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V1 Ark's City Goblin #187 (2008 SS/TC donor)

Ark :D
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Since the sun is setting (both in this picture and on my driving season as a whole), I figured I'd bump my build log to talk about my offseason plans. I think this weekend will be the time for me to put the car up on jack stands, take the hood off, etc so I stop driving it in the cold. It was 32 degrees on my way to work this morning and that's just too cold to make it worth the drive.

Here's my laundry list:
  • Choose a different color scheme and respray the car
  • Buy into HP Tuners and install a basic tune
  • Upgrade my seats and harnesses
  • Buy and install the brake prop kit from DF
  • Buy and install a NACA duct kit
Tertiary list:
  • Pursue a keyless start system
  • Dive back into getting more data displayed while driving
Due to the fact that I need to stick to a strict budget this holiday season, I will realistically only choose two out of the five items on my main list. This car is quite literally a money pit, even though it's been completely reliable since hitting the road. Just the nature of kit cars, right?

Here's my analysis on the above lists.

Color scheme - Debating this one. I love the current scheme and it's still in nearly perfect condition, but I chose plastidip for my car in part because it's easy to change it up. I was considering going with something glossy or color-shifty this time around, with a dark green or dark blue base and powder coating of the wheels to either matte black or semi-gloss black. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Buy into HP Tuners - I've wanted to do this for a while, but my mind keeps going back to the fact that I am 100% fine with the performance of the car as-is, and I don't want to introduce anything that could cause problems with the car. But who doesn't want more performance, ya know? I have a basic tune file that should put me up near 300 hp with new MAP sensors being the only required purchase, aside from HP Tuners and the credits.

Upgrade seats/harnesses - My seats are eBay cheapos, but they're very comfortable and I've no good reason to replace them, aside from the drool-worthiness of some of the Braum seats. My harnesses though, I've never been fully happy with. Guest riders cannot figure out how to get themselves buckled in and they're very wide ... and I'd probably go with cam-lock 4-points instead of 5's.

Brake prop kit - this, in my opinion, is a must-have and is almost definitely going to be one of the two upgrades I pick up.

NACA ducts - I never cared for the look of the NACA duct kit, but it's grown on me a bit and I rather like the look when the inlets are mounted behind the fiberglass, rather than in front of it. I'm also mildly concerned about my turbo temps ... is there any definitive info out there of the efficiency/superiority of the ducts vs. the fan? I asked DF but the response I got was only about how hot air heats the tunnel and to seal it off with expanding foam, which isn't what I inquired about. Thoughts?

Keyless start - Wanted to do it long ago, stopped caring because the keys in the ignition don't bother me. But I am out of projects so I thought about bringing this back out. I need to rebuild my proof-of-concept breadboard again, only this time, run it off a battery or somehow measure the power drain so I know if it's feasible to keep an ESP32 running full-time, and if it's not feasible, I need to measure how long it takes to boot. I don't want to throw a switch in the car, then have to wait 60 seconds to start it.

More data display - still on my radar, but very low priority. Literally everything else on this list will come first, most likely.

Anyway .... thoughts are always welcome from my fellow Goblineers.
 
95Blitz
In the order I would do them from your post is.

Brake kit
NACA Ducts
Seats and harness
More data
Keyless
Paint/wrap (Last cause the car looks great man)

How about moving the HE to in front of the radiator?
 
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Ark :D
@95Blitz Thanks, I appreciate the feedback for sure. I haven't thought about moving the HE because I don't think it's actually underperforming. My fan squeaks a little bit and it had me thinking about the NACA kit, that's all. I would consider adding a second small HE to the loop, mounted to the frame right in front of the fuse box, if it made sense. I think it would help with heat dissipation but I don't know enough about thermodynamics to prove it.
 
