Jason in Texas - ext. track - 09 SS/TC
- Thread starter JBINTX
- Start date
Zoom Zoom
Goblin Guru
I knew you would man up and get a wingSo, I did not get a wing when I bought my kit. When Lonnie told me it was just for looks and did not really do much since the air flow behind the Goblin is so "dirty", I really felt like there was no need for it. And, another local builder Rttoys agreed with me. He did not get one either. And he even jokingly called our first meetup the "Texas anti-wang club meet".
Texas anti-wang club meet
We had the first annual/monthly/weekly anti-wang club meeting today. Next meeting coming soon. :Ddfkitcar.com
Time is mellowing me. Or, I am lusting after some of the ones I see here. Or, I have been enlightened and realize my Goblin is rear wing naked and am ashamed of it. Or like some here, the Goblin just is never finished and needs some more tinkering done on it. For fear of getting thrown out of the Texas club that I am a charter member of, no one tell Russell.
I must stand up and admit that I have been shopping for one. I want to start by inquiring if any one here on the forum has one they would like to sell. Maybe you changed your mind on the design, or something and bought anther one. Or WANT to buy another one. I will entertain a used one. No pride here. I am not going to spend as much as some of you big boys did for your carbon fiber giant in-your-face wangs. Just a medium, normal looking, not so in-your-face wing. Waddya think?
And if any one has the supports for sale, let me know. If not, I plan on giving more $$ to Lonnie and family.
PM me if you got something.
JBINTX
Goblin Guru
I ordered my wing, and received the supports from DF today. Of course, we got a hurricane bearing down on us....
SACTX bought some mesh for his grill. I got a piece from him. I decided to protect the radiator a little better. Only took a few hours. Turned out OK. Maybe painting the radiator black like some others will be the next step to hide it a little more.
SACTX bought some mesh for his grill. I got a piece from him. I decided to protect the radiator a little better. Only took a few hours. Turned out OK. Maybe painting the radiator black like some others will be the next step to hide it a little more.
Zoom Zoom
Goblin Guru
That look‘s like a professional did the job
Rttoys
Goblin Guru
Attachments
JBINTX
Goblin Guru
Got the new wing on last night. Nothing big or special. I agree now that a wing finishes out the rear end.
I will have to sweet talk Russel (Rttoys) to let me stay on the Houston Goblin Chapter now........
My son and I are signed up for our first autocross Sunday. Should be fun. Got some GoPro mounts set up. Hopefully we can get some good shots.
I will have to sweet talk Russel (Rttoys) to let me stay on the Houston Goblin Chapter now........
My son and I are signed up for our first autocross Sunday. Should be fun. Got some GoPro mounts set up. Hopefully we can get some good shots.
JBINTX
Goblin Guru
Since getting the temporary tags, I had not seen any patrol cars - until yesterday. I saw him rolling up in the side mirror as I waited at the light. As he slowed and rolled by me, he gave a little head nod. I had to work to stay out of the gas pedal as is the norm. Good day, indeed.
Always nice to stay on the right side of the law.....
Always nice to stay on the right side of the law.....
Zoom Zoom
Goblin Guru
The wing is is great additionGot the new wing on last night. Nothing big or special. I agree now that a wing finishes out the rear end.
I will have to sweet talk Russel (Rttoys) to let me stay on the Houston Goblin Chapter now........
My son and I are signed up for our first autocross Sunday. Should be fun. Got some GoPro mounts set up. Hopefully we can get some good shots.
View attachment 16498View attachment 16499View attachment 16500
JBINTX
Goblin Guru
My son and I did our first autoX today. We had an absolute BLAST! It was run by the Houston chapter of SCCA on the south side of town in the old grey hound race track parking lot. It was about an hour drive to get there passing through downtown Houston. Man the roads through town stink! Makes you really appreciate a nice smooth track.
My son Cooper took his J32 engine swapped Miata. Of course, there were many Miatas there today. He had a lot of explaining to do why he had six cylinders instead of four. It is precious time for an old man to get to spend a day with his son wearing out rubber on tires! And, he proved he was a better driver than me, again.
