V1 Anks329 - Extended City - '07 LS - #190 REGISTERED

[Mayor West]

Professional alignment completed today and there's a marked difference in how the car handles. Unfortunately the printer was out of ink, so I don't have the spec, but should be able to pick that up next week.

What exactly did you do for your alignment? I know a lot of people lose their mind trying to quote a kit car alignment but what was your process? I want to get mine professionally done for precisions sake but I don't really wanna dive in without knowing how your experience was.

 

[Anks329]

What exactly did you do for your alignment? I know a lot of people lose their mind trying to quote a kit car alignment but what was your process? I want to get mine professionally done for precisions sake but I don't really wanna dive in without knowing how your experience was.

I started off searching on google for small alignment shops and emailed a bunch of them asking if they would be able to work on a kit car. All the big places came back and said "If it's not in the computer, I can't do it. I'd love to, but sorry." I did find a couple of shops that were willing to do it, and then one came back and said they had already done an alignment on someone else's Goblin last year! When I was there, I asked them to use the same specs as what they had previously done. Unfortunately, their printer was down and I wasn't able to get a print out of it. I've asked them to text me a picture, but maybe I can swing by there tomorrow and get a copy of it.

Best bet would be to find a local, non chain place and see if they can do it. For the settings, go with what's in the suspension DIY alignment threads?

 

[Mayor West]

How much did it run you?

 

[Anks329]

How much did it run you?

$165 including tax. But I watched him doing the work, and there was a lot of adjustments that he was making the 1.5 hours he was working. So, my attempt at aligning it was apparently pretty far off. Worth the price, now I'm not scared to go above 50 mph in the car; before it would dart all over the road, after the alignment, didn't face any issues and got up to around 70 on the way home.

 

[Mayor West]

I think that's pretty decent given the complicated nature of the front.

 

[Classy]

I would have tipped him

 

[JBINTX]

$165 including tax. But I watched him doing the work, and there was a lot of adjustments that he was making the 1.5 hours he was working. So, my attempt at aligning it was apparently pretty far off. Worth the price, now I'm not scared to go above 50 mph in the car; before it would dart all over the road, after the alignment, didn't face any issues and got up to around 70 on the way home.

Even with a very good alignment, the Goblin is very light over 70. I have not been over 105 yet.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Air flow management and aerodynamic aids can help with the 'light' front end.

 

[Anks329]

Completely worth every dollar, even with the tip I gave. I’m not scared about driving it and that’s worth the price. For the aerodynamics, I am getting a wing eventually but seriously, the Goblin is light!!

 

[r3drckt]

Need to add a front splitter and wing (think Indy car/F1) to keep the nose down. Surprised this hasn’t been done yet from what I’ve seen

 

[Mayor West]

Need to add a front splitter and wing (think Indy car/F1) to keep the nose down. Surprised this hasn’t been done yet from what I’ve seen

A few people have done it, but nothing official from DF.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Air management is key for a car as light as the Goblin. One 'easy' thing to do to reduce front end lift is make a flat under side from nose to tail - put an aluminum plate in to close the hole under the nose below the radiator and battery/brake booster area. Extending this under the engine area would also help, since the flat floor creates a slight vacuum under the car and allows for smoother air flow.
Splitters and front wings, if placed correctly, would help keep the nose planted and inspire driving confidence.

 

[Anks329]

So I made some time to work on the Goblin this weekend. It's been rainy and dreary here so haven't had much time for it. First and foremost was fixing my motor mounts. Got it attached again, and added some loctite this time to hopefully not have this problem again.

Next up was testing @bradr starter adapter to build a push to start system. It didn't work exactly how I wanted it to work, and in my troubleshooting, I unplugged some wires from the ignition/key area and my instrument cluster started working again! Buttons work, speed, rpm, odometer readings, everything is displaying again! I went for a test drive, and no issues with keeping these wires unplugged, but I'm trying to figure out what they are for, and what I might have possible done to mess up my instrument cluster in the first place?

