that little plate is just to dress it up--it isnt substantial enough to give more strength---and hey manual brakes give you better pedal feel--i run 4 wheel discs with manual pedal on all my cars/trucks---in panic situations you are less likely to lock them up---power guys tend to lock up the brakes which means you are ever closer to loosing control--locked up brakes take more distance to stop the car--locked up brakes mean the car follows the line of momentum meaning you cant effectively steer the car away from the hazard....bob