I had a lot of talking to do as well. No other Goblins there today. Hopefully Russel, Scott, and Bill (and the rest of you Houston guys!) are not far from joining me in the near future. It seems the autoX crowd is pretty tight knit group and most knew we were newbies. DF Lonnie owes me some marketing bucks after today! At least 10 guys stood there pulling up the DF website while asking tons of questions. Us newbies showed up with some good rides..... Most were amazed that the Goblin was street legal. Indeed it is!!!
So a track set up in a parking lot with cones is not quite like a full fledged race track. No red/white skirts. No grass marking the edge of the track. The little orange cones do NOT line the entire course. Instead, they are strategically placed to mark the course. Saves setting out a few thousand cones, I guess. It took 3-4 laps before I felt comfortable pushing it. And even then, I did not get on it hard.
On my second run, it began raining. Just a cloud burst. Not cool in a Goblin. Needless to say, the track was a little slicker. My pit crew left me on the same Toyo tires. :0 Half way through, I proceeded to spin out in the slaloms coming over a slight crest after putting a little left steering input, and barely hitting the gas. No orange cones were sacrificed. Unfortunately with the wet track, the sticky tires did not stick like usual. Lesson learned.
There were 85 cars from stock Miatas, stock Subies, Ford Focus, an old Civic, Porsches, Mustangs, Camaros, older vettes, and even a new Acura NSX and new C8 Vette. It was fun watching those heavy muscle cars struggle in the tight turns. Some little ND Miata ran the fastest lap all day. Go figure..... So my son and I did not embarrass ourselves, nor did we scare any of the leaders. I knew I was driving a little tentative most of the day. I definitely feel I could improve - especially after watching the videos. My technique was crap. Most of the runs, I did not feel I was looking far enough ahead and as a result was doing too much reacting. I guess that means that I will need more track days!!!.....
As a novice among some really seasoned car dudes, it would be easy to feel intimidated. Some of the guys even trailered their purpose built cars there today. However, all the workers, and most of the drivers were amazingly kind, patient, and friendly. That made for an absolutely fun day. Good group of people.
Unfortunately on the way home, we ran through another downpour. I am here to tell you that the Goblin and rain are not a good combination. I got soaked. The poor Goblin got a bath. Open tires throw water like you would not believe. We had to slow to about 30 to avoid hydroplaning. Some dude in a slingshot did worse. He spun out, and ended up against the concrete median. Bad day for him.
For those of you still building, I hope that a post like this inspires you. For those who have never been on a real track, autoX gets pretty close. I invite and challenge you to run a day like this somewhere. Or if you never get to do something like this, know the Goblin can hold its own in the novice racing world - and you can brag about it!!!!!
My apologies ahead of time for the video format. I mistakenly put the goPro in sideways, so when I rotated the file, I lost the wide perspective. Bonehead rookie move. Lesson learned, again.
I have a long way to go to be like Justin Reed. But, I can keep dreaming!!!!!
Goblin on friends, Goblin on.
My son Cooper took his J32 engine swapped Miata. Of course, there were many Miatas there today. He had a lot of explaining to do why he had six cylinders instead of four. It is precious time for an old man to get to spend a day with his son wearing out rubber on tires! And, he proved he was a better driver than me, again.
I had a lot of talking to do as well. No other Goblins there today. Hopefully Russel, Scott, and Bill (and the rest of you Houston guys!) are not far from joining me in the near future. It seems the autoX crowd is pretty tight knit group and most knew we were newbies. DF Lonnie owes me some marketing bucks after today!
At least 10 guys stood there pulling up the DF website while asking tons of questions. Us newbies showed up with some good rides..... Most were amazed that the Goblin was street legal. Indeed it is!!!So a track set up in a parking lot with cones is not quite like a full fledged race track. No red/white skirts. No grass marking the edge of the track. The little orange cones do NOT line the entire course. Instead, they are strategically placed to mark the course. Saves setting out a few thousand cones, I guess. It took 3-4 laps before I felt comfortable pushing it. And even then, I did not get on it hard.
