Vorshlag Blog

Howdy folks! Terry from Vorshlag here. Just wanted to make a quick post about some big changes to our shop’s race car lineup that are in store for 2026, and the reasons for all of this.

We had a great year testing new products and Amy had fun competing in SCCA Time Attack in our 1995 M3 Project #Hellrotten, where we transformed this ratty barn find into a pretty solid track weapon. It started out not-running in 2024, and we repaired rat eaten wires, got the S50 fired up, added this Fitment Labs widebody, 18×11″ wheels, 315mm Yokohama A052 tires, Nine Lives Racing wing, and a custom Vorshlag splitter and other aero treatments. The MCS remote reservoir doubles (RR2) plus the entire catalog of Vorshlag suspension bits – along with the original S50 3.0L inline 6 controlled by Link ECU, and a custom exhaust / header – allowed Amy to take the Texas region championship in Max5 class for the 2025 season with 6 wins and 2 second places.

We didn’t make it to the 2025 Time Attack National Championships at PITT Race this year, for a variety of reasons. My S550 Mustang was still having teething pains, but also : this M3 was 500 pounds overweight for Max5 class, which is a real determent to any entry’s competitiveness. It does have what is considered a solid 3.0L engine for this class (the largest displacement allowed), but even cranking out 246 whp, it was not enough to make up for a 500 pound penalty. As we considered how to rectify this for the 2026 season, two things happened that changed the course of this car’s future – as well as my bank account.

First up – Amy decided to go back to her 2013 FRS for the 2026 season, which we were already swapping to Honda J37 V6 power. This lighter car also sports 315mm tires, MCS RR2 coilovers, and with 300-350 whp it should be a bit spicy in Max4 class with full aero and Link ECU power. That leaves the M3 without a driver…

And then SCCA dropped a nuclear b0mb on us – after it was announced that PITT Race was being sold to for AI garbage uses, the 2026 SCCA Time Attack Nationals (and Grassroots Motorsports’ Ultimate Track Car Challenge) was moved to Eagles Canyon Raceway, which is right in our back yard. We have driven at ECR since it opened in 2008, I have made 1000+ laps and set dozens of class track records here, and that “home court advantage” was a HUGE motivator to do something radical with the M3 to make it more competitive for 2026. I started hitting eBay looking at a really bad idea…

Within 2 days I went out half cocked and bought the cheapest 4.0L 32 valve BMW “S65” V8 on eBay, then looked into what it would take to swap this plus the 7 speed DCT (dual clutch sequential) into an E36. Yes, it is foolish “to buy first and research later”, but if any shop is capable of V8 swapping a BMW with something new, maybe it is Vorshlag? We have swapped and sold kits to swap hundreds of GM LS V8s into the E36 chassis, plus 8 other chassis, going back 25 years, How hard could it be?

Luckily the folks at EPIC Motorsports heard about this idea and they DO have the knowledge to make the E92 M3’s V8 engine and DCT transmission to work as a stand-alone for a swap, but for the mechanical integration to the E36 chassis, we’re on our own. But I’ve got a great crew here, and we’re up for the challenge. Make headers, engine mounts, crossmember, driveshaft and more? That’s all in our wheelhouse.

So many folks were SHOCKED when they heard we were actually swapping a BMW V8 into a BMW, and a few shops have already reached out to help make it happen. BimmerWorld gave us their S65 dip stick kit (this engine only has a sensor to detect oil level), then the folks at Emporium are working with us to get proper S65 valve covers + VANOS bits, then AAF got us their wet sump baffle kit. We still have a lot of spending ahead, but I’m not afraid to fire the Money Gun to get this solved!

We have been learning quickly about the S65’s known issues, and this oil pan baffle was a pretty sizable chore to install. We’re already getting this used engine cleaned up and reliable, and even swapped in aftermarket rod bearings – a known issue on this 8400 rpm engine. We’ll get it sealed up next week and start the actual swap by pulling the 3.0L S50 engine, header, exhaust, Link ECU, cold air, 5-speed transmission and RTD shifter – all to be sold as a package, to help pay for (a small part) of this crazy S65 swap.

