Keckster
Well-Known Member
Oh it was definitely my fault, I've been slowly learning to tune on it so didn't spot the narrowband not lining up with the wideband till a lot of diagnosis
David K's Extended Track Goblin #343 - 06 SS Donor
- Thread starter Keckster
- Start date
Keckster
Well-Known Member
Short little video update on the past racing season on my YT channel today. Don't mind the SEO title and description lol. This season I drove to, participated, and drove home from 10 different racing events across 3 states in the North East.
Winter 2024 projects: (Broke the bank...)
- Fueltech FT550 ✔
- Complete custom wiring Harness ✔
- Cat V Ported head ✔
- Dyno tuned ✔
- New Wrap ✔
- Sticker Hoosier A7 ✔
- DF Subframe ✔
- Wider rear wheels and tires ✔
- Oil Accumulator ✔
Fueltech FT550, Hardwire PDM, and Custom Wiring
I did complete the custom harness for the FT550 with lots of learning and late nights and it is working great, Most of the time lol. I had a single wiring issue when at my first event a wire coming out of the tunnel rubbed through and was grounding out. I really enjoyed making the new wiring harness and would absolutely do it again if anyone wants to swap over to an aftermarket ECU.
Dyno Tuning
The first startup and tuning of the Goblin did not go very well initially. We were trying to use sequential injection and spark but the engine turns over too slowly to get a cam sync. I was looking for a way to make the engine turn over faster but did not come across aftermarket starter for a cobalt and I didn't want to modify my existing starter and possibly hurt the reliability/lifespan. Eventually we figured it out and got the car to make 307 HP and 260 ft*lbs of torque on a hub dyno. The car was tuned by BluTunesEFI down in Spring Grove, PA, Jon is a really nice guy, very understanding, and reasonably priced for his great service and commitment.
Autox Events
This year I drove in 7 different Autocross events in 5 months with the main goal of obtaining as much seat time as possible. For the first event I got caught in the rain and had a wire ground out shutting me down early. Upon fixing the wire issue I had zero day ending issues apart from an extremely sensitive pedal which I eventually remedied with a large spring.
Mid Atlantic Car Fest (Oct. 10-13, Northeast US)
The event I was most excited for this year was Mid Atlantic Car Fest (MACF) which is a spin on the drag and drive event genre. We started our weekend at Dominion Raceway in Virginia on the .4 Mile Oval track. I honestly was a little intimidated by the oval as you are in a dish surrounded by track and walls if you were to loose it. In the end the oval had a ton of grip and the only thing holding me and the goblin back was my lack of confidence.
The second event of MACF was a track day on the 2 Mile Dominion Raceway track just after we finished on the oval. This was my first track event and I was just starting to get into it when I ran into my first issue of the weekend. On the back straight of the track I found that the car just wouldn't accelerate and more past about 5k rpm in 3rd gear, This caused a lot of heat to build up behind the exhaust and I ended up melting through a shifter cable. I am convinced this issue was caused by the lack of E85 in virginia and the car is down about 70HP on 93 octane. I ended up being able to free up the melted shifter cable by cycling it and dripping oil down inside the case. I unfortunately only got one session on the track due to the broken shifter cable. The other issue that arrived at the track is a large leak when making higher G turns, I am still unsure what was leaking but when I would take a turn it would spray all over the back of my seats and on the exhaust leaving a big mess everywhere.
After the day at Dominion Raceway we stayed in a Hotel at the track then woke up and drove to Mason Dixon Dragway for our next event. I have never gone down a drag strip and actually found it to be a lot of fun with friends. When we got to the Drag strip I was still on 93 octane fuel and the best I could run was a 14.2 at about 90 mph. I honestly expected the goblin to be a lot faster but the most I know on drag racing is watching Cleetus on YouTube lol. I was searching for gas stations nearby with E85 and found one about 25 minutes away. I emptied my tank to about 2 gallons into a friends car then left to find the gas station. The car instantly was happier even before getting back to the track. My final fastest time was a 13.195s at 100MPH. Maybe the goblin could go faster but I could barely get any grip on the track so maybe the prep wasn't very good. After our private track rental at Mason Dixon, We left taking scenic roads through the Appalachians to stay in a hotel in Altoona for our next event.
Day 3 of MACF was an Autocross event at Mid State Airport with the Central Pennsylvania SCCA Region. At this event is where I ran into another big problem. I ended up overextending my drivers side axle on my second run of the day cracking my transmission case. Everyone from the MACF event jumped into action to make sure we all made it to the end. Almost everyone offered me to borrow their car to run and get parts to fix it. After about 4 hours we finally found an axle and returned to the airport to repair my goblin. Once we got back to the car we found the axle was too short, which upon further inspection was due to the upright bending from the first axle breaking. One of the guys in our group pulled out a grinder and cut a 1/5 inch spacer off his jack handle so we could get the car driving. I decided to bring the car home and park it rather than push my luck going to the final event. I jumped in my daily driver and met everyone back at our hotel for for the final event of the weekend.
