First thoughts... Simply Amazing...
-As I first drove around the car felt more secure, stable, controlled, stiff, and durable.
Cornering has improved drastically.
-I.E.= I can wait last second to make a turn and almost turn with no body roll/flexing.
Turning longer sweeps have become even more fun and sporty.
-I.E.= A long bend can now be even more accelerated throughout and the car stays planted with no feeling of lost grip.
Illuminas set at 4 in the front anything made it feel weak and fragile. Now with the LTB Stage 2 it feels completely unison and structured and most of all more secure.
-I.E.= Going over uneven pavement has improved to the point where you dont have to tense your whole body in anticipation of whats ahead. Its much more composed.
-Side note I had a noisy front passenger suspension in compression and it had gotten noiser more frequently after only being rare. Simply put once the LTB Stage 2 was installed the noise has pretty much been quieter if not silienced.
Thanks to Matt for this wonderful product.

 

Yeah the LTB2 is fun. Do you have any other chassis bracing?

 

as of now.. FSTB and LTB Stage 2 is pretty much it on chassis bracing..... long down the road if I have money to use SFCs would be my first choice.

 

If you like these additions, you will really like the SFC's. The car feels much more solid.

 

Is Matt still making these or did you buy yours used? I want a Stage 1

 

Thats a good question. At the time I ordered a new one (dec 07) he said he was stoping prodcution on them, but I would think that only meant for a certain period due to demands. I would pm/email him for a definate answer.

 

If you liked the LTB, you'll love SFCs.

 

sigh... i miss my LTBII. ground clearance was a B tho.

 

I like mine but the fitting absolutely sucks.. I most likely have a stripped bolt from the back right gusset being too short... I might have it welded correctly or get the LTB 1 and SFC's..

 

It's not too bad when the bar is bent up towards the chassis from smacking down on so many diagonally traversed speed bumps

I'm wondering if I'll be able to get this thing off without a sawzall

 

The LTB definitely kills a lot of ground clearance. If you're lowered, you'll have to approach the speed bump at an angle to avoid scraping the lip, but then you'll bang against the bump with your LTB. It's a super B that I would never consider it even if it's free. lol

 

I hear ya.. its like which one do you want to scrape.
I am lowered on H&R prolly the highest of our lowering springs..and have a stillen lip. I have been ok in general clearing the lip on common obstacles. So in my case going slowly straight I have been fine with the lip and bar for now.

 

i have matts LTB stg 1 and im lowered on illuminas/progress and ive never scraped it once..but i think it bangs on the tranny if i pop the clutch when downshifting.....great product btw.. just install was eh.. i had to use a tapand die set on a bolt cuz i stripped it lol (02-6mt btw)

 

That is why you rev match.

 

Same here. I had the LTBII on the car for a while, and with my mistake I let someone drive the car and specifically told them "Lowered car, plus lower bar, watch it." Hit a raised manhole cover dead on. The end for my LTBII. Strong piece but not enough to withstand that hit.

Made the car feel so much more solid. Jello without it.

 

yeah I let a friend drive mine once with the same instructions (I was in the car, long trip). He started coming up on a curb ramp to a parking lot pretty quick... "slower slower SLOWER"... BAM

I asked him WTF he was thinking and he said he didn't think it would be that bad

I'll probably still let people drive just because I like feeling the car from a passenger's point of view

 

lol im great at rev matching and even better at double clutching.. still hits.. but.. maybe its not my LTB hitting.. maybe its my FSTB cuz its an OTTO 4G bar, at least i htink anyway, that i kida have rigged on there lol and its close to the intake mani LOL

 

We're still in production of them and have stage I and II LTBs for 3,4,5 gens in stock.

I wound up selling the business to my parents so my mom could work from home. She's doing the sales and customer support, and my stepdad is doing the production and shipping now. I'm hanging around as needed for tech support.

Norkoastal, I'd like to hear about the fitment issues. It's very rare that I hear about issues with fitment, and *usually* its due to installation error or a bent chassis.

MistMax, I'm betting your noise is from the FSTB. If it's close to the IM and you have old/soft/broken engine mounts, the engine will raise up upon downshifting. the LTB is far enough away from the 5 spds you shouldn't be anywhere near it when shifting.


Morpheus, does yours look like this? http://blehmco.com/pics/track_pics/t...4/IM001394.JPG
hit some FIA curbing at the track and went about 2' in the air to cause that....
had to take it off with a sawzall. grabbed another one off the shelf and it slipped right on.