On my second run, it began raining. Just a cloud burst. Not cool in a Goblin.
Needless to say, the track was a little slicker. My pit crew left me on the same Toyo tires. :0 Half way through, I proceeded to spin out in the slaloms coming over a slight crest after putting a little left steering input, and barely hitting the gas. No orange cones were sacrificed. Unfortunately with the wet track, the sticky tires did not stick like usual. Lesson learned.There were 85 cars from stock Miatas, stock Subies, Ford Focus, an old Civic, Porsches, Mustangs, Camaros, older vettes, and even a new Acura NSX and new C8 Vette. It was fun watching those heavy muscle cars struggle in the tight turns. Some little ND Miata ran the fastest lap all day. Go figure..... So my son and I did not embarrass ourselves, nor did we scare any of the leaders. I knew I was driving a little tentative most of the day. I definitely feel I could improve - especially after watching the videos. My technique was crap. Most of the runs, I did not feel I was looking far enough ahead and as a result was doing too much reacting. I guess that means that I will need more track days!!!.....
As a novice among some really seasoned car dudes, it would be easy to feel intimidated. Some of the guys even trailered their purpose built cars there today. However, all the workers, and most of the drivers were amazingly kind, patient, and friendly. That made for an absolutely fun day. Good group of people.
Unfortunately on the way home, we ran through another downpour. I am here to tell you that the Goblin and rain are not a good combination. I got soaked. The poor Goblin got a bath. Open tires throw water like you would not believe. We had to slow to about 30 to avoid hydroplaning. Some dude in a slingshot did worse. He spun out, and ended up against the concrete median. Bad day for him.
For those of you still building, I hope that a post like this inspires you. For those who have never been on a real track, autoX gets pretty close. I invite and challenge you to run a day like this somewhere. Or if you never get to do something like this, know the Goblin can hold its own in the novice racing world - and you can brag about it!!!!!
My apologies ahead of time for the video format. I mistakenly put the goPro in sideways, so when I rotated the file, I lost the wide perspective. Bonehead rookie move. Lesson learned, again.
I have a long way to go to be like Justin Reed. But, I can keep dreaming!!!!!
Goblin on friends, Goblin on.
Last edited:
JBINTX
Goblin Guru
We can blame that on Youtube. They must be running through their algorithms making sure I am not posting illegal material.....
Hopefully they will be active in a few minutes.
edit - helps if I click public.... all good now!
Last edited:
Zoom Zoom
Goblin Guru
That’s awesome, Glad y’all had fun except the rainMy son and I did our first autoX today. We had an absolute BLAST! It was run by the Houston chapter of SCCA on the south side of town in the old grey hound race track parking lot. It was about an hour drive to get there passing through downtown Houston. Man the roads through town stink! Makes you really appreciate a nice smooth track.
My son Cooper took his J32 engine swapped Miata. Of course, there were many Miatas there today. He had a lot of explaining to do why he had six cylinders instead of four. It is precious time for an old man to get to spend a day with his son wearing out rubber on tires! And, he proved he was a better driver than me, again.
I had a lot of talking to do as well. No other Goblins there today. Hopefully Russel, Scott, and Bill (and the rest of you Houston guys!) are not far from joining me in the near future. It seems the autoX crowd is pretty tight knit group and most knew we were newbies. DF Lonnie owes me some marketing bucks after today!
So a track set up in a parking lot with cones is not quite like a full fledged race track. No red/white skirts. No grass marking the edge of the track. The little orange cones do NOT line the entire course. Instead, they are strategically placed to mark the course. Saves setting out a few thousand cones, I guess. It took 3-4 laps before I felt comfortable pushing it. And even then, I did not get on it hard.
On my second run, it began raining. Just a cloud burst. Not cool in a Goblin.
