BT Tech stiffening plate question

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Oct 15 2006, 11:29 PM) [snapback]333272[/snapback]</div>

Hey Godiva don't butt in! It's a guy thing. Bob and I are friends. We had lunch together today. I defend his right to be wrong.

 

I really did not notice the handling and tracking issue with my Prius until I got on the open highway. I already had my fill of BMW's and other high performance cars and I really wanted something economical and easy on the environment. After driving my car for about a week I ordered the stiffening plate and after I got it installed the car was really transformed. Like I mentioned I would drive with it for a few weeks and then take it off and put the original one back on. Right away I could feel the twitchiness (sic)?? in the rear of the car and the car basically handled like crap. I would put the bt stiffening plate back on and all was good again.
This is my experience and from the many pages i have read the experiences of most that have installed it. It is probably true that there will be people that put it on and dont feel anything different but i would think that would be a very small minority or those that have no idea what good handling is all about.

If you like the handling of your Prius i would not even bother. I did not like what I had and now I do. If you are looking for documented numbers showing the improvements that the stiffeing plate makes i think you are pissing up a rope. What aftermarket companies will give you such info? Look at Sigma and all of the go-fast parts and handling components there. I dont see anything that shows that data you are looking for.

Dude its 150.00 for the darn thing. I could understand if it was 500.00 plus shipping but it is so inexpensive an item not to at least try for yourself.

Ken
2006 Prius #6









<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Allannde @ Oct 15 2006, 11:23 PM) [snapback]333267[/snapback]</div>

 

Ken

First you say you didn;t notice any handling issues and then after trying the BT brace you noticed that your car "...handled like crap..." Can you see why I find it hard to adopt your experience into mine?

If I had a problem with the handling of my car, I would first have the alignment checked. Then I would try tires which are known for better handling. If I still had a problem with the handling I definitly would try the BT brace. It is not a matter of money. It is a matter of figuring out the right way to deal with the car.

Like I said above, I think Toyota put that brace there because of the weight of the battery which is just above it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ken Stewart @ Oct 15 2006, 11:07 PM) [snapback]333291[/snapback]</div>

I would.. I thought there was nothing wrong with the handling "except strong cross winds made me wander everywhere" until I put on the brace.

Right out of the showroom its perfect enough that when comparing with other cars, you may not notice anything... but the brace tightens things up.

And if you think your "handling" is good... you can't test it by driving like grandma... you need to test it.
Driving perfectly straight does not test it.. that may show you if your toe in is off, but nothing for turning, swerving and twisting around corners etc.

If you want to spend 30 grand on your car and not go a head and spend 1/200th more to change it forever during the lifetime of the car... then let it be.

 

After we had our 06 aligned properly and new feet, I did "test" it quite well - down a 5 mile switchback road coming off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Before having the alignment done and the tires changed, the wind buffeted the Prius every which way, large trucks made it move, and while it didn't pull in either direction it sure enough wandered all the time.
Something you don't really find out in a 10-15 minute test drive, but which was very noticeable after we bought the car and took it out on the open road. I wouldn't have dared come down that road at the speed I did with the car in its original condition.

After doing those two things, coming down that switchback road really showed me just what an enormous change there had been . . . IF my car still handled the way it used to, I might consider the BT brace - but since it now hugs the road every bit as well as my '68 Camaro did, I see no need. I wouldn't presume to tell anyone else not to buy one of these braces, but I do think it's important to point out that I apparently achieved the desired result by a different method - the alignment was free, and that's what caused the most difference, the tires were worth every penny I paid for them.

I may agree with some of Bob's points . . . but not with the way he makes them. I may be female, but I can think just as well as any man, whether it be about a car or anything else.

 

If you re-read my post I was comparing the handling of my Prius to when I first got it and then after I installed the bt stiffening plate. The differences to me in the handling was night and day better with the bt plate in place compared to the factory one.

The first thing i did was have my alignment checked and the tech said that it was perfect. i had them put a little toe in on the front as others have did. It did improve things but still i was not happy with the tracking or handling of my Prius. That is when i ordered the stiffening plate and that one part made all the difference for me. My car now tracks straight and handles so much better.

Like i said i am not an engineer but this part works hands down.

Ken
2006 Prius #6

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Allannde @ Oct 16 2006, 12:25 AM) [snapback]333301[/snapback]</div>

 

"except strong cross winds made me wander everywhere" (I am not sure who I am quoting here)

Are we talking about the same make of car? I have driven at speed on two lane highways with very large trucks passing at speed in the opposite direction within inches of my car with no effect on my tracking. I have driven too fast on curvey two lane mountain roads with complete confidence. My Prius is just as it came from the factory.

I think the issue some people have with the BT brace is that they don't like to watch the trusting being tricked.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Allannde @ Oct 16 2006, 11:38 AM) [snapback]333450[/snapback]</div>

That was me... I'm talking about going across the I-205 bridge between Vancouver Washington and portland oregon.
It goes over the Columbia river and is about 2 miles long... really nasty winds rip through there sometimes.