 

wow that looks gnarly. still worked tho right?

 

well it was still on the car... no welds broke!

problem was I had to take it off to rebuild the tranny- stupid input shaft bearings were so bad I was leaking an 8" puddle of royal purple gear oil after every track session!

I FUBARd the car at a track event on a thursday, and I had another Sat-Sun track event I'd already paid for... So instead of crashing at a friend's near the track, I drove it home thursday night.

Friday morning I got up and took the sawzall to the LTB and cut it off, rebuilt the tranny, cut the dented section out of the Y pipe and fixed that, and then installed a new LTB when I was putting it back together.
was back up and running 6pm on Friday and I was back at the track by 8.

 

Would I experience significant loss of ground clearance with Stage 1 as well? Maybe yes I will but not as bad as Stage 2?

 

Something like that. It's not quite as bad though.

I don't have $200 to spend on another LTB2 dammit, I got the first one used for like 70...

 

yeah i think it is the FSTB..but idk about old soft broken mounts. car only has 25K orig on it.. but i have a 6speed 2k2 (name is from old car lol) ..and its not far away at all from the tranny.. lol.. like an inch tops..but i still love your product

 

oh and quick side note.. funny story.. was a dead possum in the road today so i strattled it with my car thinking i wouldnt get it.. and well.. the bar was just low enough to clip its head or something on it lol.. no damage though.. wasnt like i hit a speed bump or something lol

 

damn musta been working nonstop to get it all together before track day. i miss those cram-on-the-last-day situations. so fun. not really.

 

not as bad. as low as i was when i had my stageII, ground clearance was less than 2" from the rear of the bar. speedbumps and dips in the road pwned the rear bar, but only cosmetic damage. it was a horrid sound that would turn heads lol. the front bar was fine with a couple light scratches as it sits slightly higher and also more under the axles.

 

Sweet matt, you got these in stock again. If I didn't just get laid off I would pick the LTBII up. Doing a suspension overhaul (tune-up) on the car I want everything solid and tight.

 

i love it but the only prob is now i need a rsb. my car likes to swing her *** out now on the auto x but its great fun!

 

Looks like blehmco has a competitor

 

I've had the Stage II for about four years now. I've never hit a speed bump but I always take them straight-on. The bar rarely scrapes anything (~1.8" drop). However, recently I was doing 70 MPH on a two-lane highway and noticed a dead raccoon in the middle of the lane. Not having time to swerve I went right over it and it made a HUGE thud, banging against the rungs of the LTB. I looked in the rearview and saw Mr. Dead Raccoon skidding along the road at 25 MPH or so. Funny sight!

I haven't checked the LTB but I'm sure it's fine.

 

 

noob question, whats SFC? where do i get one of these LTB? and/or SFC?

 

Hey, I'm an animal lover myself, but since it was already dead on the road before I hit it, I didn't feel bad, and there was a certain absurdity to a dead raccoon skidding down the road.

 

im going to assume your serious..so...

LTB = Lower tie bar = Blhemco

SFC = subframe connectors = Truax motorsports

blhemco has a website and product list,.. not sure about truax but they are in the group deal forum...

oh and search will = all the answeres you need.. its free and its great so use it

 

^^^ i took a shortcut, but thx

 

Do any of you all have any clearance issues with the heat shield? Ive had my LTB Stage I installed for nearly 2 years now and agree that it really stiffens up the front end. I cut away part of the heat shield instead of removing it completely, however it still rattles againt the LTB a bit. Just wondering if Im the only one...

 

Are you sure its not just the heat sheild itself rattling?
I had the same rattling issure prior to the LTB install.


Just did this and same... unpleasant double thud its just instinct to allow things to fly under the middle of your car instead of actually going all the way around. I pulled over at the next parking lot and saw nothing though.

 

i miss all those dull thuds from driving over animals with the LTB-II and bloody remnants splattered on the bar. It was definitely funny watching "Mr. bloody carcass skidding across the road.." from the rear view but made me gasp at the same time

 

Most people in the advanced suspension/chassis forum are familiar with what the LTB2 does.

If you're still unfamiliar: http://www.blehmco.com/suspension.htm

 

The best way?

There is no competition here, the Blehmco LTB2 is the ONLY way to go unless you want to go LTB1 for cost reasons. The LTB2 is definitely worth it.