Of course we signed up for the GRM “UTCC” event – which has been held on the same weekend / track as SCCA Time Attack Nationals for years. In fact we were the 6th car to enter and be accepted. To make the car more competitive for Nationals and UTCC, we’ve been firing the money gun and have lightweight Konig Hypergram 18×12″ wheels coming (to replace the heavy 18×11’s), new MOMO Daytona EVO (halo style) composite seats, and many more items to make the car lighter, faster, easier to drive – or some combination of those three things.

As if an SCCA Time Attack Nationals and UTCC at ECR weren’t enough of a incentive, I got roped into a mini-challenge with 3 other driver’s who write for car magazines and blogs. The list so far includes a couple of two ton BMW F87s with lots of boost, as well as an LS swapped 350Z race car – the gauntlet was thrown, and I accepted the challenge! We all agreed upon a limit of only using 200 TW tires, but that’s it. Will a 414 hp E36 M3 with some aero and 315mm tires be enough to keep up with 3 other hot shoes?

Yes – I plan to beat these 3 guys so badly they are going to QUIT the sport! 😉 I don’t care what we have to do, we’re going to get this car down to the Max4 class minimum weight (and then some, so we can add ballast back for Max4 and take it OUT for this UTCC challenge!) It might be foolish, but this writer’s challenge fired me up – something my dreadful 2025 season had almost extinguished. This fire is LIT boys and girls, and I’m going to run as many events and laps at ECR that I can possibly shove into the next 10 months. Chase every pound, wring out every horsepower, and squeeze out every ounce of grip.

If you are keeping up, yes – the E36 M3 with the 4.0L V8 now moves up to Max4 class, with a 3000 pound minimum weight with driver (which will be easy to hit). Amy’s 2013 FRS with the 3.7L V6 has a 2700 pound min weight with driver, using a different formula also in Max4. So now we’re building two cars for the same class, husband vs wife, racing heads up all season?! This will be a fair fight, as the J37 could crack 330-350 whp with the right intake, exhaust and tuning. Same tires, same dampers, same aero, different weights – it could be a solid battle all season. She’s got a ton of wins and track records in her own right, plus several SCCA Solo National Championships, so this could be a very tricky season for me in the E36 M3.

Stay tuned to see how it all goes! – Terry Fair @ Vorshlag

After sitting in hibernation with an engine for a while, our 2013 Scion FRS (86) is back on the schedule and we’re installing a 300 hp engine. But it is unusual – as this is a 3.7L Honda SOHC V6, called the J-series. These engines are normally sitting sideways driving the front wheels of Honda cars, SUVs and minivans, but we’re turning it 90 degrees and driving the rear wheels in our 86. Read more starting in our Forum build thread here.

Is this an easy swap? In a word: NO. But we’re making it easier for others by machining a new bellhousing and crank adapter to work with a late RX-8 6-speed manual. Why not use a Toyota 2GR? Or a Nissan VK? Or “insert other engine here”. We explain all of this with technical reasons – competition class rules, abundant supplies / low costs, engine weights, and more – in this forum build thread.

We are known for LS V8 swaps, so this one is a little different for us. Instead of 600 hp it will be making 300 hp, which means we likely won’t break EVERYTHING in the 86. We’re going to keep the stock axles, limited slip, wheel bearings, and the rest. This will keep costs way down, and that thinking seems much more popular than the normal $50K LS swap and all the many upgrades we normally would have to do for reliability. We explain the costs and weights in the forum thread.

