Ryan Cheek Racing

5 minute(s) of a 210 minute read

7-19-2021

Racecar is finally all set for the Chasing the Dragon Hillclimb this weekend! I am over the moon with how the car feels! Finished up the rear GT500 rear brake conversion on Thursday. Took her out for a romp to bed in the new rotors, but wasn't in love with how the @carbotechbrakes XP pads were feeling on the street. They are a race pad, and I couldn't keep heat in them so they didn't have any initial bite. I was also still experiencing a bad shudder in the steering wheel. Put the OE brembo pads back on on Friday and took the car for a spirited drive on Saturday. Much better initial bite, exactly what I need for a hillclimb. But, still experienced the shudder after re-bedding the different pads. Called my friend @citskipper at Black Mountain Tire, who happened to be at the shop on a Saturday (when they're closed) and he was down for turning my front rotors. Thanks again, Cody! After turning both front rotors, and then bedding them in, the car stops so smooth. No steering shudder, whooo! Car hasn't felt this good in a long time! Now, if I could only get my headspace where it needs to be, I'll be all set!

7-20-2021

Loving the new @hurst_performance Competition Plus shifter in Racecar! Shifts are so satisfying with a solid thump into each gear. Throws are much shorter between gears, too. My shifts are getting quicker, but not as fast as they now have the opportunity to be. It's taking my feet a little longer to figure out they can gas/clutch/gas without any hesitation during a shift. We'll get there though and I can see this saving a lot of time on track! (Don't know about you, but, for me, my shifts on track have been painful to watch , not mention the occasional missed shift )

7-21-2021

Fastest run from last year's event, a 2:14.3. This was my first competition in Racecar and she wasn't quite sorted. Bad front wheel bearing, loose rear shock, dampners were wildly setup (didn't adjust them, just installed them ), and even the rear brake pads were installed incorrectly (never checked them after purchasing the car). Still won my class, set a new class record and 27/68 overall. This weekend, I will be returning and hope to drop some time. Under 2min10sec is the goal. It's not the curves that make this particular hillclimb challenging, it's the road surface. As seen and heard in the video, it is extremely bumpy with loose aggregate all over. For me, this hillclimb takes a little more nerves to drive 10/10ths than the Pine Mountain Hillclimb due to the unpredictability of the road surface. But it sure is fun!

Video

7-23-2021