Chassis Stiffening plate

I was hoping to find their website - some folks had said something about a spoiler as well. I couldn't really find anything on the Sponsored Commerical Sales link..

Sorry about being a rookie...

 

It's ironic that your post ends up at the top of the second page of this thread, right next to the PriusChat Offers section, where the <a href=\'http://www.priuschat.com/shop/product_info.php/products_id/24\' target=\'_blank\'>spoiler</a> is listed first and the <a href=\'http://www.priuschat.com/shop/product_info.php/cPath/6/products_id/21\' target=\'_blank\'>stiffening plate</a> is listed last.

 

Brian,

Can this be used in conjunction with TOM's Floor Stiffener? Or do they both take the same space?

Thank you for developing cool stuff for our cool cars

 

I don't think I've heard about Tom's floor stiffener. Would you please elaborate?

TIA.

 

I am not familiar with the part you mentioned. Our stiffening plate makes a huge difference in the way the car feels and no other parts are required.


Thanks!!

Brian
BT Tech
305-652-3115

 

They don't say where it mounts but it looks longer than BT Tech's so I would imagine it mounts further forward?

 

Its hard to tell by the picture you attached but it looks like it would be a replacement for the factory plate. Without seeing this part in person it is hard to tell but ours (BT Tech) looks considerably stronger and is one piece design fully CNC machined rather than multiple pieces that bolt together. In addition, ours has no bolts hanging down and has recessed holes with stainless hardware provided.


Thanks!!

Brian
BT Tech
305-652-3115


See below:

 

I thought it was goind side-to-side, but could be wrong. Tell ya what I'm a gonna do, Bryan I'll be calling tomorrow to order the plate. Whenever the TOM's one shows I'll have an answer and post. I'm into chassis bracing especially when the car is still new. It made a world of difference on my MR-S.

 

Brian,

What is the status on the stiffening plate shipment? Back in October in a post you made you stated 2 weeks until the new shipment of plates would be in. My PriusChat Shop invoice #563

 

Hello Daniel. Our production run of our plates are currently being made and I expect to have them within the next week or so.

Sorry for the delays however I only quote what my machine shop tells me. They have had several large orders from Boeing and that has pushed back my producion several times.


Thanks!!

Brian
BT Tech
305-652-3115

 

The BT Tech and Toms Stiffening brace go in two sepparate places (as described in another thread on the forum. Like others here, I was also concerned about the Tom's stiffening brace as well and wondering if it and the BT Tech brace would cause issues if used together. Apparently they can co-exist without a problem.

chrisek posted this on another thread 'Tom's Floor Stiffening brace, Finally coming!' which answered my concerns regarding this other item. Thankfully someone else went out and bought it and put it on and posted pictures of this mod.

http://priuschat.com/Tomand39s-Floor-Stiff...ace-t12736.html

Attached is one of Chrisek's pictures modified to show the two locations.
[attachmentid=1034]

 

The location of the "Tom's" brace is usually not an area that needs reinforcement due to being so close to the front cradle assembly. Generally speaking as you move more towards the rear of the car, the potential for flex in the chassis increases exponentially compared to the front.

I am not one that will put something down without first testing it first hand but I see 2 potential issues from the start with this part:

1: The construction of this part is "pieced together" using small diameter nuts and bolts. In addition, the way the tubular braces are supported in the posted image, it looks to be subject to significant flex.

2: The placement appears to potentially interfere with the exhaust system when going over un-even pavement. Other than contacting and dinging the exhaust pipe it can be quite annoying to here this "clanging" going on while driving.

If I was going to make this part, I would first make 100 percent sure that the car would indeed benefit from it and that its location is optimal.

I would also design a one piece monolithic structure that is all CNC machined with a proper relief where the exhaust pipe runs to eliminate any interference issues.

I have designed other parts for the Prius that I have never made public and the reason why is because they simply did not perform to my liking. In other words, I would NEVER sell a part for simply the sake of making a sale. The part MUST live up to its intended design and make a marked improvement.


Thanks!!

Brian
BT Tech
305-652-3115

 

Brian, I like your response. PM me your mailing address and I will mail you my brace. Just to see for yourself if you can feel a difference. Obviously, take into consideration the poor design. I think it helps more than you think, and I'm offering you a freebie one to try out. :blink: If you don't like the idea at all, just mail it back to me no harm no foul. If you like it and want to improve on it, I just want to be #1 on your list to purchase

 

Good response. I'm not very technical when it comes to car's and such and rely more on others when there can be an improvement in performance.

As such, I am more of a consumer than anything else - and would really like to see what Brian thinks of the Tom's brace used in conjunction with the BT Tech plate.

Perhaps its a misguided belief that the stiffer a chassis is, the better a car performs? Could be true for some cars, but perhaps not for the Prius? chrisek's post on the Tom's brace was good, which allowed me to see that the brace did not conflict with the BT Tech plate, but what did bother me was that the Tom's brace was rather bulky in it's construction and that also the lack of clearance on the exhaust was some cause for concern.

I wouldn't like to keep hearing a constant 'clang' every time I went over a bump, that would be pretty annoying to say the least.

For the time being, I am going to put off the purchase of a Tom's brace, but the BT Tech plate has already been ordered (Thanks Brian!) because of the plethra of comments about that product and it's performance.

Brian from BT Tech is up front and honest, and from what I can see from his posts, cares about putting out a quality product, which I think is very important.

I look forward to seeing what he has to say about the Toms Brace and its performance.

 

No problem Chris. I will PM you my info and we can take it from there.


Thanks!!

Brian
BT Tech
305-652-3115

 

Thanks Londo for your kind words below. Chris has very graciously offered to send over the Tom's brace for me to evaluate. I will post my findings as soon as I receive it and get a chance to try it out.

I will also run an FEA (Finite Element Analysis) on the part to see where the weak spots are and am able to find out just how effective this part would be by measuring and applying compressive and torsional forces.

Like I mentioned the location of the "Tom's" part does not seem ideal and the construction quality of the "pieces" leaves a lot of room for improvement. Again, I don't want to pre-judge something before I even receive it but these are my initial thoughts.


Thanks!!

Brian
BT Tech
305-652-3115

 

Brian, thank you for taking me up on this. As far as running an FEA, I don't know how much I'd worry about that. My skills aren't nearly as strong as yours, yet I can see many ways for improvement on it.

Just PM me your mailing address and this piece is yours, anything to help R&D on these things.

PS. I'm psyched about getting your brace, looking forward to it.

 

I did notice minor changes in body roll and corning. The car feels stiffer and less wobbly. Coming from a BMW 3, I appreciate any small handling changes and I recommend the product.