Get to know us! Check out these awesome articles from S3 Magazine, LSX Magazine & Garrett Turbos Online, about our Fabricator, Shane Whalley & his one of a kind LS 550!

From S3 Magazine:

SHANE WHALLEY’S LS SWAPPED MUSTANG

Posted by Wooley | May 26, 2020 |

You don’t usually see the newer & current chassis built-out to this extent… at a privateer level. But Shane Whalley had a unique opportunity with this car, and he grabbed it straight by the balls.

This Mustang was originally a Coyote GT, and it was being used as a performance shop’s R&D car when the S550 chassis first came out in 2015. After about a year, the shop owner decided he wanted to use the Coyote engine & trans in his Fox. So he made a deal with Shane:

If Shane stripped the engine & transmission… Shane could have the rolling chassis. Shane was in need of a new drift car since he RIP’d his GTO, and he’s got a few fab skills… so it was game-on.

Shane always had a lot of success with LS engines in his past drift cars, and he knows the ins-&-outs of the LS really well. So even though Ford guys turn all Hulk-ish when they see an LS in a Mustang… Shane wasn’t a Mustang guy lol. So it didn’t ruffle his feathers a bit. For Shane, a good drift car is a good drift car… any way you get there.

It took Shane Whalley about 2 years to build the car. Almost everything is custom. See, when you swap an LS into a popular import chassis (something like a 240, RX-7, or 350z), there are off-the-shelf options. Heck you can get almost everything you need from Enjuku alone. But with the S550 chassis, there is no engine-swap support. So it was up to Shane and his abilities to get the job done. He wanted to stay patient & do it right… so he didn’t end up spending all his track time chasing down dumb issues.

The front Fortune coilovers… are about the only ‘off-the-shelf’ part on this car…

Tube chassis front & rear, with an FD-legal cage…

Wilwood pedal assembly with Brembo 6-piston front brakes, a custom dual-caliper rear, and custom angle kit…

5.7 LS-swap with Garrett GTX4508R turbo & Canton oiling system. Tuned by Tuner Tools. Diamond pistons, K1 rods, BTR cam & valve springs, Trend pushrods…

Sankuer splitter, skirts, and C6 wing…

Text by Wooley | Photos by Chris Sullivan

Read the original article from S3 Magazine by clicking here…

From LSX Magazine:

One For The Haters: LS-Swapped S550 Turbo Mustang

By BRIAN HAVINS | APRIL 27, 2020

As you can imagine, most Ford enthusiasts don’t get too excited when they see a fast Mustang at the track that’s powered by a Chevrolet. And while the Chevy vs. Ford rivalry is still ongoing; it’s impressive to see how many LS-powered blue oval cars are out on the streets and at the racetracks. Our latest find is Shane Whalley’s, 2015 LS-swapped S550 Ford Mustang.

So why in the world would you LS-swap an S550 Mustang?

Whalley is a fabricator and professional drifter out of Detroit, Michigan, and is familiar very familiar with the LS platform. He has owned several daily drivers that were powered by the popular Chevrolet mill. For Whalley, it came down to one thing when choosing the engine for the swap, and that’s money. Is the Coyote a good engine? Yes. Can it make big power when built? Also yes. The problem with the Ford engines is they are expensive, and when Whalley purchased the car, the owner wanted the engine and transmission out of the S550 for a restomod build.

Since Whalley was starting without a power plant, it only makes sense to go with an LS. The parts are inexpensive, readily available, and his entire drift team runs the LS platform. Let’s face it; if you can make 1,000 horsepower and save thousands of dollars, it would be silly to do anything different.

With the help of a Garret GTX4508R turbo, the 347 cubic-inch LM7 made some big numbers with only 14-pounds of boost. After several dyno pulls, the S550 put down 976 horsepower and monstrous 928 lb-ft of torque before running out of fuel system.

