New Products for S197 plus More TT3 Wins

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Fair

Our latest S197 Forum Build Thread post shows off a variety of new parts we have developed for the 2005-2015 Mustang chassis, and that we have installed and tested on our shop 2011 Mustang GT that we campaign in NASA TT3 class.

From chassis tow hooks, lower pricing on the 13.8″ GT500 rear disc brake conversion kit, our 4″ brake duct backing plates, new rear ride height platforms for use with coilover springs, and even a bunch of new Clearance page items.

We also cover the NASA event at Hallett in June in this build thread update, which was an eventful weekend on many counts.

The Mustang performed well, even if Terry managed to have an “off” that damaged the splitter and packed the grill with grass. After some quick track-side repairs we still managed to win TT3 both days, won 4 tires, reset the TT3 track record by 3 seconds, and secured the regional TT3 championship for 2014 (the first and only entry or team in Texas region to do so). We still have more events to come, including the Optima Ultimate Street Car invitational in November, after we show the car at SEMA all week. Look for the telecast of the March USCA event that the Vorshlag Mustang won overall at. This will air on MAVTV on the dates bolded below.

USCA/Optima Event air dates on MavTV

July 17th 8PM 2013 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational
August 1st 8PM OPTIMA’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car TV Series Introduction Special
August 1st 11PM OPTIMA’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car TV Series Intro
August 2nd 8PM OPTIMA’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car TV Series Intro
August 3rd 5AM OPTIMA’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car TV Series Intro
August 8th 8PM USCA Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
August 8th 11PM USCA Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
August 9th 8PM USCA Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
August 10th 5AM USCA Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
August 15th 8PM USCA Texas Motor Speedway
August 15th 11PM USCA Texas Motor Speedway
August 16th 8PM USCA Texas Motor Speedway
August 17th 5AM USCA Texas Motor Speedway
August 22nd 8PM USCA Daytona International Speedway
August 22nd 11PM USCA Daytona International Speedway
August 23rd 8PM USCA Daytona International Speedway
August 24th 5AM USCA Daytona International Speedway
August 29th 8PM USCA Auto Club Speedway
August 29th 11PM USCA Auto Club Speedway
August 30th 8PM USCA Auto Club Speedway
August 31st 5AM USCA Auto Club Speedway

Posted in Build Thread Update, New Product, Race Summary | Leave a comment

Alpha Miata LS1 Update

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Fair

It has been a few months since our last update on the 1999 Mazda Miata V8 swap project, which we call the Alpha LS1 Miata. The latest update (here) covers what we’ve been up to on this prototype build for the past few months.

As you can see when you read the latest build thread update, an all-new tubular rear subframe was designed and built. This new bolt-in subframe houses a Ford 8.8″ aluminum differential housing, which is more than capable to withstand the 450 ft-lbs of torque the motor will put through it.

The rear subframe also has all new rear control arms that we have designed and built, which attach to heavier duty uprights and rear wheel hubs. These were chosen for the input splines’ higher torque capacity, for all new halfshafts that will be added. The aluminum uprights also mount a variety of larger disc brake set-ups.

Check back soon for more updates on the custom tubular front subframe assembly, which is made to house Mazda RX8 aluminum control arms, uprights, hubs and larger brakes. The tubular subframe was chosen to allow for more room for the LS1 V8 as well as proper full length headers. Adding the stronger RX8 hubs and brakes was also a key design goal. Check back here at the Vorshlag blog for future updates!

Posted in Build Thread Update, New Product | 1 Comment

S197 Mustang Updates plus GTA at RoadAtlanta

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Fair

We have added a lot of used Mustang parts to our Clearance page – a rear spoiler, a rear wing, some suspension parts, various exhaust system components, and a lot of used race tires. We detail each item added in the beginning of this S197 Build Thread forum update.

We also detail the GTA event at RoadAtlanta in May that we went to with our 2011 Mustang and had “an interesting time” when the brakes boiled into a 150 mph corner.

