I see this is an added mod that many prefer... I Don't know if this is because of a weakness in the prior models or whether its just a preference? If its a weakness.. I would assume the 2006 had corrected this oversight?
The "added mod" is the stiffening plate sold by BT Tech (see sponsored commercial sales forum). This plate is much stiffer than the factory plate and the people who have installed it claim it does wonders for handeling. I have one on order and am anxious to find out. As to the 06 I don't think anyone knows yet if it will use a stiffer factory plate or the same one as the 05 and 04. Brian of BT Tech has some good pictures of the factory plate and his plate posted. I don't know enough about the design process to say why the plate is there to start with. My best guess would be that when they tested the prototype 04 they had way to much chassis flex and put it on as an after thought to try and correct the problem. Apparently they didn't go quite far enough with the fix.
Humm..yea.. apparently the plate "flexes" and the stiffer one prevents that?..... seems such a simple thing to fix unless Toyota thinks they have a reason for leaving it flexible? I wish we had a way to tell if the factory one is as thick as the one you can order?... Do we have any specs on the factory plate , so we can compare with the one we can order?... I would hate to order it just to find out that the one on the 2006 was the same if not better?
You can tell just by looking at the pictures of both. The factory plate on an '05 is a shaped piece of 1/8" steel. Apparently the '06 uses a similar stiffener. The BT plate is an aluminum billet about 1/2" thick that's machined for additional rigidity. There is no comparison. Here's a link to a post with pictures: Pics Here
Is its benifit noticed in cornering or bumps in the road, or both or is it really even noticable when installed?
