Cheaper Stiffening Plate

Ordered mine from ebay also, compaired to the pictures of he BT plate, identical. Came with instruction and hardware. yep $49.99+s/h

 

I've seen both. Sorry, but they aren't "identical".

 

I have only had my Prius for a little over a month. Is the stiffening plate worth putting on? Is there a noticeable difference in the ride of the car with it?

 

Oh sure, you had to ask! There are several threads on this board (very long ones) on that subject. I think there are even several polls on it. Good luck getting a consensus on this!

 

I just bought a stiffening plate on Ebay as well for about $50 plus shipping (solid alloy/ silver color - and it comes with the attaching "screws" as well).

Very easy, obvious installation and yes - it definitely makes a difference - the ride is much smoother and less bumpy (I live on a dirt road in Vermont) - now I can say my ride is nearly equivalent to my former Honda Accord EX -


I am also thinking that a front sway bar and better shocks would make matters even better. Hope my observation helps - I agree - the BT Tech Stiffening plate is too expensive - check out Ebay instead.

Off Topic? The Weather Tech Cargo Mat on Amazon ($69 - free shipping) is a dream come true - and the Black Plastic Bumper Guard from Jesse at Metro Toyota for about $29 plus shipping (check out ebay again or Prius Shop) is fantastic!

 

Local metal supply whse. scrap table by cutoff saw. Cold rolled steel 3/8ths thickness. A power drill and 5 minutes and you have a stiffening plate for $3.00.

 

Does the ebay seller support Prius Chat in any way apart from spamming the board?
Did he spend any money or time on developement or just copy someone elses work?

I'm happy I have the quality original BT tech plate.

 

buuuuuurn. i'll look into getting the original. im pretty sure the ebay version doesnt have a warranty.

 

I just did a search on eBay for Pruis+plate like you say, and nothing came up.. well, except for license plates.. lol

 

removed link - please don't post links to this product.

 

To be fair to the ebay seller, I don't think he's the one that posted...I think it was a customer. Aside from that, I appreciate your position.

 

Weird, I thought searching eBay also searched eBay Motors, but I guess not... anyhow, this looks like a fair deal to me. The pics in the auction says it all. BT is asking waaay to much money for a chunk of metal, imo. "Oh but our BT plate is made with magic metal" they will say. lol

 

I don't think the manufacturer of the cheaper Stiffening Plate ever spammed this board at all - in fact I found it on my own time searching ebay's Prius goodies...
It works fine and I just saved $100.....

Oh - I just removed the direct link to the other product as I do not want to cause any problems. I am sorry if I offended anyone. I really do value this forum immensely and meant no harm.

 

Just buy the real deal BT stiffening plate dammit. stop trying to nickel and dime everything. Support prius chat! Now whether it works better than the stock one, well Thats a whole other talk. I do feel a difference and I am glad I bought it. No More white knuckle driving on windy days (or any other days)

 

Now who is trying to control the way a thread goes?

I think the WORLD and open market always find a cheaper better way. If BT was 50 bucks then they would have been the ones to sell 30 plates in 90 days.

Under this logic microwave ovens should still sell for 2000.00 dollars as the first ovens did way back when. Now I go to wallworld and buy a microwave for 39.00 dollars and if it breaks I toss it out.

Welcome to life and the way the biz world operates. You will find it impossible to put the gene back in the bottle.

 

I believe what was said is that it is alleged that the Ebay seller ripped off the design and most assuredly the concept, and then used BT's own photographs and text to sell it's counterfeit product. If this is true, the Ebay seller is no better than the fake Rolex salesman with watches up his sleeve. This is the way "the biz world operates" only because fools with no conscience continue to support people like this to save a buck. This man is no fool and this man will not support people like this. If the product is identical and the allegations are true, I hope the Ebay seller gets sued. I would be happy to take the case.

 

Does BT have a petent? If so I would assume this would be an easy case to make. I'm no expert in these issues, but I understand a manufacturer has to recoup R&D costs, etc. in the price of their products. From my understanding, that's what the patent is for...to protect the developer from having folks swoop in and benefit from someone's hard work.

I do think the market should establish prices for products, but it's also patently (pun intended) unfair for someone to take advantage of another's hard work.

On a related note, I noticed that the BT plates appear to be on back order. I'm not sure if it's because demand is very high or production of the plates are done in some kind of batch process.

I hope the OP didn't have any ill intentions here. I see he's been a member since Nov 07 and this was his first post. My presumption is that he thought he had found good info and wanted to share. If that's the case, I hope he's not decided to continue participating.