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Chassis Stiffening Plate

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by Joe1987, Jun 30, 2009.

  1. Joe1987

    Joe1987 Cheyenne Joe

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    2006 Prius
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    I have an '06 Prius and I'm considering adding a chassis stiffening plate. I've read pros and cons regarding the handling after installation, and I'd like to get some input from people who have added the stiffening plate to their '06 through '09 models. Did it improve the way the car acted or was there little or no difference in the handling?

    Thanks,
    Joe1987
     
  2. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    Vehicle:
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    I recently added the g7 plate to my 09. Now we have a problem, my Prius has handled perfectly since then, but it frequently handled perfectly before, the oddities were rare. Has the plate solved them? Have they simply not reappeared yet? Is it Placebo effect? I own the car and am unwilling to say, I am not sure that helps someone considering it.

    I consider it $50 well spent.

    Toyota Prius G7 Performance Stiffening Plate 2004-2009:eBay Motors (item 120442526874 end time Jul-29-09 21:25:39 PDT)
     
  3. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Hi Joe,

    There have been many threads and over a thousand posts about the BT Tech Stiffening Plate and its knockoffs like the G7.

    Here's a link to the mother of all stiffening plate threads (it has more than 1000 posts):

    http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-modifications/28310-bt-tech-stiffening-plate.html

    Here's a link to a poll that was conducted about the BT Tech Stiffening Plate (it has 103 voters as of now):

    http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-modifications/33273-poll-bt-tech-stiffening-plate.html

    And here's a link to my search results for thread titles containing the phrase "stiffening plate":

    PriusChat Forums - Search Results

    My own vote: It helps. Most noticeably at highway speeds, and especially around the more pronounced curves of highways and parkways.

    Good luck.
     
    1 person likes this.
  4. Joe1987

    Joe1987 Cheyenne Joe

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    2006 Prius
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    Thanks Tom. I think I'm going to go for it and purchase a stiffening plate. I want to cut down on the sway I get when I'm on the interstate and behind an 18 wheeler.

    Thanks for taking the time to get back to me.

    Joe
     
  5. Doc Willie

    Doc Willie Shuttlecraft Commander

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    My vote: it makes no significant difference.

    Objectively, there has been no testing done that would adequately settle the issue. What little has been done shows no difference, but the methodology is limited.
     
  6. Joe1987

    Joe1987 Cheyenne Joe

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Florida
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Thanks Tom. I think I'm going to go for it and purchase a stiffening plate. I want to cut down on the sway I get when I'm on the interstate and behind an 18 wheeler.

    Thanks for taking the time to get back to me.

    Joe
     
  7. Syclone

    Syclone Member

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    You will find that the overwhelming majority of those who have actually tried the BT plate find that it significantly improves rear end stability. Of those that feel that the plate offers either little or no improvement, only a small percentage have ever tried it. In my case, I was so unhappy with the rear end moving all over the place under adverse conditions ( high wind - semi's and road imperfections, especially diagonal ones) that I was ready to sell the car - with only 2000 miles on it. I installed the BT Plate and the rear end became totally dead (as it should be on a front drive vehicle).

    Question: Does the 2010 have the same suspension configuration?