We started this swap just 6 weeks ago but have already made some major progress. We have 3D scanned, designed, machined and installed the bellhousing adapter and crank adapter shown above, we have the engine and transmission installed and have begin engine mount fabrication, and are deep into the Link ECU integration and wiring – Link is going to make this a plug-in ECU + harness install. The exhaust is super simple (monoport exhaust on each cylinder head), and we will supply all of these parts and more for others to be able to benefit from our engineering and testing.

Look for this car on track in early 2026 with Amy competing in SCCA Time Trial Max 4 with the widebody, 315mm tires, MCS RR2 remote doubles, and full aero. We loved this car with the big tires and suspension upgrades, and its only going to be more fun with another 50% more power than stock. Again, there is a huge write-up with pictures, video, and explanations on the Vorshlag Forum. Thanks for reading!

What on earth has he brought to the shop now? This 1966 Honda S600 coupe is one of Honda’s first sports cars, heck one of the motorcycle company’s first ever production cars. And we have one, and we’re going to do something cool and crazy with it – which you can read all about here.

This unusually smol car came from the factory with a super high revving (9500 rpm!) motorcycle based engine, but that is long gone in our car. So we’re going to do what many folks have done with this chassis – swap in a modern 1000-1200 cc sport bike engine! The 1200 cc inline 4 in the S600 roadster above gives you a glimpse at how small the engine bay is, and what we have to work with. We discuss two possible Honda motorcycle engines to use – including one with a DCT transmission! – in the forum build thread’s first post.

We also talk about the possible suspension upgrades we have in store, as our coupe is sitting on a temporary frame and Miata front and rear subframes, which we will likely incorporate in our final design but in a much narrower format. We’ve got some rust removal in store using a “LASER” later this week, and we will show more of this ugly duckling soon – and hopefully it becomes a beautiful swan when we’re done! You can read more starting here.

At the end of 2024 we had our barn find 1995 BMW M3 – which we dubbed Project #Hellrotten – running once again with the original BMW S50 3.0L inline six. The Vorshlag crew had done a good bit of restoration to get it to this point, and a set of Motion Control Suspension “RR2” coilovers with Vorshlag top mounts had improved handling dramatically at the first Track Test. This is where the latest 6-part Forum Build Thread starts…

It was late December 2024 and we had a little more than 3 months until the first SCCA Time Trial event in Texas for the 2025 season. So during an already busy time at the shop we managed to transform the M3 from an E36 with a stock drivetrain and bodywork into a widebody, big tired, Link ECU EFI, custom exhaust, and very lightened race car. We started off with some ABS repair work after we had a fault at the previous track test.

Externally we made some big changes, including a fiberglass Fitment Labs Phase 3 widebody overfender kit. This was installed and track tested with 18×11″ wheels and 315mm A052 tires all around, and we finally had a “drama free” track test #2, followed immediately by a baseline dyno test with the stock drivetrain – all covered in the forum update. Back at the shop after that test, a custom splitter was built and installed with double canards up front, and a Nine Lives Racing 71″ wide wing out back. The overfenders and sunroof delete panel were refinished in the OEM Hellrot red color.

Then a custom exhaust was built using stainless long tube headers and a proven dual 2.25″ into single 3″ mandrel bent stainless exhaust – that both dropped 57 pounds and picked up 30 whp at the peak. We were able to tame this with a Plug-in Link ECU system that we show the installation of in this update. With some clarification on rules we were able to knock another 123 pounds out of the interior and still be SCCA “Level 2 Safety” legal. We also refinished the headliner, rear deck panel, and the A- and B-pillar coverings in microsuede, and it looks really nice. An RTD shifter went inside, too. We had all of this work ready and tuned just before the March 29th event we were aiming for. It was a major thrash for those 3 months, and we chronicled every step – every image inside the forum thread can be clicked for higher resolution images or videos. Thanks for reading!

We have been busy on the little 1988 Mustang LX notchback this summer and we’re close to firing it up with 3x the engine displacement and heading back to MotorSport Ranch for more test laps before we dive into the suspension development work we have in store.