Finally we cover some lessons learned from this incident and cover the braking system upgrades we have made to this car to handle more heat on longer stints.

These upgrades include: moving to larger front brake ducting (going from 3″ to 4″), to new fluid (higher boiling point), keeping spares handy (brake pads!), and a few good practices we will use from now on. We also take a a critical look at safety gear use in Time Trial and HPDE events. You can read all about it in this 4-part mega post, starting here.

Posted in Build Thread Update, New Product, Race Summary | Leave a comment

Pikes Peak Subaru and Scion FR-S V8 Updates

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Fair

We have been busy in the Vorshlag shop working on various race cars and V8 swap kit development. In this blog update we have links to updates two popular build threads – Brianne Corn’s Pikes Peak Subaru and the Alpha build for the Scion FR-S LSx swap.

This is our second part to the 2014 update work we have performed, which you can read starting here. We show lots of pictures showing the details of a new pedal assembly that has an adjustable bias for a dual brake master cylinder set-up.

Another big item added in this update is hard to miss – this giant rear wing we acquired from AJ Hatman Racing. You can see how this custom set of rear wing uprights were built every step of the way.

The Alpha 2013 Scion FR-S V8 swap kit development is coming along nicely, too, and that thread update starts here. We’ve re-designed the motor mounts and are satisfied with those and the transmission crossmember was also tackled. We discuss the trickiness of developing a swap kit vs a one-off build and also detail how to remove spot welds in sheet metal. Enjoy!

Posted in Build Thread Update, New Product | Leave a comment

S197 Mustang Races plus S550 Discussion

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Fair

Our latest update to our massive S197 Mustang Build and Development Forum Thread (hosted on 5 forums) covers 4 separate events and discusses a variety of subjects.

First we cover a NASA race in late April where our TT3 prepped 2011 Mustang GT crushed its old track record from 2013 by over 3 seconds while winning the class by 6 seconds. We talk about the changes that we made over the past 12 months to justify this amount of lap time drop on a car with zero power improvements and actually more weight added (tires, wing, shocks, front aero).

We discussed our custom order of a 2015 “S550” chassis Mustang, which is all new. And after going to a car show we got to measure a few things on and sit inside one of the pre-production cars. The 8 minute video of inside, outside and underneath this S550 car got some hits. Again, click here to read the 3-part build thread update for lots more details, pictures and in-car videos. Thanks!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Pikes Peak Subaru is Back!

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Fair

Brianne Corn’s 2006 Subaru STi hill climb car is back at Vorshlag for some pre-PPHIC 2014 prep! This is the same car she won her class in 2011 with, and ran with in the rain and hail in 2012. After sitting for the better part of two years in the sun the red vinyl wrap was cooked, but the folks at Heritage Paint and Body in Sherman, Texas worked their magic and took it from this…

To this….

Once the body was straight and painted in shiny new Ford Race Red, it came to Vorshlag for some race prep and upgrades, which you can read about starting here.

We have had the car here for a week and have already added an FIA-spec 22 gallon fuel cell, FIA-style bars to the front of the cage, new front bodywork to smooth the transition from the stock bumper cover to the splitter, re-mounted the splitter, added 4″ front brake ducts, and modified the brake pedal assembly and master cylinders.

Again, you can catch up with the work here, and there should be another post next week wrapping up our work before she heads to Pikes Peak to attack the mountain again in June.

Stay tuned!

Posted in Build Thread Update | Leave a comment

S197 Mustang Build Thread Updates

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Fair

After the massive 3 part write-up covering the 3 day competition event with USCA at the Optima qualifier we have done a number of events and upgrades to our 2011 Mustang GT test mule. Yes, we have already ordered an “S550” chassis 2015 Mustang GT to use to develop with starting this Fall, but we’re still testing new products for the S197 chassis in 2014 and beyond. Some of these have been covered in two separate S197 Project Build Thread posts, linked below.

