Finally Hit the track

[fact5racer]

After a long, long time and three motors, with the help of the guys, especially Paul at ECS in Connecticut, my car hit the track this past Saturday morning for a test and tune day at the new track in Canaan NH. I also got the pleasure of having John George help me tie things up the night before and had him co driving it with me. Having not run on the track in many years it was great to have a driver with John's talent for feedback throughout the day. We also got to have this other guy come along with his FFR Daytona coupe for some track time too. I can't remember his name..................... Oh, that's right, I think it was.....Smith? I think he said his first name was Dave but I might be wrong.
Paul from ECS also attended and was constantly downloading the data from my OBD2 port and tweaking different things in reference to how the car was handling temperatures.
Needless to say..........................the car ran PERFECT! No adjustments to suspension, air pressures, fluids, etc. It was just the pleasure of run it, run it, add fuel, run it, run it, add fuel, run it, run it, etc, etc! John was running about 6 seconds a lap faster than me and having not been on the track in so long I was adamant that my main goal was to come home with no damage both by crashing or god forbid blowing something up. Myself and that guy named Dave had to work flagging during the first session and it was awesome watching JG out there, Within three laps it was like he was shooting fish in a barrel! Later in the day he took my place in the #1 run group (which that other guy named Dave was running in too) with the big boys and JG was still the fastest guy out there! Watching hm chase down that Daytona coupe and passing him was really cool! It was better than a watching a Porn film watching JG out brake others going into the turns! It's 305 RWHP was a frigging slingshot coming out of the turns,
My only issue turned out to be my physical limitations, Thee years ago at 57 I put the fear of god in the 40 plus class racing off road motorcycles, now just three years later I feel like I am 107! My back has been surviving on cortisone shots that don't work anymore and I am awaiting back surgery soon. That, along with having lost that finger last month, makes me a shell of how I used to feel. Just that one day at the track in my 818 made me feel like I had raced the supercross at foxboro when I woke up this morning so now I have no idea how long it will be before I get to run again but my body's health must come first being my bread and butter in construction.
Here's video of JG going at it. Wish I had some external footage though.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBxdjfgoB6Q&feature=em-upload_owner#action=share

[Hindsight]

Wow that looks fun. Do you have straight cut ppg gears? Also, whats the beeping sound?

[TouchStone]

Sweet!

[fact5racer]

its just a JDM transmission, No idea about a beeping sound.

[Hindsight]

Every minute or so, maybe a little less, there is a beeping/honking sound. Sounds a bit like an air-horn.

[Brett33]

At first i thought he was signalling to pass or notify he was approaching... very quickly i might add. The car looked fast!

[Bob_n_Cincy]

I'm going to use this as my personal instructional video.
Thanks
Bob

[Sgt.Gator]

Great to see your car on track!

[johngeorge]

Gary the car is awesome! Thanks for letting me drive it.. so much grip, its insane! I looked at the data from the last session, and on Nitto tires, it pulls 1.4G in the turns, .7G in acceleration, and 1.2G under braking! no wonder you felt sore!

Nice to see Dave Smith flogging a coupe on track! pretty fast too.

Here are 2 more videos of you taken from the tower, and from the pit straight.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVkWqgnHTdo

[johngeorge]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE5kOWyjW4k

[johngeorge]

http://www.johngeorgeracing.com/gallery/var/resizes/racing/Testing-with-Gary-Cheney-in-his-FFR818R/IMG_5246.JPG?m=1461524930

http://www.johngeorgeracing.com/gallery/var/resizes/racing/Testing-with-Gary-Cheney-in-his-FFR818R/IMG_5227.JPG?m=1461524924

http://www.johngeorgeracing.com/gallery/var/resizes/racing/Testing-with-Gary-Cheney-in-his-FFR818R/IMG_5208.JPG?m=1461524730

http://www.johngeorgeracing.com/gallery/var/resizes/racing/Testing-with-Gary-Cheney-in-his-FFR818R/IMG_5207.JPG?m=1461524725

More pics: http://www.johngeorgeracing.com/gallery/index.php/racing/Testing-with-Gary-Cheney-in-his-FFR818R

[Pearldrummer7]

Gary- Congrats! So good to see another 818R out there on track. The car looks fantastic and I'm glad to see you haven't had any issues.

JG- you look awesome out there. So inspiring how well you did on track compared to the rest of the cars out there!

[Mike N]

The beeping sounds like tire rub. I thought it might be brake moan but it seems like it happens under suspension loading and not braking.

