BT Tech Skid Plate availbe for pre-order

Re: BT Tech Skid Plate available for pre-order

Bebopp came on the scene right after JimboJones received a harsh tongue lashing by Evan and vanished from the scene. In one of his first posts as Bebopp, he took Evan to task for bashing members in violation of the forum rules in a post that Evan wrote three months before Bebopp even became a PriusChat member.

I have publicly outed Bebopp as JimboJones several times. He has never denied that he was one and the same. He is obsessed with the same issues JimboJones and their writing styles are similar.

 

Re: BT Tech Skid Plate available for pre-order

Has a BT component caused a car to burst into flames or make it unstable? What was the problem with the Corvair again? How is your Ford Explorer or Louisville truck? I'm a bit young and not American enough to remember much about Corvair but didn't they have a stability problem? Did anyone complain before they were shown to be unstable? Would the person who alleged the Corvair was unstable have needed evidence, you know, he who alleges must prove?
I know Wikipedia isn't a great source but here goes;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvair
So I wouldn't base an argument on Mr Nader's work and at least he wasn't condeming the product before it went onto the market or with no testing.

 

Be that as it may. Even a blind pig finds a truffle once in a while. Even a watched clock is right twice a day.

Uhoh. Have I made an inappropriate analogy? I'm neither a pig farmer or clock maker.

 

Wow, I'm new to this forum, but you all seem a bit sensitive. I have to lean on the side of Ron on this one. The skid plate seems like a nice piece - no question. All I think he is saying, is that the claims of increased stability and many people having damage are a bit exaggerated. No big deal, just salesmanship. But one would expect the salesman to say "no I don't have any wind tunnel testing to back it - you're right - but I do believe that it will help the aerodynamics under the car - don't you?" Take it as it is.

I expect that the reason for aluminum is ease of manufacture. Especially for a prototype product, the aluminum can be cut, bent, drilled, powder coated, etc.. with fairly common tooling. Creating a plastic version would be much more expensive to create initially. I do wonder if this becomes a hot product if plastic might work better though. Dirt bikes use heavy plastic skid plates, so why not here. The biggest question for me on the aluminum is noise. Going back to the dirt bike example, I have added aluminum skid plates before and increased the noise level significantly. Vibrations and the aluminum didn't get along I guess.

Please don't take me wrong, BT I think that is a nice looking product and that some people will buy it and be very happy with it. It will probably protect some vehicles from damage and it may even help with aerodynamics. You never know. The point of Ron's post was simply to say that your claims were a bit of a stretch. Which I think is reasonable. Nothing more. But really, does it matter? No. This isn't promising to cure cancer or something truly important. Will it protect from rocks? Obviously it will. Will not having it cause your car to be damaged with thousands of dollars of damage? Maybe not. Areo help? Maybe. Maybe not. Whatever.

Anyway, flame on.

 

oh boy... here we go AGAIN.

you know what? people are free to buy whatever they like. your chances of hitting something that will cause that kind of damage? minimal. a bit like dressing your 6 year old in chain mail to go to kindergarten? imo yes. but hell, if a part of the sales go to keeping pc up and running... then hey. sell away.

that's all i've got to say about the subject.

 

Re: BT Tech Skid Plate available for pre-order

Okay, one last time. I am not condemning the skid plate. I am a satisfied customer of his. I am saying that an apparent troll had a point about the claimed need for the product. Judging from past experience, I think it is very probably a well engineered, finely crafted piece of work. I also think it is a solution looking for a problem. And apparently so do others, at least at that price point.

The rambling on about plastic, Nader and pig farming is probably due to being stuck in the house all day due to the weather.

Peace.

 

Cool

 

there are people driving the prius for beter fuel cons. and there are people that just drive it?

i want to keep the wieght down
so a plastic is the only one i am going to fit

o yes.. i dont like pigs and message this from a nice warm climate...........
........
of my home

 

OK, here's my two cents...

Brian is clearly an honorable guy. He also is clearly a Prius fan and a major contributor to this forum and Prius ownership in general.

I have no issue with honest debate and disgareement. That isn't what I find offensive about the commentary. What is offensive is the obvious vitriol of the dialogue.

We all have the right to question....but please...let's be respectful.

The world is full of nasty, "I'm the only one who matters", Hummer driving, screw Global Warming assholes. Prius owners, as evidenced buy their car choice, are either, or both:

- Economical and prudent.
- Ecologically responsible.

That kind of person is what the world needs more of....so...let's remember why we drive Prii and have a little respect for others.

OK...I'm done...

 

Guys I am not trying to rain on anyone's parade, I just wanted to ask a question... and maybe I am way off and someone can show me otherwise. The Prius seems to have very little front oppening area to cool the engine/radiator... this is done I am assuming for the sake of more aerodynamics and fuel effeciency. The engine is small so it doesn't need a lot of cooling.

Has anyone thought however that the engineers counted on some of the heat escaping and cold air coming in from underneath? How much of that are we now blocking with this plate? Nevermind that the car can benefit MPG-wise from a faster warming engine, what about the fact that you may effectively be blocking needed cooling?

Just a question is all. I have not seen this thing so I don't know how much it covers and frankly I have never closely looked at the radiator and its positioning.

 

While the price is an immediate turn-off... which reduces the chances that I'll purchase the product... I do have a question or two:

Will this make oil changes more difficult?

Anyone notice any improvement in mpg/sound?

Does anyone have any better pictures for the curious? (preferably of the rear part of the plate?)



Looks like a quality product, but a bit too costly for my budget at the moment. I hope to see more products in the future.... perhaps some rear wheel skirts... like the honda insight...

 

I ordered mine as soon as they were offered, but are not due to be shipped till this coming week. So no real consumer reviews are out yet. I will let folks know what I think when I get mine on.

I also ordered the Tower Brace, so I hope to do them both asap!

Lee


QUOTE=Bob64;544639]While the price is an immediate turn-off... which reduces the chances that I'll purchase the product... I do have a question or two:

Will this make oil changes more difficult?

Anyone notice any improvement in mpg/sound?

Does anyone have any better pictures for the curious? (preferably of the rear part of the plate?)



Looks like a quality product, but a bit too costly for my budget at the moment. I hope to see more products in the future.... perhaps some rear wheel skirts... like the honda insight...[/QUOTE]

 

I have not crawled under my Prius to look, but my previous car had a similar plate but made of plastic.

Also if we do not have a plate or plastic guard of any kind this may explain what recently happened to me. On a dark rainy morning I hit a puddle of standing water and the car did its little skid move to cut power to the wheels, but actually the whole car cut off. Complete darkness until I placed my foot on the brakes - the amps must have kicked the car back to life.

What stops water from bouncing up into the engine bay - let a lone a rock or other debris - as most of us may experience water a lot more than rocks????