In the latest Forum Build Thread update for our 21st Century Fox project we cover the dismal June track test we did with the original 2.3L four cylinder, which lasted four laps before the engine began sputtering and shutting off. Max speeds of 74 mph, slowest lap time we ever recorded – just awful. Shortly after getting the Fox back to the shop we found the cause, and dove into an engine swap using an “all aluminum V8” and a Tremec TKX manual transmission – with the goal of a “quick upgrade” to get back to the track for a proper baseline test with the stock suspension. Best laid plans…

Things quickly snowballed and this turned into a full on 500 hp upgrade, which is the opposite of what we advise our customers to do (chasing power is last!), but we have our reasons – explained in the Forum update. The V8 swap went pretty far afield, with an 8.8″ limited slip axle upgrade, complete fuel system, new cooling system, hydraulic clutch conversion, and much more.

It happens – just a simple plan that snowballs, as one upgrade leads to needs in other areas. We cover a lot of these systems, the decisions and actual work, in the latest update. Even if you have no interest in this chassis or even this engine, many of these techniques we show in detail could apply to your project. Who knows?

One of the wildest revelations from this “quick upgrade” to the drivetrain was how heavy the 1980’s iron four cylinder and T5 manual were compared to the modern aluminum pushrod V8 – the latter was actually lighter, which we did not expect. Lots of weights are given and great detail in the thread.

We covered about three months in this 4-part forum update, which is chock full of pictures and video. Lots more to cover next time, as we’re ahead of where we left off already – but have so many other build threads to update. Thanks for reading!

The latest 5-part entry into the massive S550/S650 Development forum thread covers work we did on our 2015 Mustang Time Attack Car we call #Trigger in the first third of 2024. Yes we know, we’re behind, but these entries are massive undertakings with hundreds of images and videos, and tens of thousands of words. You can catch up with what we have written starting here.

We cover in detail the addition of a roll cage, carbon widebody fenders, and massive 18×13.5″ wheels and 345mm Hoosiers to the existing setup, which included 315mm A052 “200TW” tires on 18×12″ wheels. There was also a Haltech based adjustable traction control system that Billy at Rapscallion Motorsports added and helped dial in.

Ever wondered what it took to add massive tires? The flare addition is the easy part – the REAL work is underneath the flares! We show this step-by-step in exhaustive detail starting in the latest forum build thread entry.

In the first 4 months of 2024 with this car we fought with front end lift, added vents in numerous places, had faulty clutches, wore out some synchros, cheap coils, a bad starter, chased an ABS fault, tires rubbed, and we did a bunch of track tests and competitions. It wasn’t all bad, as there were some wins, and more wins followed later in 2024 – which we will cover next time. Again, you can read the latest entries here – thanks for reading!

We have been cooking up plans to tackle some major suspension changes to the Fox and SN95 generation Mustangs for some time. We started gathering parts for the 21st Century Fox project in 2016, then we got busy with many other things and we paused this work for a mere eight years…

In 2024 we got back to this project using this development mule, a 1988 Fox Mustang LX with a lowly 2.3L four cylinder. This is Terry’s 8th Mustang, and it is an ’88, so we call this car #TheOcho – He is not right in the head, with his irrational love of Fox Mustangs, especially the notch back versions!

This Fox is part of a Concept of a Plan we began a few years earlier, and we have been gathering cars from the 1980s and 1990s to tackle some 21st Century suspension and design updates. All four of the cars shown above have been utilized to create new Vorshlag products, and we’re just getting started on the Fox Mustang. We even list the other build threads for the E30, E36 and 3rd Gen inside the new SN95/Fox build thread. And yes, we’ve already done some product development work on a 1995 Mustang, from the SN95 generation.

This forum thread covers what we have planned and what we have completed so far on the Fox and SN95 Mustangs. We will continue to update the Fox/SN95 Forum Build Thread, our YouTube build diary entries, and post about the work on our socials as we progress. Thanks for reading!