[johngeorge]

Yes that beeping you hear is tire rub. The front fascia and fender joint (where you put the bolt in) needs to be shaved down a little. Under load tire will hit the body there. I wanted to go so much faster there but didnt want to rub tire too bad, so backed it off. Not bad that was the only thing that needs to be addressed! Gary built a great car.

[Hindsight]

Wow, would have never guessed!

[Sgt.Gator]

What intercooler are you using? Can you post pics of your rear wing mounting solution?
Thanks.

[Mitch Wright]

Great to see another 818 on the Track, congratulations.
BTW the car looks GREAT

[ehansen007]

You can tell it's Cheney's car because he put in a cup holder for his beer. :) I mean seriously who puts a cup holder in a race car????? Cheney does.

[fact5racer]

You can tell it's Cheney's car because he put in a cup holder for his beer. :) I mean seriously who puts a cup holder in a race car????? Cheney does.


You need to remember that this car is registered and also driven on the street.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

You need to remember that this car is registered and also driven on the street.
OK, so the beer holder is for when you drive on the street.

Great job building and driving it.
We started with an 818S but are kinda wishing we did an R. Time to get out the welder.
Bob

[oldguy668]

What did you use to stuff the empty finger in your glove?

[fact5racer]

What did you use to stuff the empty finger in your glove?

I ended up using John's glove cause my stub wouldn't fit in my PUMA gloves. Funny, as I pulled off the glove and there was blood flowing from it John didn't want it back?

[Rasmus]

Like peanut butter, I'm jelly.

[johngeorge]

i ended up using john's glove cause my stub wouldn't fit in my puma gloves. Funny, as i pulled off the glove and there was blood flowing from it john didn't want it back?

so nasty!!

[GUNS]

Nice job! Can't wait to get out there myself.

[wleehendrick]

I ended up using John's glove cause my stub wouldn't fit in my PUMA gloves. Funny, as I pulled off the glove and there was blood flowing from it John didn't want it back?

so nasty!!

Reminds me of when I "hit the track" after a motorcycle get-off, but not as nasty: I calmly told the paramedic I knew my hand was broken, but he was a bit impatient as I slowly/gingerly removed my Alpinestars... When the right glove finally came off and he saw the compound fracture of the 2nd and 3rd metacarpals (bone sticking out, blood spurting) he realized (despite my previous calm demeanor) yeah, I was hurt, and he kicked into action.

[Mark Dougherty]

Gary
you rock bud
It is awesome to see a *!* do a full day at the track with no issues
Well done

[metros]

Great pictures and video. Feel free to share more and often.

[Flamshackle]

Love seeing some great footage of a completed 818r. Thanks for the share and you can be proud of the build. Car looks ace

[Mulry]

Looks incredible! What wheels are you running, love the way those look. Brand, size, spacers, etc. ?

[fact5racer]

As quick as me season started, it has already ended.

As posted earlier, this is not the year for me health wise, first my finger, but all along my back has been getting seriously worse. I was in a lot of pain after that one day at Canaan. The spinal shots don't help anymore and now I am losing strength in my legs because of the nerves being pinched in my S4-S5 & L1 area. I searched for the best surgeon I could find and am being operated on June 1st so I'll be missing the open house. So no racing for me for the rest of 2016. I may end up trying to sell the car instead of it just sitting here and could use the cash seeing I'll be out of work for a while. Thank God for my Chippendale pension!

[Hindsight]

I'm glad you can keep a sense of humor about it! I'll keep my fingers crossed for your surgery and a speedy recovery.

[Buzz Skyline]

Awesome videos! I have an off-topic question though: what does your front tow hook connect to? I need to put one on my car, and I'm not sure how to mount it?

[Mark Dougherty]

Sorry to hear Gary
I hope you get better soon

[Sgt.Gator]

Back pain is well known job related injury for Chippandales men.
Get well soon.

[fact5racer]

We ran a straight 3" wide slab of steel back to the front main cross over. Not a great way to "lift" teh car but good for straight towing or winching into the trailer.

[THE FURNACE]

I had back pain 5 years ago that laid me down for 6 weeks. I thought that I would never be able to lift anything heavy ever again. On the advice of a firefighter, who said this book, by Dr. John Sarno, changed his life, I read it too. I fixed my back by reading this book. I know that sounds far fetched, and probably won't help everyone, but, it worked for him, and myself.
A good friend of mine underwent surgery about the same time, and he is a lot better. That worked for him.
I hope that your surgery goes well, and that you recover quickly! My friend was back at work, framing, in a few weeks after his surgery.