Chris’s 2007 SS/SC track frame build for autocross

ccannx

Goblin Guru
Way braver than me. I tripled check everything, had 18 miles of just slow test drives up and down the neighborhood before my first road outing.
I test drove it WOT up and down the gravel driveway and 10pm holding a flashlight in one hand and the wheel in the other ! :)
 

ccannx

Goblin Guru
That hose you put a bolt in is the supercharger overflow hose. It doesn't connect to anything, just hangs there pointing down in the cobalt. Not sure how full you got that system but I think mine is supposed to be full when the coolant is only at the bottom of that fill tube (height of a hose thickness, not actually up into the full tube cylinder) if that makes sense.
I kept filling and filling forever just when I thought it was full it needed more. I topped it and the oil off before we headed out, guess it had enough.
 

Ross

Goblin Guru
Got the goblin running under its own power Saturday night so naturally I loaded the car up Sunday morning and took it to an autocross ! What better way to shake out the bugs, 10mm's, a 6 inch long bolt, coolant and some gas.... oops.

Everyone loves the car, definitely a big hit with the autocross crowd.

I managed to wipe out a wall of cones at the end of my last run and had a little damage to the front radiator just lost one of the clips that holds the fan to the back of the radiator.

The front radiator mounts got scrapped and hit a couple times from underneath from some bumps and low spots. I may consider raising the car a little in the future.

I have some coolant hoses I need to figure out, left one unhooked and never noticed until I spun out on the first run and splashed coolant/water on the course.

My shifter is not very user friendly I started every run in 2nd gear so I didn't have to make the 1-2 shift which was surely going to fail if I attempted it. The mount on the rear is flat and I think it should be at different levels like the stocker but I never figured out how it was supposed to mount.

My left knee makes contact with the key while under weight transfer, I need to research the push start thread to see whats needed to eliminated that.
Your second picture has the Cobalt shifter cable holder for the transmission. I used that and some flat metal, to help make the car shift better. See video.
 

ccannx

Goblin Guru
On the front shocks, how many clicks do you have them set to from full soft?
That could be it I never checked them ...If the fronts are turned all the way up the car could be jacking down during the run. I did set the rears to 15 of the 30. Also want to raise the car to potentially put the rear suspension in a better camber geometry and ordered prothanes kit for the lower front control arms. I got a couple of comments about noticeable positive camber in the rear going around the sweepers. I couldn't get a real feel for the car because the stock seat didn't provide enough support to concentrate on driving.
 
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Ross

Goblin Guru
Did you choose prothanes over the "Control Arm Bushing MOOG K201285" for a reason?
I think the Moog are a heim joint, while the prothanes are a stiffer elastomer.
 

ccannx

Goblin Guru
Was looking for a replacement for the front bushing knowing about the Moog rear also want to pick up the Moog one but since the Prothane's are a kit I will just go with it and see how they do, may go with the Moog rear bushing later.
 

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Waterdriver

Goblin Guru
That could be it I never checked them ...If the fronts are turned all the way up the car could be jacking down during the run. I did set the rears to 15 of the 30.
If you haven't changed them from taking them out of the box, then their set full soft, as I found out.
12-14 clicks from full soft seems to be good for the 300lb front springs.
Even as light as the front end is, the springs collapse quite a bit. Ended up using stiffer springs.
 

ccannx

Goblin Guru
If you haven't changed them from taking them out of the box, then their set full soft, as I found out.
12-14 clicks from full soft seems to be good for the 300lb front springs.
Even as light as the front end is, the springs collapse quite a bit. Ended up using stiffer springs.
I bought 500lb springs for the rear because DF forgot to pack the 400's in the kit. waiting on those and may put them in the front next year during a test and tune to see how they do.

If they are sitting at full soft then I definitely need to raise the front as we have some pretty bumpy lots here in Va for Autox.
 

Waterdriver

Goblin Guru
You might even try the higher rate 500's springs in the front and 3 or 400's in the rear for more options to find the right balance.
 

ccannx

Goblin Guru
You might even try the higher rate 500's springs in the front and 3 or 400's in the rear for more options to find the right balance.
Wouldn't that overpower the shock and not allow it to dampen the spring?

I measured the front shaft at about 15mm and the rear at 20mm
 
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ccannx

Goblin Guru
600 on the qa1's ? What is the stock spring rate in the rear now ?
I would like to get the car working without swaybars if possible.
Have you guys corner balanced and set ride heights yet ? I have scales and some coil over tools now so that's next on the list after I get some of the camber out of the front.
 

Waterdriver

Goblin Guru
Not sure what the stock rear coils are rated at, but they must be a pretty low spring rate.1st autocross I was riding on the rear bumpstops anytime making a turn. (Had a gopro on one to view) Car pitching every which way and nearly undrivable from a performance standpoint.
Adding the front springs and small rear swaybar has transformed the car for me. Soft spring rate in the rear for launch is nice side effect but stiffer in cornering)
Coilovers for the rear are a future purchase/upgrade, possibly ditching the swaybar at that time.

Front ride height: lower control set to 0 degrees/horizontal. Which makes the front of my car very low with 15" wheels tires, but haven't had any issue bottoming out except for loading on the trailer.

I havent bothered to corner scale yet. When installing the rear swaybar, the endlinks all slid right into their mounting holes. Typically indicating the car is cross weight neutral.
 

ccannx

Goblin Guru
Got a chance to adjust the shifter yesterday. I tacked the old bracket to the goblin provided bracket and it took most the bind out of the cables. Car shifts better now but still sub-par, it was really sub-par in the Cobalt also.
 

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Ross

Goblin Guru
Started figuring out how I’m going to cover the front bits and mount a windshield.

Got the quick release steering wheel and race seat installed. I drilled out and reinstalled the brackets from the stock seats to my sliders.
Interesting front hood. I would like to see some more pictures of your design.
 
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