Here's an image of what I unplugged:

And here is what I get plugged into on the ignition/key area:

My only guess is that I might have accidently soldered the green wire together in my low speed wires and it's actually supposed to go somewhere else. So having it plugged in confused the instrument cluster (but not my ODB2 reader), and having it unplugged clears up that issue. Any thoughts on what this might relate to?

And so, my to do list has been updated:

• Fix motor mounts
• Remount my tail lights - They work fine, but I don't like how they are angled
• Get new headlights - Coming as a present soon
• Design and build a holder for my tablet (navigation, OBD2 info), and USB chargers
• Clean up wiring mess in the front for the USB chargers
• Professional wheel alignment - scheduled for 11/20 (next no meeting day)
• Tuning - Wideband o2 sensor in the mail
• Buy and install slider for driver seat
• Paint/Wrap side panels and hood
• Find a way to sniff the GM Lan with an arduino to pull the current odometer reading so that I can
• Create a digital dash with a tablet - upcoming sale on Samsung Tab A8 from Costco
• GoPro for a dash cam
• Install the BCM kick plate
• Get wing uprights from DF (waiting for my friend to place his order for the frame and I'll piggyback on shipping)
• Wing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/TYPE-4-3D-...ble-Rear-Trunk-GT-Spoiler-Wing-/293306243906/ OR https://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-...939179?hash=item5488d564ab:g:-kcAAOSwkgZfMmYT
• Paint the brake calipers red
• Install the ZZP Turbo Kit
• Retune with the turbo
• Get a car cover?
• Get a new shifter?
• Convert to manual transmission?

 

[Ark :D]

I would advise against the second wing, the one with the illumination. I got the same one (though branded differently and sold by Mad Hornets) and it is trash. The control box that came with mine was missing a wire, and they told me to fix it with a soldering iron. They did eventually replace the box a month later, but the lighting has already failed again so I'm just going a different route.

YMMV, of course.

 

[Towerdog]

Green and yellow wire near the cluster should be the ambient light sensor.

 

[Goblin Graber]

Green and yellow wire near the cluster should be the ambient light sensor.

That’s actually the ignition lock cylinder control solenoid. Here’s the schematic.

Any problems taking it out of park with it unplugged?

 

[Towerdog]

That’s actually the ignition lock cylinder control solenoid.

Any problems taking it out of park with it unplugged?

Ahh! Missed the automatic part of his car..

 

[Goblin Graber]

Those wires do two things. They unlock your ignition so you can take the key out then feed power to your shifter to unlock it when you step in the brake.

Does your shifter still have this piece circled in red? I haven’t put the DF parts in my shifter yet but I have a feeling you get rid of it.

The other part can easily be bypassed with a zip tie on the ignition switch. Just slide the lock back and put a zip tie on it. Now you don’t need to hook it back up

 

[k.rollin]

Those wires do two things. They unlock your ignition so you can take the key out then feed power to your shifter to unlock it when you step in the brake.

Does your shifter still have this piece circled in red? I haven’t put the DF parts in my shifter yet but I have a feeling you get rid of it.

I didn't remove that part when I modified my auto shifter. The new arm is a bent steel weldment rather than a machined aluminum piece, but the installation is essentially the same.

RichN City Goblin - 2007 LT donor

Fuel pump came today. Success!!! It's quick. After this run, only a small drip at the water neck, tightened it 3/4 turn; no more drip. Check engine light went off while going around the block.

dfkitcar.com

 

[Anks329]

That’s actually the ignition lock cylinder control solenoid. Here’s the schematic.

Any problems taking it out of park with it unplugged?

Ah! That's gotta be it! I always had an issue taking the key out of the ignition, and have been manually pressing that button to get the key out. Thanks for the diagram. Honestly, fixing this will be pretty low on my task list, maybe when I'm cleaning up the wiring in the front for the USB chargers I'll pull another wire from the BCM to this connecter and see that solves the problem. And as @k.rollin said there's no real change to the auto shifter in the Goblin vs the Cobalt.

And @Ark :D thanks on the heads up for the wing. Time to find a different one