I see the Toyota option to upgrade 15" steel wheels to alloy wheels of the same size. Presumably both will take the same tire. Does this upgrade have any utility for a mundane driver, or is it purely cosmetic and/or for a car enthusiast? I understand an alloy wheel *might* be lighter, which would make it a bit easier for the engine to spin the wheels. But I saw some posters were weighing their wheels in another thread, and it wasn't clear there was any noticeable difference in wheel weight here. I'm guessing that, as a normal driver, I wouldn't notice any difference in MPG or handling. Is that a fair summary?
A racing wheel company makes some super lightweight wheels for Prius... Their wheels I think are nearly four pounds lighter but they cost almost $2k each. That 16 pounds less unsprung weight is purported to take 1 second off your 0-60mph time, maybe improves MPG slightly too. But in general wheels are all about appearance and very little about performance. So your assumption that difference in same size wheels of similar weight will make no MPG difference is correct.
The OE toyota wheels won't save you too much weight. Unless you are set on the look, it is would be a better choice to go with some lighter aftermarket cast or forged wheels.
Those wheels sound neat. But at $2k per wheel, the 0-60 time wouldn't improve; it would go to about an hour. Mainly for the reason that I'd come back to find my car had no wheels, and I'd have to call a tow truck.
You don't need to spend $2K to get lighter wheels. This thread has a lot of info: Prius c Steel Wheel Specs | PriusChat Learning to use the search function will sometimes get answers faster than posting a question and waiting for someone with knowlege to respond. Just sayin'
Lighter wheels won't make much difference because their mass is so close to the axle; lighter tires on the other hand and for the same principle where the weight matters how far from the axis will have great affect on your mpg and acceleration. Lightweight wheels matter for competition, racing or autocrossing, but not on the street.
