[Fair]

continued from above



So Amy and I kept taking it out in Red & Yellow and I led some "Lead-Follow" groups during a few Green groups as well (hazards on, about 60% pace, for to show the proper line to n00bs without freaking them out). All we needed for the car was fuel - but it averaged 11.8 mpg, running some hand timed 2:03 laps. Amy had some low 2:10s, and with a little coaching she'll find every ounce of speed I had. So yea, the Mustang on street tires was 4 seconds a lap faster than the TTD prepped BMW 330 on 285mm Hoosiers. Horsepower. 'Merca!

Current track impressions: This Mustang probably still needs some dedicated brake cooling ducts, as I could get the DTC-60 Hawk pads a little warm if I was pushing the brakes 100% for a couple of laps, but it still STOPS. Might switch to a Porterfield pad someone has put me onto. Some added aero wouldn't hurt, as it has the ample power to convert into some downforce. The car was pretty much just flawless on track, and too damned much fun. No temperature issues at all, even with 2 drivers driving it back to back to back. I could hoon it in 3rd gear in slow corners, or drive it nicer and put down some decent laps. Played with a certain hot TT driver's E92 M3 on similar tires and the Mustang came out ahead. I had it all on video, but all of the in-car from the Mustang was borked when we looked at it the next day. Gah! It was so good, with a passenger hooting and laughing the whole time.

So, I think any more power in the Mustang and it would be begging for Hoosiers... Hell, its already begging for Hoosiers. I gotta quit tracking this still too-new car. Its just so much more fun to drive than my "dedicated track car" BMW with M54 power!

New Tune + Dyno Number

So we had hoped to get the Mustang over to the local tuner shop we use for this car (True Street Motorsports in McKinney, TX) and have them put on a fresh tune for the car, now that its not 108°F outside like it was last August (where it made 404 whp) + we had the new rear exhaust on (which might add a little power) + make us the "Street Tune" version we ran out of time in August for, which uses all of the throttle travel all of the time (we have had an RPM-based throttle stop / traction control built into the EFI programming for autocross use for many months).

Their shop was super busy and they couldn't squeeze us in until after the ECR Track Day, so we took the car by after the event. They pulled it in off the street and it made 426 whp on the old "traction control" track tune. Wow, that call got me excited! They fiddled around a bit and settled on 430 whp / 406 wtq, still with the limited throttle track tune (shown below). Didn't take much work. That's still a 100% STX class legal + street legal set-up, with cats, and mufflers. Too bad its still 3400 pounds and limited to 265mm tires for this class, which is far too heavy to be a threat there.


the August "hot as hell in the dyno cell" 404 whp run is shown under the more realistic but still corrected 430 whp dyno pull

This Coyote 5.0L V8 motor will RUIN you - 100% stock longblock, just a few bolt-ons and a pump gas tune, and its making 430 wheel??? It still gets great mileage, idles quietly, and pulls hard to 7000 and beyond. Its making more than 400 whp from 5200-7000 rpm. With the Boss302 intake manifold it would keep making more and more power up to 7500 (those intakes are amazing), but sadly that intake swap isn't legal in STX. But it is for ESP, if you were to build a Boss302 engined Mustang for that class. Mmmm, big grip and even more power - it sure is tempting.

So TSM made a street tune for me as well, with the "crazy throttle" mapping that comes with it from the factory. I've been driving around on that, and its definitely more "frisky". This tune makes even more power than the Track map, but I don't have that dyno print-out yet (it made an additional 11 whp before on the "street" map). I'll post that up later when I can go get a copy of it from the TSM guys.

What's Next in the Mustang?

I'll post up more about the Mustang when we make changes, over the winter. So much going on I can't even get it all down on the screen. Still have a good plan for attacking STX next year - its all about getting the power to the ground. There are some new 265mm 140+ treadwear tires I want to test, and I have major rear suspension updates planned, with some additional weight loss, and of course - more horsepower. Too much is never enough! >

PS: I love driving this Mustang on track so much I'm looking for another S197 chassis to build into a dedicated track car here at Vorshlag. I'll go into more detail when/if we find a car for the right price. If you have a line on a lower cost/theft recovery/stripped/drivetrain-less S197 Mustang (2005+), please drop me a line. Just don't tell my wife! A rolling chassis with no interior or drivetrain is OK, and even front end damage is fine. The stock drivetrain, front sheetmetal, hood, trunk, glass, brakes, wheels, interior, and lower K-member are all going away. V6 or V8 cars.


Plenty of 18x10" Mustang Wheels Still Available for Pre-Order

We are still trying to get the word out about the first batch of 18x10 ET43 wheels I ordered from D-Force for the S197 Mustang and GR Impreza chassis. It has been two weeks since we made the product announcement post and started taking pre-orders. We had high expectations for these wheels and thought they'd be met by the Mustang and Subaru enthusiast community with a warmer reception, even though this batch is being sold as a pre-order and not a direct sale straight from inventory.

The reasons we thought these wheels would be more popular are:

• This is an 18x10" size and offset that nobody else makes
• Makes for a square set-up, front and back, which is a very good thing
• Still a very lightweight wheel
• $309 is a very cost competitive price compared to Enkei, SSR and others (none of which make the right offset and bolt pattern)
• This 18x10" wheel is already both race and street proven, on hundreds of BMWs + our 2011 Mustang
• Direct fit for both the Mustang and GR Subaru - no spacers needed, no "poke", no rubbing.

We understand that there is a somewhat unknown economic outlook right now, and in the U.S. here there is the added pressure of presidential election news craziness, but this is still a very well priced wheel for what it is. This is the first 18x10" wheel made for this car that fits and doesn't cost over $600 per corner. It is less than HALF the price of the BBS wheel, which you cannot even find in stock at most times. The prototype set has been thoroughly tested on the street, autocross course and track.



If you are reading this Mustang thread then you probably care a little about what we do here at Vorshlag. We're trying to innovate, create and make better suspension & in this case wheel products that fit the enthusiast market needs. Ordering the huge number of wheels necessary to get an 18x10" direct-fit wheel made for S197 Mustang and GR Subaru chassis (and I've been told by very reliable sources this size + offset fits the RX8 as well) was a big risk for us. Future new wheel product offerings will depend on how this experiment goes. We do not need to pre-sell all of the wheels, but we had hoped that more people would be stepping up after two weeks than we have seen.

Please, if you or anyone you know has a 2005-up Mustang or 2008-up Subaru STI, please point them to this Product Announcement: http://www.vorshlag.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8008 Use your social media outlets as well - Twitter, Facebook, Google+.

We are in love with these wheels. They are so light, so big, fit these cars so well, and I want them on all of my own cars. I can just only use so many myself, you know? Or order a set for yourself - you deserve a set of proper 18x10" wheels that do not weigh 30 pounds each!

Thanks for your help.