BT Tech stiffening plate question

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Oct 21 2006, 07:54 PM) [snapback]336219[/snapback]</div>

Help! We're being Homaginized! :blink:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Claudia @ Oct 16 2006, 12:17 PM) [snapback]333432[/snapback]</div>

You did what I should have done - replace the tires and get an alignment. Instead, I got a BT brace.

My pre-BT brace impressions: the car handled okay for a car its size and with not-so-great stock tires on it. My two complaints were how it handled serious bumps in the road, and how it handled wind.

My post-BT brace impressions: the car corners noticeably better - I can take turns faster than I normally would and with a fair degree of confidence. But since it's not a race car, how fast I can take corners isn't that important to me. I have noticed no improvement in the handling of bumps and no improvement in the handling of wind. One windy day last week in particular I was really fighting the wind on the way home from work.

I did no scientific studies either pre- or post BT brace. These are just my very subjective opinions of how the car handled.

But I know the stock tires aren't the greatest, and I know that there can be alignment problems ... and that's why the salesman told me that I could get a free alignment for the Prius in the first year of ownership.

So, the stock tires have 10K miles on them, and enough is enough. I'll get new, better tires and get it aligned at the dealer.

The BT brace stays on - it is a far more solid and well-constructed component than the original brace, and if I noticed a difference in corning, it must be doing something for the handling. However, I think I will see more substantial improvement with the tires and alignment. And that's not to say the handling now or the handling when we bought the Prius is/was horrible. I just want it to handle better.

 

Thanks GreenGene for your impression of our stiffeing plate!!




<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GreenGene @ Oct 23 2006, 12:40 PM) [snapback]336786[/snapback]</div>

 

So what was the answer?

Did Marty Feldman like his BT brace or does Groucho Marx prefer new tires?

Ice water?

Chop up some onions - that'll make your ice water.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Actual Mileage @ Nov 1 2006, 05:12 PM) [snapback]342190[/snapback]</div>

This will make your ice water

The can't answer because they are both dead!

And that's certainly worse than being in Cleveland!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(syclone @ Nov 1 2006, 05:26 PM) [snapback]342206[/snapback]</div>

BUT - would Groucho still be alive if he had a BT plate on his gurney?

All in all, I'd rather be in Philadelphia.

 

I recently got my 2007, 1220 miles. In high winds I feel a bit unsteady in keeping it in the lane. Does anyone know if the floor brace was changed in the 2007? If it is the same then I will proceed in buying and installing the BT one. Thank you

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ggeeman @ Nov 3 2006, 07:45 AM) [snapback]343124[/snapback]</div>

I asked the same question when I got my 06... just laydown beside the car and look under it... just in front of where you would normally see a rear wheel axle dead center and compare it with the pictures.

http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=25483&st=60 post # 64, Brian has a nice picture...the one on the right is the OEM on that comes with the car.

Also here http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=25483&st=0 post # 6 shows the new one already installed where the old one was...... I believe looking to the left is towards the back of the car. You can see the muffler etc to get oriented.

 

I just installed one of our BT Tech stiffening plates on a 07 the other day. They are still using the same plate as all the others.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ggeeman @ Nov 3 2006, 10:45 AM) [snapback]343124[/snapback]</div>

 

Alright, I am going to give it a try.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Actual Mileage @ Nov 4 2006, 08:44 AM) [snapback]343744[/snapback]</div>

If your gonna "try" it.. I encourage you to first find a nice curvy road or some terrain that challenges your car a bit and take it a little fast.
So when you install your plate, it will be easy to tell the changes.

People that drive like grandma and then install the plate will have the most trouble trying to tell if they are imagining things after the install.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(windstrings @ Nov 4 2006, 11:15 AM) [snapback]343771[/snapback]</div>

On the other hand, if the only benefit to installing the BT brace is to take corners at a higher rate of speed than you would ordinarily, is that one (to me, marginal) benefit worth the cost of the brace?

I drove our '06 for 5K miles without the brace, and now 6K with the brace. I have a very good idea of how the car handled under various conditions with and without the brace. And after I installed the brace, when I tested the cornering of the car by taking turns at a higher rate of speed than I normally would, it cornered noticeably better - very solid and sure.

However, in normal driving at normal speeds (speed limit to 5mph above), I noticed no improvement on windy days or bumpy roads. Since I can control the speed with which I go around corners but cannot control either the wind or the bumpy roads I have to drive on every day, I believe I will see significantly better results with an alignment and a tire upgrade than I saw with the BT brace.

If I had it to do over again, I would have replaced the stock tires and had an alignment first, and only if I was dissatisfied with the handling (primarily wind and bumpy roads) would I have bought and installed the brace.

YMMV.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Actual Mileage @ Nov 2 2006, 09:02 AM) [snapback]342461[/snapback]</div>

WC Fields would not have approved of the BT Brace.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GreenGene @ Nov 4 2006, 10:36 AM) [snapback]343777[/snapback]</div>

Well lets see... 150 bucks divided by 4 tires.. you get to spend an extra 40 bucks at most and then of course when the tires wear down.... you get to do it all over again!
An alignment is something that needs to be done anyway... if its out.
Mine was fine from the factory.