At long last, after a Summer and Fall of maintenance and repairs, our little BMW E30 was ready for the track. This car is a 1991 BMW 318is that we used for development and autocross competition from 2007-09, then it went away and changed hands many times. But in 2024 we had the chance to buy it back, and we did!

After restoring the car enough to get it street worthy, we had one task left – replace the 13 year old tires that were cracked and aged out. We went a little overboard with these fat 225mm Bridgestone RE-71R tires, but wow – the GRIP! These 200 Treadwear tires have come a long way since 2007. And we had to do some things to “make them fit”…

We hadn’t driven this E30 on track since 2008 and it was JUST AS MUCH FUN tracking it in 2025 as it was then. Likely more fun, as the grip levels were much higher with modern rubber. The old AST dampers held together for this track test and of the two drivers that day, Amy Fair came out on top. In the latest Forum Build Thread entry we cover all of the upgrades, tweaks, test drives, and track videos.

In this latest update we discuss an engine upgrade – to something newer and more powerful, yet hopefully not too heavy or “overdone”. We only show the LS1 V8 above to show how small the J-series Honda SOHC V6 really is (we will absolutely not LS swap this car). A lot of measurements, testing, and research sadly led us away from this potent and lightweight V6, but we do have something more interesting and spicy in mind.

Link: https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/forum/vorshlag-motorsports-discussions/vorshlag-project-cars/59265-vorshlag-bmw-e30-development-thread-1991-bmw-318is?p=59282#post59282

Clink the link above to see what we’re up to. Thanks for reading!

When we dropped the Bilstein brand (due to a completely loss of faith in their stocking ability) in 2025, after carrying it for dozens of years, we already had a replacement German monotube brand in mind to fill that entry level coilover gap – H&R!

H&R carries a catalog FULL of very robust, inverted monotube strut coilovers and shocks. We began exploring this brand in early 2025 with the S197 Mustang offering, then after digitally rating the included springs and offering these assembled with Vorshlag top mounts (for our “StreetPro” replacement, above) – we immediately began to add our own twist on these with replacement springs that have a stiffer spring rate.

This “TrackPro” offering replaced the missing suspension option for this S197 chassis that we used to fill with a Bilstein B6 monotube that we modified heavily to turn it into a coilover. Over $1600 less than the least costly monotube coilover we carry for this S197 model, the H&R fill a niche for some of our customers.

After selling the first few sets of H&R for the S197 chassis, we dove into the next car model: the S550 Mustang. We have already made the StreetPro and TrackPro versions of these, and will keep expanding our coverage with H&R into other car makes and models.

And while these are just ride height adjustable, with no damping adjustment, for some folks that is a good thing. We also sell each setup with only one spring package, not a choice like with other brands we carry. No knobs to turn and no spring rates to choose = less chance of tuning yourself into a corner! Call us at Vorshlag if you have questions about these entries or other car models.

In this 3rd chapter to our huge Forum Build Thread and series of GRM magazine articles we cover some major prep work to the Pontini Racing 2014 BRZ. This time they have a roll cage built, and we dive deep into the choices for doing this critical and required safety step.

After the method of having the cage built was decided, the shop picked, and the deed completed the team jumped into prepping the floors and cage to be painted. We cover 3 methods to paint the cage and 2 methods to remove tar paper off the floors. Then the window net was installed, then the fire system mounted and plumbed.

The team also installed a motorsports style defroster, tow hooks at both ends (including a custom soft rear strap), Lexan rear window, multiple CNC cut and hand made aluminum panels for various controls and switches, and all manner of other details. Then the car was weighed and off to the track the team went for Track Test #3 – one week before their debut ChampCar Endurance race! Hundreds of pictures, tech tips, in-car videos, and more are covered in Part 3 of the Forum Build Thread. Thanks for reading!