95Blitz
Ark :D said:
@95Blitz Thanks, I appreciate the feedback for sure. I haven't thought about moving the HE because I don't think it's actually underperforming. My fan squeaks a little bit and it had me thinking about the NACA kit, that's all. I would consider adding a second small HE to the loop, mounted to the frame right in front of the fuse box, if it made sense. I think it would help with heat dissipation but I don't know enough about thermodynamics to prove it.
Click to expand...
A second HE would help as long as it has a duct to it. But at that point I think I would look at just mounting the one you have back there and dumping the tubing through the tunnel and front mount.
 
Desert Sasqwatch
My $0.02 worth (laundry list):
-Safety first - brake proportioning kit
-Comfort (and safety) second - seats and harnesses
-Easy to do - change hood color
-Engine longevity - NACA ducts
-Increased happiness/fuel consumption - HP tuners

Do you really want to tear into your electronicals again? Remember the 40+ extra pages in your build log?!? :p:cool: But a pushbutton start would be a nice to have.
 
JBINTX
The tune, man. Load it and prepare to be surprised at what the four little cylinders will do for you with some more psi’s.

On the HE you may think about upgrading the fan. Pretty easy. I have the ducts And Hp output seems pretty good.
But no detailed intake temp info, sorry.
 
Desert Sasqwatch
I recall someone on the forum installed the NACA ducts with the fan inside the HE plenum??? The fan would have to be reversed direction to blow thru the HE. Don't recall seeing any feedback if this works better than either just the fan or just the ducts?
 
Ark :D
Desert Sasqwatch said:
My $0.02 worth (laundry list):
-Safety first - brake proportioning kit
-Comfort (and safety) second - seats and harnesses
-Easy to do - change hood color
-Engine longevity - NACA ducts
-Increased happiness/fuel consumption - HP tuners

Do you really want to tear into your electronicals again? Remember the 40+ extra pages in your build log?!? :p:cool: But a pushbutton start would be a nice to have.
Click to expand...

Good thoughts and noted, thanks DS. Question on the ducts is though, are they actually more effective than the fan?! Who knows such things. :)

Desert Sasqwatch said:
I recall someone on the forum installed the NACA ducts with the fan inside the HE plenum??? The fan would have to be reversed direction to blow thru the HE. Don't recall seeing any feedback if this works better than either just the fan or just the ducts?
Click to expand...

That was JB himself. The ducts are pretty far down on my list though, so maybe it doesn't even matter.

JBINTX said:
The tune, man. Load it and prepare to be surprised at what the four little cylinders will do for you with some more psi’s.

On the HE you may think about upgrading the fan. Pretty easy. I have the ducts And Hp output seems pretty good.
But no detailed intake temp info, sorry.
Click to expand...

The tune has been pretty high on the list indeed. My choice of seats/harnesses vs. HP Tuners may well come down to if I find one or the other on sale, lol!
 
Rttoys
A better fan will help. I suggest a spal fan. ;) You can add another rad in front of the main rad. I’m thumbing around with sprinter van rear heater cores. Not sure if they will with the hood on yet though.
 
JBINTX
Ark :D said:
Good thoughts and noted, thanks DS. Question on the ducts is though, are they actually more effective than the fan?! Who knows such things. :)



That was JB himself. The ducts are pretty far down on my list though, so maybe it doesn't even matter.



The tune has been pretty high on the list indeed. My choice of seats/harnesses vs. HP Tuners may well come down to if I find one or the other on sale, lol!
Click to expand...
Do you have any other Goblin owners near you already with hp tuners? If they like you ;) they can load the tune for just the hp tuner credit $50 I think? Takes like 10 minutes.
 
Ark :D
Rttoys said:
A better fan will help. I suggest a spal fan. ;) You can add another rad in front of the main rad. I’m thumbing around with sprinter van rear heater cores. Not sure if they will with the hood on yet though.
Click to expand...

WELL! His Highness comes to visit the lowly peasant thread. What a glorious day indeed!

:cool:

JBINTX said:
Do you have any other Goblin owners near you already with hp tuners? If they like you ;) they can load the tune for just the hp tuner credit $50 I think? Takes like 10 minutes.
Click to expand...

A great thought. Nobody likes me though.

