BT Stiffening Plate Review

i went over 17 about a week ago. just before i got the plate. oo... i could FLY over 17 now *huge grin* hehehehe. I need to get the strut tower brace though.

 

Brian,
On the record: the price is fair for what it has done for my ride. I wouldn't consider going back to the Toyota Lasagna they call a plate. I was impressed when I got the plate with the build only questioning if it would really work. Well, it does.
Thanks again for making the BT plate available to us!

 

oh.. btw.. i recommend hicks. give it a spin.. wait.. if you have vsc that will never happen lol. ok.. bad pun. you can keep around 60 on hicks... if you know the road normally you can't hold speeds like this. If you do the trac control kicks in and you slow. too much pressure on the front wheels when corning, you kinda slide. but now... hehe.. muahahaha

Just don't let a sports car get in your way. they can't drive. Unless it's a lotus elise.. but i've only seen 2 in the area so far. One arrived at my work today.

 

Brian--I had the plate installed by a pro shop that has the best reputation in town. It took 15 minutes, but at least 10 of the minutes were when the all of the mechanics were passing it around remarking on its first class workmanship and quality. Its a thing of beauty and, unusual in this day and age, actually performs at least as well as advertised. Thanks.

 

After letting my BT Plate sit on my counter for a couple of weeks, my guilt at not having installed it finally got the better of me and it is now installed. I must say there is nothing subtle or subliminal about the difference it makes. I can't believe the difference and Toyota has missed the boat in allowing such a great car to be sold with such an obvious weakness that is so easily corrected. Thanks for making the improvement available. The improvement is worth every bit of the price. All I could think about while driving it home today was "I wonder what other handling improvements can be made to this car?"

Anyway, now if I can just get the audio Ipod compatible (2005 w/nav), I will be in heaven

 

I should point out... and I hope Brian will correct me if I'm wrong - these are NOT type III (hard) anodize. They appear to be type II. I've done my own tests, and had a plater take a look. If you are paying for type III, I don't believe you are getting it, Brian!

Type III is not shiny (Mag lights are type II, and are shiny, for comparison - and this is what the plates look like). And Type III should not be easily scratched with a common screwdriver - which these plates can be.

I sell quite a bit of type III anodized aluminum, and as far as I can tell, this isn't it.

Regardless of which type of anodize they have on them, I'd ask for a bit longer in the etch tank to make them even prettier.

 

All of our plates were specd to be Type III hard anodized. We had a production run that had a shinier appearance and I asked the anodizer about this but it was still certified by them as Type III hard anodized.


Thanks!!

Brian
BT Tech
305-652-3115

 

Since I've only seen a sample of one, I probably shouldn't have made such a general statement.

Still... for the one I have, it is too shiny to be type III. Type III can't be shiny. And it most definitely shouldn't scratch like this one. It is quite difficult to start a drill in type III, and this one can be drilled like there's no plating.

Regardless, Type II is more than enough protection for these plates - I just didn't want the plater to be pulling one over on you.

 

Thanks Darrel.. The anodizer that I use is actually really good about getting our plates done on time and their quality is excellent. This same shop does a lot of work for Boeing and other military contractors so I know they are experienced at what they do.

The last few batches of plates have been noticably less shiny in appearance but still look excellent. As you know the difference in price between type II vs type III is not very much but I still like the idea of having a "mil spec" anodized product!!


Thanks!!

Brian
BT Tech
305-652-3115

 

Brian,
I have a quick comment/question. I have installed your plate, and I am completely happy...but I do not understand your pricing.

Those of us who ordered while you are out of stock were actually at a disadvantage, because within a week or so of you getting them in, you then offered them at a reduced rate.

I understand your wanting to "move" product when you get a large shipment in, but it is pretty unfair for those of us who patiently waited for them to come in and paid full price to boot.

I do not want to come off as not liking your product, because I do...it just means that in the future I would advise others to wait until you offer your products on sale.

What you will create is a situation where more people wait until your sale...causing you to receive less "full" price sales.

Hey, $20 is not a big deal. It just bothered me that within a week or two of receiving my plate (I even ordered it before I received my car)...you were selling them for less (in fact my plate was not even installed yet!).

 

Thank you for your comments and I am happy that you are pleased with your new BT Tech stiffening plate for your Prius!!

I understand and appreicate your input in regards to us having a "sale" on our plates. Only twice in about a year have we ever offered this kind of sale. We hope that by doing this we were able to get people who were on the fence about purchasing one to get off and actually do so. The more people that install our stiffening plate the more people talk about its performance and quality thus generating more interest.