May 15th: http://www.vorshlag.com/forums/showthread.php?p=57879#post57879
May 21st: http://www.vorshlag.com/forums/showthread.php?p=57882#post57882

Those are just the links to the Vorshlag forum, but these posts are also published in our S197 build threads located on SCCAForums, Corner-Carvers, S197forums and DFW50s. The May 15th post covers the installaiton of a new set of dampers from MCS that we call the “RR2”, shown below. These were tested at a track event held by TrackGuys at TWS on March 29th.

the post on May 21st covers an autocross we ran the car at with Texas Region SCCA. We were using this to test the street tire set-up with the new dampers, sporting the same BFGoodrich Rivals we used in USCA, but it rained during our runs and was a aquacross. Last but not least, this 2nd post covers the installation and mounting kit development of a massive new 14×72″ AJ Hartman carbon fiber wing for the big red Mustang. We go into the reasoning behind this wing change, and our next posts will show if this wing made the car any faster…

Thanks for reading!

Posted in Build Thread Update, New Product, Race Summary | 2 Comments

Day 3 of USCA and Time Trial Magic

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Fair

If you have been keeping up with the first two installments of our coverage of the Ultimate Street Car Association / Optima Qualifier event held in March at TMS, you know that we went into day 3 not knowing where we were placed. We thought we were in 3rd or 4th overall, but nobody knew for sure.

The last day of this 3 day competition (documented starting here) was a road course time trial event called the BFGoodrich Hot Lap Challenge. The 40 competitors had 6 sessions fifteen minutes in length to learn the 1.1 mile infield road course and get their best lap time in the books. Vorshlag had some experience on this track and by session two we were in the lead. But was it enough? And if we won this event, how would that help our overall placing… could we win that invite to SEMA and the Optima Ultimate Street Car Shootout?

Read the build thread starting here to find out…

Posted in Build Thread Update | Leave a comment

Vorshlag Scion FR-S LSx Alpha Project

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Fair

We at Vorshlag love the “86 twins”, also known as the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ.

There is already an extensive build thread (here) documenting the various suspension, wheel, tire and brake upgrades we have tested on a 2013 Subaru BRZ chassis. We’ve seen that with the right mods this chassis is a capable track and autocross car. The one thing these cars lack is horsepower. But we’re working on a reliable, powerful and track worthy solution, which involved removing the stock drivetrain forever.

What did you expect, a nuclear reactor? Of COURSE we’re putting an LS-series aluminum V8 into one of these already! Thanks to our partners on this project, Texas Track Works, we have found the “Alpha” customer and have begun documenting an LSx swap into this 2013 Scion FR-S. Right now the forum build thread is posted on the Vorshlag Forums, Corner-Carvers, SCCAforums, and DFWMiatas, but we’re looking at an ft86-specific forum to add to that list shortly.

As we make progress on this FR-S V8 swap we will update each of these threads simultaneously – as well as this blog. And don’t worry if you’re awaiting updates on one of our other new swap kits – like our BMW E46 LSx Alpha’s CAN-BUS wiring harness or NB Miata V8 swap kit (see below) – those project are all being worked on actively, and those build threads will be updated soon as well. The new FR-S V8 swap work is also benefiting those other projects.

Stay tuned to the Vorshlag Blog for more V8 craziness!

Posted in Build Thread Update, New Product | 13 Comments

More BMW E36 LS1 Swap Parts

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Fair

Today we updated our “announcement” thread (here) showing some BMW LS1 Swap Development parts. We’ve had several turn-key swap customers give us their cars to create new parts and it has paid off.

With new offerings that include complete after-header exhaust systems, remote coolant reservoir and heater control valve kits, ABS brake hard line kits, cold air intake kits, and more, we are making this swap easier every day.

Posted in Build Thread Update, New Product | 2 Comments