I have an '06 Prius and I'm considering adding a chassis stiffening plate. I've read pros and cons regarding the handling after installation, and I'd like to get some input from people who have added the stiffening plate to their '06 through '09 models. Did it improve the way the car acted or was there little or no difference in the handling? Thanks, Joe1987
I recently added the g7 plate to my 09. Now we have a problem, my Prius has handled perfectly since then, but it frequently handled perfectly before, the oddities were rare. Has the plate solved them? Have they simply not reappeared yet? Is it Placebo effect? I own the car and am unwilling to say, I am not sure that helps someone considering it. I consider it $50 well spent. Toyota Prius G7 Performance Stiffening Plate 2004-2009:eBay Motors (item 120442526874 end time Jul-29-09 21:25:39 PDT)
Hi Joe, There have been many threads and over a thousand posts about the BT Tech Stiffening Plate and its knockoffs like the G7. Here's a link to the mother of all stiffening plate threads (it has more than 1000 posts): http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-modifications/28310-bt-tech-stiffening-plate.html Here's a link to a poll that was conducted about the BT Tech Stiffening Plate (it has 103 voters as of now): http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-modifications/33273-poll-bt-tech-stiffening-plate.html And here's a link to my search results for thread titles containing the phrase "stiffening plate": PriusChat Forums - Search Results My own vote: It helps. Most noticeably at highway speeds, and especially around the more pronounced curves of highways and parkways. Good luck.
Thanks Tom. I think I'm going to go for it and purchase a stiffening plate. I want to cut down on the sway I get when I'm on the interstate and behind an 18 wheeler. Thanks for taking the time to get back to me. Joe
My vote: it makes no significant difference. Objectively, there has been no testing done that would adequately settle the issue. What little has been done shows no difference, but the methodology is limited.
Thanks Tom. I think I'm going to go for it and purchase a stiffening plate. I want to cut down on the sway I get when I'm on the interstate and behind an 18 wheeler. Thanks for taking the time to get back to me. Joe
You will find that the overwhelming majority of those who have actually tried the BT plate find that it significantly improves rear end stability. Of those that feel that the plate offers either little or no improvement, only a small percentage have ever tried it. In my case, I was so unhappy with the rear end moving all over the place under adverse conditions ( high wind - semi's and road imperfections, especially diagonal ones) that I was ready to sell the car - with only 2000 miles on it. I installed the BT Plate and the rear end became totally dead (as it should be on a front drive vehicle). Question: Does the 2010 have the same suspension configuration?