...but really, there's no Goblins near me that are finished. @BaltimoreHokie 's Goblin was nearby for like 8 minutes total, when Frost owned it. Now the closest one I know of is in Harrisburg (about an hour away), but it's not built yet. @comegetjoe isn't far but he'll probably give his car away again before it's done (lol, kidding man, kidding!!!). Next to that, I think the closest Goblin to me is 4+ hours. @Tinkles is in northern PA.

comegetjoe said:
TUNE IT!!

If my 280hp/305tq cobalt will spin through 2nd gear, I can imagine the hit on a goblin being just NASTY!
Click to expand...

Mmmmm..... I think the tune just moved up in my rankings a little bit. ;)

Rttoys said:
Don’t forget the loss of compression side effects
Click to expand...

This is what I am afraid of!! :eek::eek::eek:
 
devianteng
While my Goblin doesn't even have wheels yet, maybe I'm not the most qualified to offer advice, but what the hell.

In my mind, this is how I'd order those things:
1) Brake proportioning kit
2) Seats/harness
3) HPTuner (MPVI3 is $399, and you need 2 credits for a Cobalt at $49.99/credit -- $500 for HPT, plus your laptop setup)
4) NACA duct kit (or maybe relocate the HE?)
5) keyless start
6) data display (I assume you mean additional gauges and whatnot)
7) color scheme; car looks great as it is!
 
Ark :D
devianteng said:
While my Goblin doesn't even have wheels yet, maybe I'm not the most qualified to offer advice, but what the hell.

In my mind, this is how I'd order those things:
1) Brake proportioning kit
2) Seats/harness
3) HPTuner (MPVI3 is $399, and you need 2 credits for a Cobalt at $49.99/credit -- $500 for HPT, plus your laptop setup)
4) NACA duct kit (or maybe relocate the HE?)
5) keyless start
6) data display (I assume you mean additional gauges and whatnot)
7) color scheme; car looks great as it is!
Click to expand...

That doesn't make you unqualified to comment. I appreciate your input!
 
Sluggonaut
Here are my thoughts presented in the order I would do them:

1) Brake proportioning kit - This can be done relatively cheaply if you want to do all your own fabricating. I'm lazy and ordered the kit without the valve (I already had it as I was planning on making my own), as I didn't want to deal with bending brake lines or dealing with making a steel mount in the cold garage this winter.

2) HPTuners - I bought mine but haven't used the credits yet. Wrapping my head around the tuning portion is also on my off-season list. However, even without using it to tune, being able to log is worth the price IMHO. It lets you know what is going on while you are driving and cannot check gauges and stuff. This would be #1 if the brake proportioning valve didn't have such a great ROI.

3) NACA Ducts - I'm not sure what the correct answer is here and for transparency, I have the NACA ducts installed on mine. I figured they are passive and cannot fail like a fan can. If the car is not moving, you don't need air going through the heat exchanger unless you are in a burnout contest or something. I am not sure what appropriate IAT temps are for us, but mine have always been within 10 degrees or so of the ambient temperature. I plan to log more next season and will be tracking that for my own edification. I put it 3rd because if you follow through on #2, you'll want reliable IAT temps.

4) Seats/harness - This should go higher if there are safety or significant comfort issues. I think anything other than a regular seatbelt will give passengers trouble. Everyone struggles a little with harnesses the first time they use one, don't they?

5) Data display - I originally didn't understand why someone would want the extra hassle/expense of reinventing the wheel when the donor provided all the gauges we need. Then I finished building and drove mine. Running Torque Pro on my phone in front of where I sit is so much better than the instrument cluster, so I am now considering data display alternatives myself. Cost, level of effort, and cost are the 3 considerations keeping this one low on the list.

6) Keyless start - As cool as this seems, the struggle may be real.

7) Color scheme - Even though you have the ability to change your color every season doesn't mean you should. I think you should go at least 2 seasons with each livery (unless it sucks of course and we'll let you know) before changing. I guess if you run out of other stuff to do in the off-season it gives you something to do, but I would let it ride another year before changing it up.
 
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