorry, someone calling steelies ghetto poor set me off. Those are by far the ugliest wheels/hubcaps i've seen on a yaris.

But bro, they're chrome.

[Qmobile]

LOL, what?

I'm with u! If rims ain't fuel savvy then why are most if not ALL rims lighter than steelies?

[krolos]

I went to Napa and looked for some center caps for 14'' stock steelies,
some of you have gotten yours there,
they did not have the right size, not in their catalog either.
does anyone have the part number or size for the 14'' rim?

Thanks

[firemachine69]

I'm with u! If rims ain't fuel savvy then why are most if not ALL rims lighter than steelies?



That's probably the most innacurate statement I've heard all week - no, correction, all month. :thumbdown:

[Qmobile]

prove it! show me weight comparisons and everything

[Midnight Drifter]

What's the part #'s for the center caps and trim rings? Or even center caps alone.

Shit looks hella PI <3

['LilRedYaris]

Trim rings - no idea. I just picked up a generic set for 15" wheels at the local O'Reillys. Dust cap Part No.: BK 7302411. These will have to be picked up at NAPA as they're a Napa part. Two come per box. They won't fit the centers right off the bat... You'll have to get that waterproof 3M Double-sided tape and line the interior wall of each dust cap. You'll definitely wanna sand & paint them too. I finally did mine over the weekend with several coats of glossy black Rustoleum.

[KrazyDawg]

Two of my hubcaps are cracked and one of them looks like a piece would eventually fall off hitting a pothole. I'll take pics later if I remember to. In the meantime, I've been looking at these two for replacements. Some places are selling Toyota hubcaps for $40/each.

Damage was caused by parking too close to the curb and it doesn't help that the hubcaps stick out a bit.

http://www.amazon.com/HUBCAPS-COVERS-DESIGN-UNIVERSAL-WHEELS/dp/B0022H82EA/ 14"

http://www.amazon.com/HUBCAPS-COVERS-DESIGN-UNIVERSAL-WHEELS/dp/B001E74NE2/ 15"

[why?]

prove it! show me weight comparisons and everything

wheelweights.net is all you need. The Yaris steelies are on there too.

Now most of the wheels the autocrossers get are lighter than or close to the steelies, but anything 17" and over get to be heavy.

[Palmer812]

Yaris steelies 15x6 16lbs. My Konigs 15x6.5 10.8 lbs. :iono:

[tonbon]

i painted my hubcaps flat black.

[Yar Is Word]

That looks nice!

[Freedan]

Looks like I'll bet getting a set of wheel trims for the time being. Just can't afford nice rims and new tires at the moment.

[.Kevin.]

Are steelies really better than alloys through winter?

And are bullet caps with a trim ring easy to install?

[why?]

Are steelies really better than alloys through winter?

And are bullet caps with a trim ring easy to install?

I don't think it is a case of better or worse, but in saving the investment in them by not exposing them to the winter elements.

However in snow driving, the smaller and thinner the tire is, the better.