Like so many things... if you noticed a big difference with extremes, then normal driving will still affect it but only subliminally.

Its those extreme times that may make the difference as to whether you make the corner or bite the guardrail, or maybe miss a deer?

If its not worth it to you.. I would still with buying tires... but why not do both?......

If you say 150 is too expensive, I'm surprised you bought such a nice car if you couldn't afford it.

Myself, I love the feel of a more expensive car when corners off of exits or mountain roads.
High winds do make a difference.... I don't know how hard the winds blow where your at, but they get crusing here across the plains here in Texas. When I lived in washington the Gorge did a number too.
Then theres always those nice 18wheeler gust that surprise you when your going 70 and so are they the opposite direction and their gust followed by the negative air pocket.

It sounds like you were expecting more.

I myself was delighted as I expected little and got alot more.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(windstrings @ Nov 4 2006, 02:42 PM) [snapback]343794[/snapback]</div>

I think that sometimes it isn't a matter of being able to afford it. I could afford the BT plate. I simply thought it logical to follow the path I took,
which was first to do what was free, an alignment done with great specificity as to what I wanted, and then to do the obvious, which was to replace tires that I perceived to be inferior.

Since after doing those things my car drives the way I wanted it to, and expected it to, I feel no need to do anything further other than to just
enjoy driving a wonderfully responsive car.

 

The cost didn't - and doesn't - matter to me. The price of the BT brace wasn't going to put me in the poor house.

My personal experience with the brace was that it did not do all the wonderful things for my Prius that other people have reported. I do not doubt those other people at all. I can only go with what I have experienced both pre- and post-brace. If I had known that, with my Prius, the only benefit I would experience would be better cornering at speed (and that IS a benefit, for sure), I probably would not have made the BT brace the very first purchase I made for the Prius ... I bought the brace before I even took delivery of the car!

As I said, if I had it to do over again, I would have replaced the stock tires and had an alignment first, and only if I was dissatisfied with the handling (primarily wind and bumpy roads) would I have bought and installed the brace.

Did I expect more from the brace? Yes, I did. I was looking forward to being one of the many people who have reported really good results with the brace. The fact that it makes a difference in cornering is sufficient for me to keep the brace on. But I realize that to address my two concerns - wind and bumpy roads - I need to look beyond the brace.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Claudia @ Nov 4 2006, 05:07 PM) [snapback]343901[/snapback]</div>

You certainly can if you want.. but IMHO.. the tires are fine.... if you throw away perfectly good tires, you just threw away more than the plate would have cost you?

Why not drive them at least till half worn and then upgrade?.. but you can do as you wish.

Getting an alignment is another waste of throwing money in a hole " unless you need it"
I'm assuming the factory can do as good a job as some Les Schwab or such?
My two cars track perfectly..even before the brace when on a flat surface and no wind.

What I'm saying is you may be out the price of an alignment and tires and may only end up with the exact same car as you have... except your tires will be better..... whats that really gonna do if your comparing them to new tires that are lesser quality you already have now?.... not much!

Most new tires will hurt your MPG too.. do some research here on the forum to see which are best.
Basic rule of thumb.. the higher the traction, the less the mpg!

Brians plate is a replacement that will be as brand new throughout the life of the car without ever needing replaced again.... thats a pretty good bargain against such issues as new tires and alignments which I agree need to be in check, but will be a temporary fix until you need it again.

If you think your alignment is out... make sure you just have them check it and not charge you unless you find its actually out and really need the adjustment... it never hurts to check, but it does hurt to just tell them to do it! Who knows, if you don't need it, you may save enough to buy the plate!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(windstrings @ Nov 5 2006, 12:02 AM) [snapback]344007[/snapback]</div>

I'm somewhat of a frugal person, but I'm about ready to trade in the Integrities for something that has better wet traction. I still stand by going for the bang for the buck theory, and it seems like doing anything in the name of improved handling while running the Integrities is going to be an exercise in futilty. To me it feels like the car could benefit the most from grippier tires and bigger sway bars, and then perhaps some chassis stiffening, although I'm going to have to do some experiments when I have the floor jacks out next time to see just how much flex is there.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Beryl Octet @ Nov 4 2006, 11:37 PM) [snapback]344014[/snapback]</div>

I don't notice a problem with the stock tires... but I've not ran others yet either.

I can't see throwing away perfectly good tires. Especially if your frugal enough to be hesitant about the plate... that seems futility to me?
The basic difference is you think the tires is the whole problem.. I do not.
Either something is out of whack iwth alignment, or you are feeling the floppy existing plate.
Tires with lots of traction can "mask" other problems that only return once the tires get worn down.

As I've said before.. I can't prove it, but I think the plate helps tire wear.

I'm sure guessing that if someone is feeling a problem, its not the tires... either alignment or the rear end issue.

the michilan and a few others seem to be ok., but some tires really kill gas mileage.. I encourage anybody to go to our modifications and or maintenace forums and read up if you have not.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(windstrings @ Nov 5 2006, 07:03 AM) [snapback]344063[/snapback]</div>

Heh. For me, the plate helped my tires wear down faster since it allowed me to take corners a lot faster