Improvements to GRM E30 V8

Our GRM $2011 Challenge winning project car has had some improvements lately, which are discussed in detail on our build thread. This 1986 BMW E30 chassis just turned 25 years old which means it is eligible for Texas’ 25 year vintage exemption from emissions testing, whihc made for an easy safety inspection… now this beast is street legal!

There are been substantial changes and updates to the car from the old $2000 build budget days and now the car sports AST 4100 coilovers, 18×11″ CCW wheels, and some other expensive bits and pieces. One of the last changes we made was adding a front undertray/splitter, which we show how to make in step-by-step fashion, including pictures.

We’re going to have an auction to sell this car soon, so stay tuned!

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Vorshlag Mustang wins Optima Faceoff Autocross!

We took our 2011 Mustang GT (S197 “test mule”) to the Optima Faceoff at the Hot Rod Power Tour a week ago, and did surprisingly well. The rules were simple: take your licensed street car, use any 200+ treadwear tires, and run in two days of competition against an assortment of radical and well prepped cars of all types. Muscle cars, GTRs, Lamborghinis, ZR1s, EVOs, and more.

Day 1 of this two-day event had the most insane autocross event we had ever experienced, with TV crews everywhere and crowds of cheering fans. At an autocross. You can check out the latest update in our Mustang build thread for more write-up with results, pictures and videos. Luck was on our side and we managed to win the autocross portion of the event, and placed in the top 10 for the Speed stop event also run that same day. Check back soon for our write-up on the track event, held on Day 2.

Vorshlag Mustang clawing through the Optima Faceoff autocrossClick here to read more

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Vorshlag at SCCA Spring Nationals

Vorshlag was at the SCCA Solo “Spring Nationals” running our ESP Mustang in the ProSolo and National Tour there. Weather was all over the place, we drove 4 different courses over 4 days, fought a massive push, learned a lot, placed “OK”, then had the hood fly up and smash the windshield. Quite a weekend! The event write-up includes pictures, in-car video, and ideas for improvement. You can read thew two forum posts about the event starting here.

Racing at the National Tour with a shattered/taped-up windshield

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Motons on the Mustang

This installment of our S197 Mustang Project Build Thread covers the installation of new Moton Club Sport 2-way coilovers onto our 2011 Mustang GT, as well as a host of other upgrades (higher spring rates, etc). We tested the new set-up at a local autocross soon after and saw some noticeable gains – where Amy dominated our class and set 2nd fastest time of the event. Starting to see some good results after switching from STX class (and skinny 265mm street tires) to ESP (with 315mm R compounds). Wonder if going to even wider tires would continue these gains?? Check back next time to see that test…

We also discuss the upcoming AST 4150 and show the newly arrived Vorshlag S197 camber plates and Vorshlag/D-Force 18×10″ Mustang/Subaru wheel.

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Vorshlag BMW E30 V8 project updates

A lot has happened with our BMW E30 V8 over the past few months, after winning the $2011 GRM Challenge shootout last October. The car has appeared in a 5 page color spread in the October 2011 issue, on the cover of the April 2012 issue, and in a full page add for the $2012 Challenge in the current (June 2012) issue of Grassroots Motorsport magazine.

We proved what we set out to do with the car, but what’s next? We have been busy replacing, updating, and upgrading performance components on the art car themed E30, as it is no longer constrained to a a “$2011 budget”. Read more in the latest forum thread update to see what we’ve done… and why!

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Mustang Wheels and Camber Plates Shipping

After months of delays the custom ordered batch of 18×10″ wheels for the S197 Mustang and GR Subaru are finally here! That “slowest boat of all time” has finally made it across the world and these flow-formed/semi-forged 19# wheels are in the USA. We have sets in Silver and Flat Black available – let us know if you want a set. We will call all existing customers that had placed orders this week and confirm shipping addresses, and orders should start to ship within 2 days.

Another new Mustang part that has been shipping for a couple of weeks is the fully revised Vorshlag S197 camber-caster plate. Built unlike any other camber plate on the market, Vorshlag has introduced our over-engineered design – previously only seen on BMWs – to the Mustang market. With modular upper spring perches to fit any coilover spring size as well as the OEM style spring, the integral sealed radial bearing design adds smooth steering input, extreme spherical bearing longevity, and a noise-free fit to our camber plates. Camber adjustment takes seconds track-side, as well.

This camber plate, like all Vorshlag-branded products, is 100% made in the USA.

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Vorshlag now NASA approved HPDE Tech Shop

Vorshlag has a top notch service department that includes custom fabrication, suspension installation, mechanical repair, and race prep work. We are also now authorized to do pre-HPDE inspections for a number of track clubs, including NASA Texas. As NASA racers ourselves we understand the class rules and safety regulations that NASA and other HPDE groups use, and can give your car a proper once-over before your next track day. These inspections usually only take about 30-45 minutes and need to be scheduled with our service group.

