BT Tech Strut Tower Brace install pictures and Text

Hello Everyone,

I am back after a much needed holiday break!!

From all of the strut braces we have sold, less than 3 of them had an issue with the clearance. I sent CBar a replacement several weeks ago and have not heard back from him.

I designed our strut brace so that there is adequate clearance for the brake resevoir and cooling fluid. There are some minor variances with cars but 99 percent of those out there have no clearence issues.

The strut brace makes the car feel a lot more stable both at high speeds and when cornering.

 

Brian,

I received the replacement a few weeks ago but was out of the country for a while then traveling a bunch for business. I haven't even taken it out of the box it was shipped in yet. I probably need to do that and compare it to the one that doesn't fit to see if the new one is any better.

I still plan on modifying it to fit because I feel it does improve performance but since you can't remove the inverter coolant cap with it on I don't have one currently installed. Haven't decided if we are going to make new strut mounts for the brace itself or simply make a new brace with a better bend profile to get it to fit. Either way I will let you know how it ends up. Sorry for taken so long to give an update.

Chris

 

No problem Chris... I installed your brace to test fittment so please let me know what you find and report back.

 

Brian

I just installed the brace, your instructions were great only took about 40 minutes to install. I can get to the brake reservoir, just a tight squeeze Everything where else no clearance problems. I just drove the car around the streets and it seems to ride better. Big test tomorrow when I drive to work.

I also installed a TRD rear sway bar and it works great. Car also has the stiffener and the skid plate. I think this enough.

Thanks again for all of your support.

 

Thanks for your most informative write-up on our product. Please report back once you put a few miles on your car and let us know what you think!!

 

According to a couple of guys who studied under the hood, they thought the 2010 was different enough that the kit would not fit without altering.

 

just wanted to get back to everyone the modifications I made to the suspension sure changed the car. It's now a lot of fun to drive, the car holds the road with very little sway and the ride is great. If you want to have fun with the car for less than going to the touring package go with the TRD rear anti sway bar the stiffening plate and the strut tower brace. I also have the Michelin tires from Costco replaced about 6 months ago, still have great an mileage around 49-50 mpg when I don't drive with a lead foot and then MPG only goes down to 47. mileage on car about 68,000 miles.

Brian was great with and thanks again for your help.

 

Thanks again for your feedback!!

 

I received and installed BT strut tower brace on my 2007 Prius.

I would like to thank Brian, a true enthusiast, and report my impressions after driving the change.

I am Italian, mechanical engineer, although today I am dealing with solar energy, in the past I worked as car engineer on competition cars such as Italian Formula Renault Championship and European 360 Ferrari Challenge.

Let us return to the Prius: after brace installation, I left the garage and the first thing I noticed was the improved stiffness of the forecarriage. That annoying creaking dashboard has ceased to make noise. Immediately after, the feeling was that of another car. Here is the strength and the compactness of a chassis that everyone desire for precise trajectories and predictability in behavior. Surely it is clear a reduction of understeer, which now still exists, but occurs at a higher limit and there is no longer that “pudding†stock Prius steering.
But the biggest surprise was the improved ride of the car to a gain of comfort. If the chassis is more rigid, the shock will be to work pumping oil and not flexing steel chassis.
This is obvious on paper, but it is nice to experience this concept driving a car modified in this sense and feel the difference. Obviously the Prius comes with a little rigid frame, that flexes a lot when the car is involved in the curve. However, even on straight you may notice increased stiffness and compactness front with BT tower strut brace. These are feelings that make the car more enjoyable and the time you spend on it will simply become more pleasant. Another thing I noticed is that the engine elastic media work better with a stiffer chassis and engine vibrations are better filtered. This is something that is appreciated every kilometre that the car runs, not only in the curve. This vibration reduction is one of the reasons way so many people is enthusiast about this brace, in my opinion. We can certainly appreciate the handling improvements, but if this is added the more comfort due to less vibration of the engine and better ride comfort, we have done bingo !!

I would like to thank the forum for all the valuable information contained.



Paolo

 

gussom1,

There has been a number of threads on sway bars here, aka "anti-
roll bars." To my knowledge, yours is the first reference to a TRD
sway bar.

Can't find it via Google search. Can you provide a site?

Perhaps you're referring to a Tom's rear suspension member
strenghtening brace:

Carson Toyota TRD Parts, Replacement parts and accessories for Southern California

 

Hi Paolo. Welcome to PriusChat. Thanks for your very informative review.

 

Hi Rokeby,

I'm sure gussom1 must be referring to the TRD rear sway bar built for the Corolla/Matrix/Vibe, and which also fits the Prius.

For us Standard Prius owners it seems we can get the following beefed up rear sway bars built for the Corolla/Matrix/Vibe:

-- Hotchkis
-- TRD
-- Progressive

-- plus of course, the Prius Touring Edition's rear sway bar.

For a beefed up front sway bar, we're limited to the Prius Touring Edition's.

Brian/BT Tech was working on a beefed up front sway bar for the Prius. But I suspect it's been abandoned because it was supposed to come out last year in 2008, and hasn't come out yet.

 

Boo,

I think you are correct. I asked on the outside chance that TRD has
released something new, specifically for the Prius.

It would also be instructive for gussom1 to say what diameter bar
was used in his upgrade. From other discussions, 25 mm diameter
was thought to be too much...

 

Hi to all who have asked about the rear anti-sway bar. It is TRD part no#: PTR-11-02060. It is for the Matrix/Coralla but fits the 2nd generation Prius. The bar works great and with the front stut brace and the plate the car handles great and is a blast to drive. I found the bay @ worldwidetoyotaparts.com for about $128.00 with free shipping. Check out the other posting on rear anti sway bay

Please let me know if anyone has other questions.

 

Great price (I and probably you have seen it for more than $160 plus shipping).

Was wondering, what tires do you have on your Prius?

 

I have the Michelin X from Costco. No problem with them, running great

 

What size?

 

Standard size, didn't see the need for any larger size tires, you have to realize the Prius is no speed demon, but with the changes I have made the handling is great with very little sway the car hugs the road and the modifications are less than what a touring model would cost and the car handels better the the touring model.

The car is fun to drive but nothing like my heavily modified 91 turbo MR2 hish has the power and the handling.

Hope this helps

 

For members who may want to get smart on sway bars in a hurry, see
this article, which features a sway bar mod to a Gen I Prius:

http://autospeed.com/cms/A_2359/article.html

and this recent thread, especially post #26 by WTI_Master:

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-modifications/53494-rear-sway-bar-4.html

Good stuff. Enjoy!

 

Thats a good article.. thanks