Specs:

Vehicle Information:

Year / Make / Model: 2015 Ford Mustang
Chassis Code: S550
Competition Class: Drifting

Engine:

Engine Code: LM7 5.3L
Bore & Stroke (mm) / Displacement (cc): 3.905” Bore, 3.622” Stroke
Peak HP / TQ: 976 Horsepower 928 lb-ft of torque
Boost Pressure (@ RPM): 14psi @3800 rpm.
Dyno Type: Mustang Vector Motorsports

Block Modifications:

Pistons / Compression Ratio: Diamond Pistons 10.5:1 compression
Connecting Rods / Crank: K1 Rods, LS3 crankshaft
Cylinder Head Modifications: Ported, dual-coil valve springs
Intake Manifold / Throttle Body: LS2 intake
Exhaust Manifold: Custom – Shane Vector Motorsports
Exhaust System / Downpipe: Custom
Wastegate: dual Tial 44mm wastegates
Blow-Off Valve: Tial 50mm
Intercooler: Air to Water
Fuel Injectors: AUS 1000cc
Fuel Pump(s): AEM 400LPH
Additional Fuel Delivery:
Engine Management System: Haltech Elite 2500
Engine Management Tuner: Brian Barnhill; Tuner Tools

Read the original article from LSx Magazine by clicking here…

From Garrett Motion:

APRIL 22, 2020

Best Of Both Worlds: Turbo LS Swapped S550 Mustang

Like it, or love it? Is this the baddest V8 turbocharged drift Mustang built to date? We think so. The 2015 S550 Ford Mustang body style utilizes a turbocharged 5.7L Chevy LM7 engine that makes 976 horsepower on 14 PSI of boost. This car has been fully built from the ground up by Shane Whalley, a fabricator and professional drifter based out of Detroit, Michigan. It’s called the LS550 and Shane started building this car in 2017 as a the replacement for his Pontiac GTO drift machine. Shane’s YouTube channel has many videos on the build of the car, as well as LS turbo tech tips and comparisons for fabricators and enthusiasts alike.

As an experienced fabricator, 90% of the parts on this car were all designed, and custom fabricated in Shane’s garage. That’s everything from the suspension components and angle kit, safety cage, cooling system, turbo manifold, piping and more. The only real bolt-on parts for a s550 mustang are the Fortune Auto front coilovers. If you take a look through his YouTube videos you will see every detail of the build explained.

Being a turbo engine guru, Shane has always been a huge turbo fan since he first got into cars. “From the way the power comes on, to the sound they make, a huge benefit to a turbo is the ease of adding power. No need to change out nitrous jets, swap pulleys, or ever worry about throwing a belt off. The power is always there, and can be turned up with the turn of a knob, or click of a button,” says Whalley. For this build he chose a single Garrett GTX4508R because it supports up to 8.0L engines and can make up to 1250 horsepower. By using the Garrett Boost Adviser matching program you can see why the GTX4508R is a good match for a 1000 horsepower 5.7L engine by looking at the two redlines on the compressor map. The line on the right represents max power and it falls in the most efficient part of the compressor map producing cooler air than other parts of the map helping to increase the volumetric efficiency of the engine.

Turbocharging An LS Engine

Shane says, “Choosing the right turbo for drifting is very important. You want to go with a turbo that will have fast spool, and not get choked out on the top end. Since drift cars live at high rpm having a good solid turbo that you know will last goes a really long way. Using Garrett’s Boost Advisor can help you get a good idea of where you need to be when picking the turbo for your build.” Below are 5 tips from Shane for anyone considering boosting an LS engine.

LS550 Hits The Dyno

Shane is the fabricator at Vector Motorsports in Michigan and is also a place where they perform dyno tuning. In the video below you can watch as Brian from Tuner Tools gets the S550 Mustang tuned with the new Haltech Elite 2500 ECU. In the end the car ran out of fuel pump but logged a healthy 976 horsepower on 14 PSI of boost with the GTX4508R turbo.

VEHICLE INFORMATION-

Year / Make / Model: 2015 Ford Mustang
Chassis Code: S550
Competition Class: Drifting

ENGINE INFORMATION-

Engine Code: LM7 5.3L
Bore & Stroke (mm) / Displacement (cc): 3.905” Bore, 3.622” Stroke
Peak HP / TQ: 976hp 928tq Engine HP
Boost Pressure (@ RPM): 14psi @3800 rpm.
Dyno Type: Mustang Vector Motorsports