BT Skid Plate installed--summary

For some reason, the plate did not contact any part of the engine. There is at least a 1/4" clearance at the part the Evan had touching. I suspect there may be some variablility in engine mounts or chassis connections or the location of the intermix flow sensors to the dilithium chamber.

 

would most people consider this addition necessary?

does it block airflow, or does it hinder cooling?

does it obstruct the ease of changing oil or other regular maintenance items?

i do realize that it protects the bottom of the car from road debris, but does this skid plate really help? i guess what i'm asking is that has there been many incidents of road debris damaging the engine?

i would assume that my 08 is similar to the earlier models, but has toyota addressed the issue in my year?

last, would most people consider this a necessary modification?

thank you

 

Evan, I haven't installed my skid plate yet, but now I am thinking of puting in the Fumitomo oil drain valve. Should I install the valve first or do it after the skid plate is on....or not at all?

Also, when you touch a parking curb does it sound like metal crunching, or is it higher than the plastic parts and not easily scraped?

Thanks,

Lee

 

Yeah, sorry for the big talk! Weather is too nice (93) today, and I want a few hours of just-in-case time to pad the project.

I still have several mods awaiting my time: Mud flaps and LED footwell lighting (al la Nathan's timer circuit and Cyron lighting). I did get my Bazooka Sub-Woofer in thanks to help from Circuit City.
Lee

 

Clearance hasn't been a problem on my skid plate. (so far, I am almost done and had to get upright for a few minutes.)

I also painted mine with a rubberized sound deading undercoat. I discovered this trick years back when installing any "sound board" type parts on my vehicles. The thin coating makes an incredible difference as far as wind noise transmission. It creates a 'pebbled' flat black finish which is paintable.

Be careful with spraying this stuff in enclosed spaces. TOXIC FUMES! If you decide to use it the proper prep for a powder coated finish is to use 0000 steel wool on the entire surface and then clean it with a denatured alchohol soaked rag. (careful with denatured - toxic irritant that can melt plastic.) The alchohol will dry within seconds and you should paint immediately. Follow the can directions for application.

Allow to dry for at least two days.... I know what the can says but take it from someone who knows the product. You are at the mercy of far too many environmental factors to trust that this stuff is completely dry before that point.....

Enjoy!

 

Boy I am glad I paid the money for the dealership to install mine. Sounds like a pain

 

It is definately easier to have a tech install it for you but the average "shade tree" guy can get the job done in about 2 hrs.

 

Evan,

I was looking for an update on the longer front piece and wondering if it closed the gap between the front piece and the skid plate? If so what is the gap and do you have any pics? I didn't seem to see them on your site but if they are there let me know and I will look again thanks.

If anyone else is out there that has a skid plate installed that has their oil changes done at a dealer have you gotten any comments on the plate? Heck, some may even like it because the underside of Prii are somewhat more vulernable than other cars. Just wondering if any have given you a hard time about it though.

Thanks for the info.

Chris

 

Evan,

Thanks for the info. Good to know about the longer piece being to heavy for the plastic. Now the questions would be for Brian as to which one comes with the BT Skid Plate if I ordered one today.

Thanks agian,
Chris

 

Not long ago I had my free oil change done at the dealer, I did bring my own Mobil1. The mechanic came over and asked about the skid plate afterward, he is a Prius owner also. He was impressed, the access panels were placed exactly right & the protection complete. He wanted one for his own Prius & asked where to get one. Don't worry Brian, I pointed him in the right direction.
Also I live about 3 miles up a dirt road which gets especially rough in the spring. Lots of frost heaves & mud to contend with. Just the other day driving up my hill I heard a rock bang off the skid plate. Glad it was there.

 

Evan/Brian,

I received my skid plate yesterday but there weren't any installation instructions with it. Were there supposed to be or are we just supposed to reference your photos for the install?

Since it is unlikely I will be doing this installation myself some sort of basic reference or guide would be helpful. I believe there was mention of a PDF file in another post but I can't seem to find it.

Any help would be appreciated.

Chris

 

You should have received an instruction set with your BT Tech skid plate. Please provide me with your email address and I will send them over to you right away.

 

Brian,

Just sent you a PM with my email address. Thanks for the immediate response I really appreciate it.

Chris

 

Hello Chris,

I just emailed you a copy of the instrucions. If you have any questions please let me know.

 

Evan/Brian,

I had a shop do the install of my skid plate today after I attempted to install the tower brace, that is another story in the tower brace thread. And we got to looking at the front chin piece and there is no support other than the plastic front clips?

It was VERY flimsy when installed and would surely flap in the wind something fierce at interstate speeds. And since I do a lot of driving on interstates and at highway speeds we decided to leave the stock plastic front piece and attach that the large metal skid plate. Do you forsee any issues with that?

I haven't seen the final install because I am also having them spray the wheel wells with GMuff sound deadening spray to augment my dynamat install and we wanted to let it sit overnight to dry.

Thanks for all the help and excellent instructions. Happy driving to all.