BT Tech Introducts 2 new products for the Prius

Whoa! It must be Christmas!

Thanks Brian.

 

I'd like to see the painted version... looks clean... my plastic cover is all peeled... the old man used the car for a while and he's a lousy driver

 

I live in Squirrels Central (seriously), and only recently heard about Rat Away spray.

Do plates like this provide a nice hiding place for squirrels and other wire eating rodents to nest?

Guess I can spray the entire subject area with Rat Away before putting the plate on, but I don't know how long that stuff is supposed to last.

 

I wonder how well those holes will do at scooping deep snow and packing it away behind the shield.

 

skid plate

The skid plate sounds like a good idea. Perhaps the holes could be made of a size that would allow screwing in the same size boat deck access covers as they would keep snow, mud, etc out. The covers are offered in white or clear, usually of polycarbonate so are virtually unbreakable. Also, maybe the covers would allow for larger diameter access holes, which would improve access.
Dave in Seattle
2007 Prius

 

Me too. It looks like it would help the aero package.

But the others have good questions, and my main interest would be for snow.

How will it reacts to driving over the deep stuff, will it protect, or will it scoop and snag?
If the holes act like scoops, maybe a cover could be made, that fastens with a tab, and one or 2 screws.

How would it affect engine cooling in summer?

 

It seems like a great idea, but it's not clear whether I'd have enough elbow room to remove the oil filter, especially without spilling oil. Will two (long) arms fit through the hole? I use the cut-off bottom half of a 2 liter plastic juice bottle to capture leaking oil as the filter is unscrewed and to drop the filter in after it's off. Is the hole big enough for that?

If oil is spilled (which I almost always seem to do despite my best efforts), it would seem like some will almost certainly drip onto the inside of the plate. How do you clean it without taking it off?

I use ramps, so I don't have as much room to maneuver as if the car was on a lift.

 

I hope it won't cover up the undercar lights -- er, I mean Antigravity Generators.

 

I would like to see one that covers the entire length of the undercarriage, incorporating the chassis stiffening brace as well as stiffening the entire vehicle against buckling in any direction -- not only would the smooth aerodynamics increase our downforce making the car substantially safer at high speeds, they would ALSO increase aerodynamics and overall mileage if the weight could be kept down!

~ dan ~

 

Awesome!! I remember when we chatted about this a couple of years
ago, too. The big obstacle as I saw it was how to mount the
thing, and I assume you've done the appropriately complex amount
of metalwork needed to attach to something substantial.
.
I'm a little concerned about the holes and access too, as when
I'm doing O/F I like to have everything nice and open under there.
Is there an easy way to have the brackets holding the plate on
be the permanently-mounted piece, and then the [solid] plate itself
relatively easy to remove with a few easily-accessed bolts right
on the bottom? The bolt holes may need to be slightly slotted,
but we could certainly live with that.
.
Airflow shouldn't be an issue since the whole thing is open at
the back where the exhaust pipe and suspension are, if you
haven't left your radiator-blocker in...
.
_H*

 

interesting... have to post to keep up on developments, otherwise, i forget...but i do bottom out occasionally simply because the people who design parking lots eat lunch with the people in charge on maintaining parking lots and the entrances and exits are the first to go.

 

I think it looks really nice, Brian. If you could actually check with a Toyota dealer, to see if their maintenance people have any issues with it, that'd be my only concern, since at this time I do take the car to the dealership.

As an aside, I re-torqued my Plate after 1 1/2 years of service; it hadn't loosened appreciably and was showing no other signs of wear. I'm sure this will be up to those high standards.

 

Does the skid plate allow for the small plastic air dam on the 06 and newer Prius? Mine scrapes every day on my driveway, and parking curbs. Maybe if the skid plate could incorporate a small vertical lip in front, it could replace the factory plastic, and be more durable? Just a thought.

 

What I'm thinking is reduction in drag, and increased aerodynamics.... Hmmm, probably not enough to make a great deal of difference, but that plus the protective aspects.... Nice idea BT!! I'll show my wife as the Holidays are approaching!!

 

Here's an idea to keep the plate nice and flat (no holes, more aerodynamic) but still retain easy access for oil changes.

Add a removable plate which is held into place using Dzus fasteners. Here's a pic of what the fasteners look like, they are extremely low profile

http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/dzus.htm