Protoform LTC 2.0 review

The LTC-R has always been a popular shell. Especially when you want more front end bite at the track.

I used to run the LTC quite a lot when I wanted more front end, but moved onto the Blitz TSX. I found the blitz shell would still offer more steering than a standard Mazda but also had slightly more rear end grip.

When protoform announced the new version of the LTC shell I was very keen to get my hands on one and try it at the track.

On first inspection the shell is moulded to the quality that you expect from the protoform brand. It comes with the shell, rear wing and mounting hardware.

The shell was quickly passed off to JW painting and when it arrived it looked fantastic and the detail really stands out.

As you can see the actual shell looks great. One thing that I really like it that it has mounting marks on the inner wheel wells. These lines in the lexan are spaced in 2mm increments and you can line them up with your front axles and then drill out your body holes. This was one of the easiest shells I have ever mounted. This is such a brilliant and simple idea, I am sure that all bodies going forward will have this.

I mounted the body at the centre point so that I could get a good idea on the base body performance. Although as you know mount the body more forward for more front bite and rearwards to calm it down and make it more stable.

The details on the shell are great, with the front end being dramatically different featuring some quite distinct headlights making the front end more aggressive.

The rear end is quite strong and it feels as if it is less likely to bend down at speed, but if racing mod I would consider strengthening it with an inner brace.

At the track

With the shell all mounted I took it to my local club track. The grip is medium-good and the actual layout is very tight.

I managed a few heats with the shell and the front end grip was noticeably more than the TSX and older LTC cars. 

The rear end was a little looser on the very tight corner but I was able to soon address that by changing the lower screws in the TRF419 motor mount.

This gave me the ability to increase the corner speed on even the tightest corner. I was really impressed with how it seemed faster at all parts of the corner from approach, the exit and out of the corner.

The aggressive nature ensures that you really have to keep your lines, going wild or throwing a car into the corner is going to be much more unstable than more neutral shells, but if you can keep on it for 5 mins it could pay dividends.

Overall

It have to admit I have been quite impressed with the LTC 2.0. You can tell that a great deal of care and attention has gone into this new version. Little details such as the shell mounting marks and a couple of sets of different headlight styles ensure that this is a shell that feels quality.

As an aside it also looks good. Yep it's a 'jelly mould' but it still has a lot of distinguishing features that made it stand out when I got to the club.

If you want a fast, pointy shell and your thumbs are up to it, then it would be good to try this out.