Our final event of MACF was a track sprint hosted by NEPA SCCA at Pocono Raceway. I was originally just gonna attend to support the rest of the MACF group but Bob Schiffer offered me to co-drive his goblin for the event. I am forever grateful for his offer and was not ready for the power of his LSJ-t. Unfortunately the video corrupted for our runs in his goblin but it was incredibly fast at Pocono on AR1s. I ended up finishing the event in 9th out of 20 after not getting all runs for 2 of the four events.
Winter 2025 Projects:
- Fix Supercharger loop Heat Exchanger leak
- Fix Transmission leak
- Install Catch Can
- Powder coat and install replacement rear control arms
- Cleanup entire car from various leaks
- Adjust Pedal Positions
- Replace cracked windshield (optic armor or glass?)
Winter 2024 projects: (Broke the bank...)
- Fueltech FT550 ✔
- Complete custom wiring Harness ✔
- Cat V Ported head ✔
- Dyno tuned ✔
- New Wrap ✔
- Sticker Hoosier A7 ✔
- DF Subframe ✔
- Wider rear wheels and tires ✔
- Oil Accumulator ✔
Fueltech FT550, Hardwire PDM, and Custom Wiring
I did complete the custom harness for the FT550 with lots of learning and late nights and it is working great, Most of the time lol. I had a single wiring issue when at my first event a wire coming out of the tunnel rubbed through and was grounding out. I really enjoyed making the new wiring harness and would absolutely do it again if anyone wants to swap over to an aftermarket ECU.
Dyno Tuning
The first startup and tuning of the Goblin did not go very well initially. We were trying to use sequential injection and spark but the engine turns over too slowly to get a cam sync. I was looking for a way to make the engine turn over faster but did not come across aftermarket starter for a cobalt and I didn't want to modify my existing starter and possibly hurt the reliability/lifespan. Eventually we figured it out and got the car to make 307 HP and 260 ft*lbs of torque on a hub dyno. The car was tuned by BluTunesEFI down in Spring Grove, PA, Jon is a really nice guy, very understanding, and reasonably priced for his great service and commitment.
Autox Events
This year I drove in 7 different Autocross events in 5 months with the main goal of obtaining as much seat time as possible. For the first event I got caught in the rain and had a wire ground out shutting me down early. Upon fixing the wire issue I had zero day ending issues apart from an extremely sensitive pedal which I eventually remedied with a large spring.
Mid Atlantic Car Fest (Oct. 10-13, Northeast US)
The event I was most excited for this year was Mid Atlantic Car Fest (MACF) which is a spin on the drag and drive event genre. We started our weekend at Dominion Raceway in Virginia on the .4 Mile Oval track. I honestly was a little intimidated by the oval as you are in a dish surrounded by track and walls if you were to loose it. In the end the oval had a ton of grip and the only thing holding me and the goblin back was my lack of confidence.
The second event of MACF was a track day on the 2 Mile Dominion Raceway track just after we finished on the oval. This was my first track event and I was just starting to get into it when I ran into my first issue of the weekend. On the back straight of the track I found that the car just wouldn't accelerate and more past about 5k rpm in 3rd gear, This caused a lot of heat to build up behind the exhaust and I ended up melting through a shifter cable. I am convinced this issue was caused by the lack of E85 in virginia and the car is down about 70HP on 93 octane. I ended up being able to free up the melted shifter cable by cycling it and dripping oil down inside the case. I unfortunately only got one session on the track due to the broken shifter cable. The other issue that arrived at the track is a large leak when making higher G turns, I am still unsure what was leaking but when I would take a turn it would spray all over the back of my seats and on the exhaust leaving a big mess everywhere.
After the day at Dominion Raceway we stayed in a Hotel at the track then woke up and drove to Mason Dixon Dragway for our next event. I have never gone down a drag strip and actually found it to be a lot of fun with friends. When we got to the Drag strip I was still on 93 octane fuel and the best I could run was a 14.2 at about 90 mph. I honestly expected the goblin to be a lot faster but the most I know on drag racing is watching Cleetus on YouTube lol. I was searching for gas stations nearby with E85 and found one about 25 minutes away. I emptied my tank to about 2 gallons into a friends car then left to find the gas station. The car instantly was happier even before getting back to the track. My final fastest time was a 13.195s at 100MPH. Maybe the goblin could go faster but I could barely get any grip on the track so maybe the prep wasn't very good. After our private track rental at Mason Dixon, We left taking scenic roads through the Appalachians to stay in a hotel in Altoona for our next event.
