Chassis Brace is a Prius MUST HAVE!

I got the two braces in the mail today. Installation took about 20 minutes for 2 cars.

Wifey went to school, I haven't driven my Prius yet. Maybe I'll go take it for a spin, see if it can drift with the new brace

 

Discussion on whether the chassis brace, no matter
who makes it, helps to quiet/dampen crosswind and/or
road groove creep/drift is not new.

A "short" discussion.

More than you want to read.

There ain't no use in getting your skivvies in a knot.

Any benefit can't be measured and compared to a
widely accepted objective standard.

You pays your money and takes your chances.

Individual personal perception is the answer.

Many folks say it helps... but... ????

 

You're ignoring the material held on by those 4 bolts. How about we replace the factory plate with cardboard, or rubber bands? Would you expect it to perform differently?

- D

 

My hypothesis is that the thin factory plate works fine in tension, but does not resist compression at all well. The thicker aluminum plate better resists compression.

 

cant wait to get mine

 

Lets say you replace with (titanium, iron, stainless steel) the area covered by the two bolts is the same therefore would offer no additional support. Let me paint another picture.
Lets say the car is split in two, right down the middle (front to back) the only connection of the two sides is the brace. Now imagine the original brace on there and then imagine the upgraded brace. If you drove the vehicle, there would be no difference between the two types of braces, the car would wobble in a forward and side to side motion. Now imagine a brace similar to my design with two additional bolt points spread out maybe 2-3 feet. Hey, I'm all for upgrading, but this does not look like something I would consider.

 

Put my G-7 on last week-finally got a chance to check it out on a long highway trip-not impressed! Car still "hunts", especially on concrete. I would say it marginally improved the ride.

 

It's kind of hard to discuss how effective the plate is considering that you guys all run very widely different tires. For example, my ADVAN AD08s are going to have a drastically different feel than the LRR tires some of you are using.

 

I do think that some people will have too high of expectations about this brace. The way I see it is that Toyota installed the factory brace to attempt to keep the U shaped tunnel of the chassis from expanding or compressing. To me, it makes sense that these much more substantial braces should help, especially in regards to keeping the U from compressing as much.

At $40, I think it's a great deal. Just don't expect it to transform your car! If you're looking for a seriously noticeable improvement, go for the strut tower brace. They are proven to be very effective.

 

How about lowering springs?

 

Got the plate tonight and just installed it. Haven't drive yet, but compared to the stock brace, this is a nice piece. It's a no-brainer at the low price point. Took longer to jack my car up and put it on jack stands then it took to install the brace. Super simple.

 

I drove my 2009 for the first time today after installing the chassis brace. The car handles fine -- it still has body roll, but I wasn't expecting a night and day difference.

Overall, the difference is anywhere between "it's all in my head" and "this might actually be working". For $39 a piece, I'd do it all over again.

 

the brace made a difference on our 04. But I needed more so we have a Tom's strut brace, 1 1/2" drop on sport springs, and 16" Corolla wheels. She handles almost as good as my G-37. (the reason I wanted more as i now drive the Prius a lot more) but rough roads are a pain. My partner surprised me by driving the Prius more like he used to in the MR2 it replaced, he normally dose not like twisty roads but he was leading the pack that day, with 3 of in the car going up hill and leaving every one in our dust. The road up to the 10-10 Prius event was also twisty and steep, I was surprised how he ate that road up, leaving one our friends in these way behind. The more you do the better the car handles, the gentleman with the convertible told us that the converters were surprised how solid the car is made.

 

Can't find the G7 on Ebay. The links earlier in the thread come up as an item which is no longer for sale. Wonder if he's going to make more...

-MKL

 

Put my G7 on yesterday. Simple install. No jacking up req'd. Drove about 100 miles and noticed 2 differences. 1-When driving over known road that my VSC light always came on, it didn't now. 2-Prius now goes 140mph and looks and handles much better than my BMW 750Li.

 

ound:

 

This may help
http://motors.shop.ebay.com/minipc4u/m.html

 

Oh and I forgot to mention, my women loves the stiffer ride.

 

Do a search for "Prius G7" and you'll find it.

G7 Performance Stiffening Plate upgrade stability Prius: eBay Motors (item 170559895601 end time Nov-02-10 17:42:12 PDT)

-Dave

 

Got it - thanks!