What are the Benefits of Rigid Collars for Prius??

That company sure charges a lot for what looks like a giant crush washer.

The text at the web site is a load of horsepucky. Did any of it make sense to you? I had a hard time... let's dive in:

"In all modern production cars the engine transmission suspension and body shell are connected directly or indirectly to the subframe. Bolting the subframe and the body shell together makes for an incredibly stiff construction however problems arise between the mating of these two structures."

Thing is, many modern passenger vehicles employ unibody construction techniques: more or less, the body is the frame. The Prius doesn't really have much of a subframe, if any. The "bolt-on" pieces are mostly cosmetic: hood, fenders, doors, etc. If there really are problems with alignment, the worst thing that happens is you'll see an uneven gap between panels.

If there are problems with the mating between the unibody and suspension, you'll see uneven tire wear, or the car won't run in a straight line. Go get an alignment. If there are problems with the engine mounts, you'll get all kinds of NVH problems. Get new engine mounts.

These parts don't solve any problems that can't be solved more cheaply and easily by conventional methods. As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

If you're really worried that something's loose, get your torque wrench and turn some bolts. Buy some fender washers at the hardware store for 10c each. Don't waste your money...

...ahh f*** it. You guys love wasting your money. Go buy these and post up next week saying how much better your car corners. I wouldn't expect anything less

 

Snake oil is still for sale in many parts of SE Asia... literally. And suckers come in every color of the rainbow

 

OK stop the train, after reading this thread, it piqued my interest!
So I went to the website, after all Wth is a rigid collar, why would I want one, and is it worth the effort.
Watch this video on You Tube, here is the link...

Everything they say makes sense!
If indeed there is that much slop in the alignment holes, this would be the type of proper shim to use. To make sure the engine assy is connected to the car straight you need to make sure things cannot shift around when bolts loosen up after umpteen K miles. This would make the possibility of lateral movement of the two arms moot!
If I put a set on the car, I would immediately take it in for a proper alignment!
They seem awful expensive however.
EDIT, here is a video installing the collars. It is NOT on a Prius, but I would think the basic idea is the same!

If you look deeper, there is a point to be made here!
What do the rest you car boyz say, yay, or, nay?

 

.. and of all cars, they used a gen2 prius to make the perfect example.. if only those collars were cheap as nuts and bolts.

 

i think there is no need, and even robotic assembly lines don't do a perfect job manufaturing the bodys. therefore it may be good to be able to move the subframe slightly to correct for manufacturing tolerances. and my subframe bolts were still tight after 179k.

 

As one who has been experienced in aircraft structures and structual engineering of fasteners, I don't see any need for these collars. I can see the close assembly in aircraft "riveted" lightweight and absolutely thin airframe materials under high stress vibration moses but NOT in mostly steel automible chassis.

Riveted construction require close fits, because the rivet aligns and holds the parts in line from lateral displacement between one part and the next. For years, it was the standard for assembling ships, bridges, and frames for building like skyscrapers.

Rivets became obselete, because there was no way to determine how "tight" they are tensioned. That's why the require very tight fits. In steel construction they are heated to temperatures of 1800 to 2000 degress Fahrenheit, which is between red hot and white hot. They have to be heated to this temperature to make them formable in a "plastic" condition. When peaned and "bucked," the rivet expands in the hole and eliminates the looseness between the rivet's sides and the holes of the two pieces joined. Basically, rivets are not under high tension.

Bolts are a completely different technology and have superceeded rivets in most structures except in aircraft. When a bolt and a nut are tightened or torqued, the unit is under tensioned and the parts are held together by the friction between the surface of the nut's end the assembled metal parts and the surface under th bolt's head. As long as the bolts stay tight, any minor side space between the metal parts and the sides of the bolt's shank and threads have little on no affect of the parts remaining aligned in the position of the original assembly.

Based on this discussion, it can be readily concluded these so called "rigid collars" have little or no benefit except to cost the user the loss of expended money and time.

 

Never ever ever accept buying advise from the guy who's trying to sell you something. of COURSE what they say makes sense. If it didn't how would they sell you anything?

The major benefit of this product, IMO is that your money becomes a benefit to someone else's pocket.

 

And now

loss of time including this thread....

sorry OP, had to.

 

Thread revival.. As i have a set on the Civic, i tought i would put my grain of salt. Anyway, long story short, it's one of the most worthwhile mods i've done ex-aequo with the 22mm Progress Rear Sway Bar, both from a handling point and a NVH reduction one.

Don't have pics unfortunately but when i dropped the crossmember to change the clutch i noticed little scratches about 1 or 2mm long at the mating points of the body and the crossmember, as if it was moving. I tought it was not correctly torqued and then i figured the crossmember and front end were twisting when the road was uneven/when i was at the racetrack.

The ones i installed are from blox and are a lot less expensive. It immediately made a big difference how the front end was connected to the ground and how little steering inputs are needed. Plus it finally got rid of a klunking at the front end, that i always assumed was something loose in the dashboard, when the roads got uneven.

I'm watching if they are making some for the Prius but it may very well be the first and perhaps only mod on the Prime.

Marko.