Day 3 of MACF was an Autocross event at Mid State Airport with the Central Pennsylvania SCCA Region. At this event is where I ran into another big problem. I ended up overextending my drivers side axle on my second run of the day cracking my transmission case. Everyone from the MACF event jumped into action to make sure we all made it to the end. Almost everyone offered me to borrow their car to run and get parts to fix it. After about 4 hours we finally found an axle and returned to the airport to repair my goblin. Once we got back to the car we found the axle was too short, which upon further inspection was due to the upright bending from the first axle breaking. One of the guys in our group pulled out a grinder and cut a 1/5 inch spacer off his jack handle so we could get the car driving. I decided to bring the car home and park it rather than push my luck going to the final event. I jumped in my daily driver and met everyone back at our hotel for for the final event of the weekend.
Our final event of MACF was a track sprint hosted by NEPA SCCA at Pocono Raceway. I was originally just gonna attend to support the rest of the MACF group but Bob Schiffer offered me to co-drive his goblin for the event. I am forever grateful for his offer and was not ready for the power of his LSJ-t. Unfortunately the video corrupted for our runs in his goblin but it was incredibly fast at Pocono on AR1s. I ended up finishing the event in 9th out of 20 after not getting all runs for 2 of the four events.
Winter 2025 Projects:
- Fix Supercharger loop Heat Exchanger leak
- Fix Transmission leak
- Install Catch Can
- Powder coat and install replacement rear control arms
- Cleanup entire car from various leaks
- Adjust Pedal Positions
- Replace cracked windshield (optic armor or glass?)
Keckster
Well-Known Member
It was an absolute blast even though I broke everything
. It is not always those dates, I can let you know when this year's event is scheduled. It is usually a thursday through sunday around the middle of october
Ross
Goblin Guru
Nice summary of your racing season. A year's worth of testing and debugging your car is well worth the effort. I know my car's handling drastically improved over my first race season. Thanks for making a video!
Rauq
Goblin Guru
I just got around to watching your video and I have a ton of questions, but I'll start with these:
- Can you share some info on your oil accumulator, where you connected it and if you're using an electronic or manual valve or what?
- Are you still running stock cams and valve springs?
- It seems the accelerator pedal spring took out a lot of throttle touchiness, did you make any adjustments to throttle mapping or sensitivity in the FT550?
- It looks like you powered all your accessories (lights, horn, etc.) through a PDM, is that correct? Did you rewire everything or did you reuse any of your original wiring?
Keckster
Well-Known Member
Thank you for watching it! I'd be glad to answer any questions you have the best I can!
The oil Accumulator is a Moroso 23900 3 Quart that I purchased as recommended by a few of the faster guys in the goblin community. I mounted it using large hose clamps to the chassis for MACF in october. I will probably move it somewhere else cause I'm not a huge fan of it's current mount. I use a manual valve and run it directly to the crank oil galley via the plugs on the side of the block under the intake.
Blue Circle is the galley port I used. I used an M12x1.75 to 6an fitting from racetronics.
No, I have 82lb valve springs and .5 mm oversized valves from Category V Portworx and ZZP Stage 2 supercharged cams. I honestly don't know how to read the cam numbers but here are the specs, 216/218 @ 1mm and 10.78mm/10.69mm lift, 111 LSA. If you know more about cam specs please educate me!
We did work on the throttle maps a little before adding a spring to the pedal which didn't seem to do anything but make the power feel kind of strange. I have not changed the tune since the first even of the season.
I made my own completely custom harness from scratch. I guess I can't necessarily say complete scratch cause I used an ft550 unterminated harness that I then modified to what I needed. Here is a link to the Google Sheetz that I planned the entire harness out in: Fueltech Wiring
Rauq
Goblin Guru
I don't really think you need any ideas or help to find your fluid leak, but just to make sure this is on your list for inspection- I had a leak from the input shaft seal that you can see here.
Also looked back through your build thread and thought I'd tag @Ross to see if there were any updates on your thermostat housing project.
Also looked back through your build thread and thought I'd tag @Ross to see if there were any updates on your thermostat housing project.
Keckster
Well-Known Member
you hit the nail on the head on the first thing on my list to check
. It is between that or some threads I stripped out on the clutch cylinder and “fixed” with JB weld. I think another problem getting fluid everywhere is the gasket on the fuel tank and blow coming from my valve cover vent.As for the heater core I was designing, I couldn’t really find a way to get it made affordably. I was tempted to try doing some plaster lost plastic casting but haven’t gotten around to it. I could dig the project back up but am a little short on money right now unfortunately.
Rauq
Goblin Guru
I'd imagine if the throwout bearing is not firmly sealed against the inner bellhousing service then you could also get a leak around the face seal and not the input shaft seal. But I'll let you get eyes on and report back to satisfy my curiousity!
Do you have any idea what powdered metal 3d printing costs? I just have no idea if you were to upload a part like that if it'd come back at $100 per part or $1000 per part. Just curious... again!
Do you have any idea what powdered metal 3d printing costs? I just have no idea if you were to upload a part like that if it'd come back at $100 per part or $1000 per part. Just curious... again!