OK, I've been off the board for awhile but I'm starting to come back. Seeing as I now have a commute with 20 minutes of canyon driving each way I've decided to start with suspension work this time around. To that end I ordered the full stage 2 kit for the XB2 from TB Performance. This includes traction bar up front, mid chassis brace in the middle, and a trunk brace in the hatch. I'll apologize now for no pictures but the ones on their site are good.
Fitment: Fitment was great and only required a little force on the traction bar to get the bolts to line up. I attribute that to the front end crash my wife had a few years ago and not to the product. nice thing is that when tightening everything up you could see the car move into shape.
Construction: All the parts are constructed out 1" & 3/4" tubular and square 1040 steel tubing, the welds look even and of good quality, and all the parts were painted crinkle black so they blend in well.
The result: After fitting everything the vehicle felt more solidly planted while driving around town but that could have been the psychological effect so the real test was my commute home and back the next morning. While I wouldn't call the difference night and day it was a very noticeable improvement in the feel of the lower half of the car and I was able to take corners with even more confidence than before. For those that know my driving style this may scare them. ;)
Overall: For the same money I would say that these bars are well worth it. I've had sway bars on the same car before and they didn't make as much difference to the feel of the car as these did. I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again.

 

are you still on air also?

 

Greg S is back.

 

Nope, not on air at this time. I will be but it was sold off when I parted out.

 

Ok, so a slight follow-up. Turns out that if you drive really hard into hairpin corners while braking that the rear end is prone to sliding out. I've managed to break the rear end loose by braking too far into the corners a few times now. Just means that I need to do my braking before the corner, like you should. I do feel that on a lowered car this wouldn't be a problem as the rear end would be lower in relation to the front than it is on the stock suspension I'm running.

 

Makes sense, earlier today i was turning kinda fast and raised the back at the same time and it felt like one of the rear wheels popped off the ground real quick

 

I'm stunned to see such a knowledgeable member as yourself writing such a great review about this kit. I bought this kit when it first came out as did SKI : https://www.scionlife.com/forums/showthread.php?t=221792
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...=215357&page=4 post #72&73
and I got to say his review is exactly the one I would've written. Unless TB hired someone that knows how to weld, or suddenly decided to start caring about their customer, I would still stay away from their products. Took these over to my buddy that's been welding all his life, he assumed this was something I made in my garage. No one could believe what I paid for what I got. I still can't, that's for sure.

These braces are metal washers welded to the ends of a hollow tube spray painted black. and just as you seen in SKI's review, they're incredible easy to bend, not something I want as the lowest part of my car. All 3 bars of my stage 2 kit did not fit.

Like I said your kit might look like something entirely different than the one I received a little while back, I just wouldn't want people wasting they're money expecting quality performance products that will fit their cars.

 

Yeah Mikey I saw SKI's thread and issues and he posted up in my thread on CxB. The product I received does look different than what he posted up ad I looked it over very carefully. I've got a decent amount of auto-X experience in my past and really do like the way the kit has improved the handling on my box. Doesn't make it a hard duty canyon carver but it does make the handling a lot more neutral. I don't know what had changed since you and SKI got your product, all I can say is that I like the product I received and it fit and works great.

 

Thats all I ever wanted was a decent product. But i got traction and stiffness through other products. Glad it worked out for you.