If your car hasn’t had a proper brake system flush recently we can perform that as well; Vorshlag is a Motul dealer and we stock both Motul RBF600 and RPF660 brake fluid. Maybe you need a corner balance and/or race alignment? We have one of the best alignment techs in DFW and the equipment to do the job properly. Race tire mounting and balancing? We take special care with your race wheels like you’d expect, not like the tire guy that works on minivans all day at the discount department store. Need something welded/cut/fabricated/installed? We get the fab jobs many other shops are afraid to tackle, like the trunk floor reinforcement / custom differential mount fabrication shown on the Z3M above.

If we can provide what you need, maybe we will see you here at Vorshlag before your next track event.

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Vorshlag Mustang at TWS

After the MW ProSolo a week ago we brought the Mustang back to the Vorshlag shop for more track prep. First we designed, water jet cut, and built a set of custom rear wing uprights for an APR GTC-300 carbon wing and added it to the Mustang. Its a prototype that we will perfect for an upcoming “flat” wing from APR later this year. Swapped brakes to the race pads/rotors and rebuilt the factory limited slip with a Carbon Clutch Pack kit from Ford. Then we added custom front brake ducting and bolted on the big Forgestar 18×11/18×12 wheels and massive 315mm Kumho race tires and took it to Texas World Speedway, to race with the NASA Texas Time Trial group. The event was fun, we learned a lot, and both the prep work and event write-up are located here. Back up a post or two to see the prep work. In-car video and pictures of various cars at the event are in the picture gallery.

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Vorshlag Mustang Prep and ProSolo

We had a busy week developing some new parts for our 2011 Mustang GT, which we used at an SCCA ProSolo event last weekend. You can read all about the prep work and the ProSolo results here, as well as see hundreds of pictures and some in-car videos from the event. We show construction of a new rear spoiler and our hot new 18×11 (FR) and 18×12 (R) wheels that tuck nicely under the stock fenders. Big 315/35/18 Kumho V710 R compound tires were mounted at all 4 corners for some amazing grip!

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Some Delays and Several Improvements

The 2012 racing season is well underway now, but some of you are still waiting on shiny new bits you want to buy from Vorshlag. In racing, deadlines are short and missing races because you are waiting on overdue hardware is never fun. We here at Vorshlag want to apologize to our customers that have been patiently waiting for a few delayed parts that we have had on order from outside suppliers for many months. We hate back-orders and delays, but even worse than that is passing along promised delivery dates from vendors that are then missed. As much as we try to build most of our products in-house, we do not control every manufacturing process for every single part we sell and invariably a supplier will eventually miss a promised date or two.

There are two major products that we have talked about, helped co-develop (on our Mustang test mule, above), and promoted publicly that have been delayed beyond explanation in 2012. Our custom-ordered S197 Mustang 18×10″ Mustang wheels from D-Force and dozens of sets of AST 4150s are both over three months late. We cannot explain it and other than wringing our hands and angry calls to vendors, we are powerless about these two particular set-backs. We share your frustrations and we are sorry. When we get blamed for late deliveries that are out of our control it sucks, but that’s part of this business – shared blame.

Some Good News!

We were waiting on some brand new products to arrive that are now in our hands and we have made several improvements to existing Vorshlag components. All of the new parts that make up our Vorshlag S197 Mustang camber-caster plates, that we completely redesigned in Q1-2012, are finally here and they look great. Several parts are going to the electro-plater today (April 25th) and the new camber plate assemblies should start shipping within a week or so. We have been waiting to put these on our own S197 Mustang and cannot wait to get them on track!

Also, another bearing holder (see below) that is used in a number of Vorshlag camber plate designs is now back in stock in massive numbers, and many customer and dealer camber plate back-orders were built and shipped this week. We have also fully switched the coating process on all Vorshlag bearing holders to a more expensive nickel plating, which should help customers in the “salt belt” see better corrosion resistance if they drive their cars in the harsh winters. Along those same lines, all the bearing holder mounting bolts in Vorshlag camber plates are now stainless steel.

For another corrosion improvement development, we have upgraded the custom-built steel OEM style upper spring perches (used on BMW/MINI camber plates with OEM style springs) to a more expensive powder coated finish. This greatly enhances corrosion resistance in the salt belt. The base perches we use come from BMW and one part number (the 1996-99 M3 perch) has more than doubled in price this year, so there is a price increase on that particular option that we have to pass through. Otherwise there have been no price increases on any Vorshlag camber plate in nearly 3 years, even with updated designs, hardware improvements, and coating upgrades. As always our camber plates are made in the USA to ensure the highest quality standards and to minimize shipping delays from overseas.

Thanks for reading this blog entry. Please know that Vorshlag is taking actions to minimize all part delays and back-orders, and always striving to improve everything we make.

Terry Fair – Vorshlag Owner

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