There were 85 cars from stock Miatas, stock Subies, Ford Focus, an old Civic, Porsches, Mustangs, Camaros, older vettes, and even a new Acura NSX and new C8 Vette. It was fun watching those heavy muscle cars struggle in the tight turns. Some little ND Miata ran the fastest lap all day. Go figure..... So my son and I did not embarrass ourselves, nor did we scare any of the leaders. I knew I was driving a little tentative most of the day. I definitely feel I could improve - especially after watching the videos. My technique was crap. Most of the runs, I did not feel I was looking far enough ahead and as a result was doing too much reacting. I guess that means that I will need more track days!!!.....
As a novice among some really seasoned car dudes, it would be easy to feel intimidated. Some of the guys even trailered their purpose built cars there today. However, all the workers, and most of the drivers were amazingly kind, patient, and friendly. That made for an absolutely fun day. Good group of people.
Unfortunately on the way home, we ran through another downpour. I am here to tell you that the Goblin and rain are not a good combination. I got soaked. The poor Goblin got a bath. Open tires throw water like you would not believe. We had to slow to about 30 to avoid hydroplaning. Some dude in a slingshot did worse. He spun out, and ended up against the concrete median. Bad day for him.
For those of you still building, I hope that a post like this inspires you. For those who have never been on a real track, autoX gets pretty close. I invite and challenge you to run a day like this somewhere. Or if you never get to do something like this, know the Goblin can hold its own in the novice racing world - and you can brag about it!!!!!
My apologies ahead of time for the video format. I mistakenly put the goPro in sideways, so when I rotated the file, I lost the wide perspective. Bonehead rookie move. Lesson learned, again.
I have a long way to go to be like Justin Reed. But, I can keep dreaming!!!!!
Goblin on friends, Goblin on.
View attachment 16569View attachment 16570View attachment 16571View attachment 16572View attachment 16573View attachment 16574View attachment 16575View attachment 16576View attachment 16577View attachment 16578View attachment 16579View attachment 16580View attachment 16581View attachment 16582View attachment 16583View attachment 16584View attachment 16585
View attachment 16587View attachment 16588View attachment 16589
JBINTX
Goblin Guru
I assume we all know the Goblin is a sunny day kind of car. Nobody would plan on being out in the rain with these things.
Having said that, I detailed in a post above that I drove through a downpour for about 5-10 minutes on an interstate with no good options to take cover. Obviously poor planning on my part.
As I was getting soaked to the bone, a list of things starting running through my mind:
Gonna get the hood all messed up - low priority.
Water all over the floor board - getting it clean at least.
Water on the seats - sucks. Vacuumed and put a fan on them over night. They survived. Probably worse if you have leather ones.
BCM under the hood - not good. light spray on it. Might look into semi-sealing it up.
ECU next to engine - covered pretty well. Plugs are well designed. Probably do not need to change anything.
Gauge cluster. Not water tight, but kind of sealed. Maybe a line of silicone at the seam would help.
Key ignition - Not good. No issues, but I cannot imagine GM ever thought it would get wet.
Engine harness - Hope I did a good job soldering and taping it up.
Air intake - not sure how much water was sucked in. Ordered one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071HNYQLB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Anyone else have more thoughts or suggestions?
Having said that, I detailed in a post above that I drove through a downpour for about 5-10 minutes on an interstate with no good options to take cover. Obviously poor planning on my part.
As I was getting soaked to the bone, a list of things starting running through my mind:
Gonna get the hood all messed up - low priority.
Water all over the floor board - getting it clean at least.
Water on the seats - sucks. Vacuumed and put a fan on them over night. They survived. Probably worse if you have leather ones.
BCM under the hood - not good. light spray on it. Might look into semi-sealing it up.
ECU next to engine - covered pretty well. Plugs are well designed. Probably do not need to change anything.
Gauge cluster. Not water tight, but kind of sealed. Maybe a line of silicone at the seam would help.
Key ignition - Not good. No issues, but I cannot imagine GM ever thought it would get wet.
Engine harness - Hope I did a good job soldering and taping it up.
Air intake - not sure how much water was sucked in. Ordered one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071HNYQLB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Anyone else have more thoughts or suggestions?