I wanted to update everyone that is currently waiting for their BT Tech Prius stiffening plate. I am happy to report that our machine shop has machined half of our production run and these will be hard anodized within the next week. We will have these plates available for shipping within the next 2 weeks time frame. I apologize about the delays but our stiffening plates are CNC machined by probably one of the best shops in the country. This same shop is utilized by Boeing and other large aerospace contractors and unfortunately, our production run gets put aside when the large companies have work to be done. The end result however is a product that is machined to the highest possible standards and works as advertised. Thanks for everyone’s patience!! Brian BT Tech 305-652-3115
I am VERY happy to report that after many months of waiting we have finally received our production run of our BT Tech Prius Stiffening Plates!! The CNC finish is excellent and surpassed my expectations. All backorders for this product will be filled immediately and will begin to ship starting tomorrow. For those that have ordered our BT Tech Prius Rear Aero Spoiler and our stiffening plate, both of these items will be shipped together. Thank you everyone for your patience and I know that you will not be disappointed with your new plate!! Thanks!! Brian BT Tech 305-652-3115
[/quote] It's about time! I can't wait to get it on the car. I guess the good thing about waiting is I have a very good feel how the Prius drives now. I should be able to feel the difference when I install the plate. Brian, I hope mine goes out tomorrow and look forward to seeing it early next week.
Imagine how I feel!!! I will try to get as many orders out tomorrow as I can. Everyone that has a plate on order currently can expect to see it within the next several days. Thanks!! Brian BT Tech 305-652-3115
Thank you tumbleweed for your kind words. Please let us know when you get it installed and your impressions of how your car feels. Thanks!! Brian BT Tech 305-652-3115
I also got mine today. After I installed it I went for a 10 mile drive. Brian I just can't Thank You enough. What a difference
Brain this is just toooo awesome. My boss at work is a formulations chemist (he got a little worried that I would spend so much on something like that) But I decided to show him the stock one... ^_^ he saw the need for it. Only thing is he mentioned the stupid aluminum-steel thing that was brought up by another poster. It took me two seconds to shoot him down. Drove with it out of the parking lot and IMMEDIATELY saw a difference in handling. No more rear end wanders, feels tighter over all. Screw my friends that say the prius shouldn't handle the way my old sports car did. I'd gladly pay the price again for another one.
Clarify something for me please. Is the stiffening plate needed for all packages 1-8, even with trac, VSC, etc, or is it only really needed for certain packages? I might need to get one. 06 #5 next week. Thanks
Our BT Tech Prius Stiffening plate fits ALL models of the 2004-2006 Prius regardless of which package you have ordered. Thanks!! Brian BT Tech 305-652-3115
All Prius delivered from Toyota have the formed steel stiffening plate. For many, if not most, people this is just fine. It depends on you and how you feel driving your car. As you can tell from the previous responses, most people on this thread think Brian's stiffening plate is a positive addition. I know I felt an immediate benefit as soon as I installed mine. Get your car, drive it a while, take some tight corners or 270° off-ramps. If you feel instability, sway, as if your car is going where IT wants to go, the BT Tech plate is a fairly inexpensive cure. I know I'm very happy with the one I installed on my 2005 #6 BC with VSC and TRAC.
Just to prove its not us feeling something (or a placeabo effect) I told my dad something was wrong with my car, I needed him to Drive it (he has an '04). He drove it and told me the car was "stiff" and alot better at cornering. I let the cat out of the bag and told him I finally installed the stiffening plate. ^_^ He can't wait to install his, which was ordered at the same time.
Thank you everyone for your very kind comments about our stiffening plate. It really makes me feel good to see that you guys are happy with the quality of the part as well as the difference it makes to the handling of our Prius. The best way I can explain to people is that it makes the car feel more "refined" and that is has a more "solid" feel to the car. The increase in the chassis rigidity will have the same perception but it is easier to tell people in layman's terms what kinds of differences are often perceived. Of course the fact that the car now handles better around curves helps too!! Thanks!! Brian BT Tech 305-652-3115
Hello Ted. Your order was received and shipped last friday to Va. Please email me privately for your UPS tracking number. Thanks!! Brian BT Tech 305-652-3115 [email protected]
New product suggestion: how 'bout a skid plate for under the transaxle to give the MG housings a little more protection? After seeing the pix from that poor guy who ran over a signpost during Wilma, I think of the fragility of those magnesium cases every time I look under there. A rock falling off a truck on the highway could produce a fatal wound, and I think an extra layer of something would buy a lot of security for very little weight penalty. . Not exactly sure what such a thing would mount to, but there are probably enough points under there to do it without having to actually loosen any of the case housing bolts. . _H*
Not a bad idea but if you crawl under there you will see that the factory already had provisions for a shield but for some reason did not install it. My guess is that it has to do with a cooling issue thus the exposed housings. Aerodynamically speaking it would be much better to have a plate of some sort to fill in this area as it would make the underside of the car less turbulent. The fact that this was NOT done at the factory leads me to believe it was due to perhaps the following issues: 1: cost 2: ease of basic servicing such as changing the oil and other minor repairs 3: Excessive heat buildup on the components. Thanks!! Brian BT Tech 305-652-3115