The trusted partner that is LTM Performance supporting me trackday after trackday after trackday

Many a time in discussing the results of motorsports endeavor,  there is great focus on the driver and the machine including parts used to achieve improvements in performance. Most of the time, the less glamorous but equally vital maintenance support goes unacknowledged when this is positively critical for long term care to keep the driver in the running over the years.

Since in Singapore virtually no one has the space to work on their own car, my work schedule definitely rules out wrenching on the car myself, I needed to look for a workshop that could support me in installation and servicing needs. I was already acquainted some years earlier with the head mechanic of the workshop Alvin and was subsequently introduced to Edmund who owned the business. We shared alot of common viewpoints and I'm truly grateful to his trust in me to run the decals of LTM Performance as a showcase of the capability of the business to support cars prepped for the racetrack.

Visiting their website at LTM.sg , we see their history from as far back as the 60's and their continued success until today is a testament to their experience and repute in the industry. The entire span of car related services are available spanning car performance enhancement, servicing / repairs, accident claims, spray painting, car purchase/sale and even car leasing. They have recently said their farewell to the iconic workshop at Sin Ming Industrial Estate Sector C and are currently housed at  176 Sin Ming Drive #03-06/09/10.

I managed to get some pics of the old workshop just before they completed the move and I was kind of sad to see it go seeing how it had become a familiar haunt of sorts for me.

Here is my ride in front of another S2000 awaiting our turn for some TLC

 

 

Some of the cars being worked on Continental, Japanese and even GTRs get work done here.

 









Even a Thai registered plate Silvia track car gets it work done here



Some of the past magazine features and history of their racing exploits







Showcase of the turbos on sale, something to whet the turbo car owners appetite!

 

 

Workshops in Singapore have had to deal with rising labour costs, rising rents and dwindling demand in areas such as modifications. LTM has taken these in their stride with the diversification of the business into areas such as spray painting and commercial vehicle maintenance housed in the the flatted Sin Ming locations.

 

Commercial vehicle workshop in the new building at Sin Ming Auto City

 

 

 

The spray painting workshop is situated at Sin Ming AutoCare building, right alongside the main LTM workshop

 



 



All prepped for the paint job

Spanking clean facility to get the paint job done perfectly

The main workshop for their car maintenance and operations also at the 3rd floor of Sin Ming AutoCare like their spray painting shop

Cosy waiting area while you wait for collection of your car

Yet another track car being worked on, this one being a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution deliciously  covered in classic Advan Racing livery. If i'm not mistaken this belongs to the owner of VP Racing , racing fuels and additives company, locally

The performance arm of LTM, obviously titled LTM Performance, focuses on maintenance and enhancement of cars much like mine and the vast experience the mechanics hired have in this line has been of great value to on my motorsports journey. I attended the Nakama R and Super GG trackdays to test out my new Ohlins DFV long stroke suspension which had been setup by SakeBomb Garage. I'll share a bit more on how I came across this setup and how it has worked for me in a following post but here is a snap of the suspension set as a whole.

 



 

Here are some pics of me making my runs during that those trackdays where there was a lovely variety of machines blasting away through the corners

 

 

 

 

 

 

You know Malaysian motorsports scene is vibrant when Ron Celestine of SpeedHunters is also trackside and I'm pretty pleased he got a snap of my ride

 

 

 



In the first trackday the car felt sluggish and only felt worse at the next trackday where I began to experience a fair bit of backfire or misfire. The oil levels had fallen perilously low which led me to cut short the track time I could muster. These symptoms were truly worrying and I immediately sent my car in to LTM once I got back from the track.

 

Their checks confirmed the compression seemed a bit on the low side although still within acceptable ranges but revealed my coil and plugs were drenched with oil (my entire catch can was full!) as the pic below shows

 



 



Some searches on S2000 International Forums (S2KI) revealed that engine oil apparently was not drained fast enough when it is on the baffle plate in the valve cover and thus gets sucked into the vents and into the intake manifold side of the engine especially when successive hard cornering is done. RAIN H8R on S2KI suggests to drill drain holes in the baffle plate allowing it to drain quicker back to the oil pan and road racing S2000 owners have had their oil consumption issues resolved when they followed his guide.

Here is the link to his thread on the valve cover modifications : RAIN H8R V/C MOD. DIY S2K Smoke Screen Fix w/valve cover modification

Here is the link to his video on the modifications:

Honda S2000 Smokescreen cure with the RAIN H8R mod

Here are his suggested spots to drill drain holes for the AP2

 

 

 

The mechanics at LTM Performance used this example and did the modification for me as per the pics below, following the guide that RAIN H8R had detailed.

 

 

 

Testing at the API Racing trackday, no issues with excessive oil consumption thereafter!

 

 

 

 

I later decided to upgrade my radiator to a CSF Dual Pass radiator to enhance cooling efficiency on the track which I will expand on later in a separate post along with the coilover upgrade but some months down the line had issues with high coolant temperatures at idle or low speed. LTM Performance once again came to the rescue by narrowing down the problem to a malfunctioning fan which was spinning far too slowly and needed to be replaced.

 

Here is the video of their testing which shows clearly the poorly performing fan

 



 

It's tough enough figuring out as an enthusiast the various chassis specific related enhancements or fixes required so the support that LTM Performance has given as my trusted workshop has been absolutely vital to my upkeep of my ride. There not many S2000s on our shores or even in the region and as such I have needed to many a time consult forums in the USA to get more information and have LTM act on it as best they can. At all times, they have gone out of their way to accommodate and keep my vehicle in the best of shape so I am proud to run their livery as a testament to their excellence in keeping my S2000 ready to race!

 

Big smiles from the boss Edmund and here's to many more years of racing with the strong support of LTM Performance!

 

 

Thanks to my partners in motorsports:

LTM Performance

Achilles Radial

Thian Seng Motors

Ardeca Lubricants Singapore

 

Photo and Tech information Credits:



Ad.Am Photography

aziemphotography

Tune Photography

#SYAZ_ONE Photography

Ron Celestine of SpeedHunters

RAIN H8R from S2KI for valve cover modification information and photos

AutoMoment

9tro