My car is the 06 prius

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(windstrings @ Oct 16 2006, 08:09 AM) [snapback]333473[/snapback]</div>

Let's figure. My speed on the two lane highway was at least 55 mph as was the large truck going in the opposite direction. That adds up to at least 110 mph of sudden wind created by the truck's wake. The wind on that bridge is never that strong or that sudden. The tire wear pattern which you reported seems to rule out an alignment problem.

How could we have he same year and make of car and report such different experience? (shaking head)

 

Wow, skip this thread for one day and it explodes. If I had known who I was trying to explain this to, I owuldn't have bothered.

You're right, there is no point in trying to explain anything about this to this guy.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Allannde @ Oct 16 2006, 12:35 PM) [snapback]333497[/snapback]</div>

The prius does very well at resisting head on winds.. thats what it built for..not so good at sideways winds...

A 30mph sideways wind may have much more impact to make you drift into the other lane than 110 head one.
The constant gusting is what gets you.. its never the same speed. The brace helped make the car one piece instead of having a tail that wagged behind.

You can figure all you want... you may get it, or you may miss it.
the Japanese enginneers " which are phenominal" also missed it.

 

I think it's worth a try, since it's relatively inexpensive and so easy to install (especially on a newer car!)

Also, seems to me like pretty much every automobile that's ever been made can benefit from improvement/modification of some sort; certainly a cost-engineered production car, such as our fair Prii, seems like a worth candidate.

Sorry, I don't have absolute faith in engineers, or anyone for that matter.

I can tell you this much: either the brace or the TRD suspension has brought out a creak/rattle from the hatch area. Has also brought down my mpg since the car is so much more 'fling-able' now...

 

I don't understand why this is such a controversy.

I wasn't expecting a sportscar when I bought a Prius, but neither was I expecting a car that feels like it's hinged in the middle. I have no illusions about turning a Toyota into a Ferrari, but the plate in question makes a significant improvement. We don't need to get into any arguments about whose butt is most finely calibrated, but I felt the difference on the first corner. It works for me. If it doesn't work for you, send it back. If you've never even tried it, why all the noise?

 

What is amazing to me is that it is the people that have never tried the stiffening plate that are making all the noise. It is like they are telling all of us that HAVE tried it and like it that we are idiots. I have no doubt that the stiffening plate improved my cars handling and straight line tracking immensely. i have done my own tests of taking off the plate and putting the stock one back on and right away felt the difference.

People we are talking about a 150.00 part that is all machined and fits perfectly. Why are the people that have never even seen or installed one being so hostile about this part? it made my car a pleasure to drive and i would have paid a lot more for it knowing what i do now.

Ken
2006 Prius #6

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hyo silver @ Oct 16 2006, 02:02 PM) [snapback]333523[/snapback]</div>

Well that dispute is an easy one. Mine!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DocVijay @ Oct 16 2006, 02:51 PM) [snapback]333565[/snapback]</div>

The main problem is that some people suffer from a reverse information flow syndrom (RIFS) . The normal flow is for information from various parts of the body, including their butts, to filter thru the brain before being transmitted to the outside world. In those individuals with RIFS, the information flows the other way.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(syclone @ Oct 16 2006, 06:04 PM) [snapback]333736[/snapback]</div>

I'm sorry to hear about your affliction. Maybe someone has a cork for you.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DocVijay @ Oct 16 2006, 05:41 PM) [snapback]333765[/snapback]</div>

:lol:


Being a Cadillac tech or any tech for that matter does not automatically give one credibility. In my business, I deal with computers and computer "techs". Notice the quotes. I deal with so called "techs" all the time, and it boggles the mind how many clueless people are out there.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ken Stewart @ Oct 16 2006, 11:27 AM) [snapback]333543[/snapback]</div>

Hi Ken.. if you have the time, would you mind trying a test with 2 friends where one would put some brace on, and then another tells you to drive in a proper double-blind, and you give up answers of which soda tastes better?

Just for posterity here, since there hasn't be any documented double-blind tests of this yet. Probably burn a few hours on some weekend, but maybe it'll better settle the question for us all.

 

After I did my tests I properly disposed of the factory plate where it belongs in the trash.

While I was doing the tests I had a friend of mine that helped me install the plate and then remove it to put the original plate back on. His personal car is a Porsche 911 so he knows about high performance cars as well. His thoughts were that the bt stiffening plate made the car feel tighter and handle better. When we put the stock plate back on we both could feel that the car felt looser and its handling was sloppy in comparison. This was not a blind test as we both knew which plate was on the car but we were both conviced that the bt plate improved the handling considerably.

Ken
2006 Prius #6


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NuShrike @ Oct 16 2006, 11:06 PM) [snapback]333810[/snapback]</div>