The amount of money we actually make off this product is very small so don't look for these "sales" too often. For most people just getting our plate when we have them available and in stock is more important than waiting for the 20 dollar off deal that might or might not happen in the near future.


Thanks!!

Brian
BT Tech
305-652-3115

 

Brian, this may be a naive question, I am not a materials engineer, but why was milled, anodized aluminum chosen instead of cast aluminum? Does it have greater strength or other distinct structural advantages? What other materials or options did you consider ? The BT plate is great, no complaints, just curious.

 

Excellent question Begreen.

Having each stiffening plate CNC machined is the most precise and strongest method of making this part. With this process I am assured of getting the highest possible quality and having each part within .003"!! Also, each part starts off as 6061 T-6 billet aluminum for unsurpassed strength. In short, these parts are truly aircraft quality in terms of strength and precision.

A much cheaper way to go would be with sand casting. In this process a mold is made and molten material fills the voids of the mold and when cooled the end product is created. The problem with this method is that the strength is greatly compromised and the tollerances are too large for this application. Often during sand casting air bubbles are created within the mold which significantly reduces the strength of the part. The finish quality is also poor when compared to cnc machining.

Another method of casting is what they call investment casting. This is a much higher quality process over sand casting but creating the mold for a low volume part such as this is not financially viable.

For one that wants the highest quality part with the emphasis on strength, cnc machining is the only way to go for me!!




Thanks!!

Brian
BT Tech
305-652-3115

 

Is there anyone in LA who's added this to their Prius? ... and who might be willing to let another Prius guy take a little ride in it to see the difference?

Also, Brian, I don't know crap about cars, so I gotta ask a Dumb Guy question... does this have any effect on the car's gas efficiency?

 

Hello Sparky.. There are TONS of people that have purchased our plate in the LA area. I am sure that some of them will chime in here and give you their impressions.

Gas efficiency will NOT be affected by the addition of our stiffening plate.


Thanks!!

Brian
BT Tech
305-652-3115

 

Brian, I understand...but those of us who ordered had to wait too...just not long enough to get your $20 deal.

Maybe it would be better to offer the sale to those willing to order and wait, rather then those who can order them anytime while in your stock! This way you reward people for supporting you during your "out of stock" times, rather then making them feel bad for not having been "on the fence". You see this all the time in retail stores, where they offer you a discount for pre-ordering.

P.S. For SPARKY - I live in LA and the plate seems to work well for me (I only drove it for a week or so without it). However, I know from past experience with suspension systems, and type of stiffening product on this type of chassis is bound to help.

 

Maybe the price should be raised to $180, and more frequent sales can be made at the $160 price point.

This is a quality product, one that seems to have universal acceptance as tremendous bang for the buck. Poor Brian is getting flack for trying to give a little break. Sometimes trying to do something good bites you back.

 

Yep! $180 would make a lot of people who paid $160 happier!

I always tell my kids that life is not fair, so deal with it!

I waited 4 months for my 2004 Prius and got only $2000 tax deduction.
It really bothered me that people buying the 2006 are getting a $3150 tax credit.

So I bought another Prius last month.....

 

i fail to see people perception that this mod is overpriced. these people have not shopped for other mods in this area since every body stiffening or suspension mod is much more expensive.

we also have to look at cost. the Toyota part was manufactured with a cost/benefit ratio in mind. you see what you got right? you dont have to be an engineer to immediately see that the BT plate is a fairly significant upgrade.

now for an independent shop to design the part and commision someone to produce the part, i think its dirt cheap. especially when large manufacturing operations are charging more for similiar products. sure the large companies have much more overhead, but they also have much less operating costs.

compare this to the Prius. many think that Toyota is losing money on the Prius. well sure, the first gen lost money because it had to absorb the hundred million dollar R&D investment. but its easy to see a profit when you know that eventually, millions will be sold (well not really, but Gen III should sell ALMOST a million or so) Brian had a good product, but if he sells 100 then how much should he charge for his time??

granted, his marketing costs were probably small and his advertising dollar has the huge advantage of contacting a large portion of his market directly thru PriusChat. i think any business venture is a risk and the cost of the product should cover a portion of that risk. very few provide a product for nothing and i dont expect Brian to do so.

as far as missing the sale... get used to it. there is very few people who have not been burned by a sale or two.