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Garage Heroes (In Training)

Garage Heroes (In Training)

Learning as we go. Come along with us and Enjoy the Ride!

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Dialing In

The Team From LDRL at CMP March 2022

the team

GHIT 307:  Race Weekend Recap:  The Entire Team From Lucky Dog Racing at CMP March 2022

You have only heard a few of the stories from our Lucky Dog race at Carolina Motorsports Park a few weeks ago.  Now we unveil the entire team that went to the race.  Car owner David as well as the rest of the team including Alex, Ryan, and Matt.  We think we have determined the root cause of the problem we had at the race and a path forward.  As always, we all had a great time at the Lucky Dog CMP March 2022 event and cannot wait to return.  There was a bit of feedback initially that sounds like a duck quacking but it ends fairly quickly and we are blaming Alex, lol.

Our Slow Leak

If you would like to help grow our sport and this podcast:

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc. Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating, that would be greatly appreciated.  Even better, a podcast review, would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving and we would greatly appreciate it.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy.  If you go to your podcast library, look under shows.  Then click on this podcast.  Here you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review. 

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS  If you are looking to stream or save your integrated telemetry/racing data with you video, Candelaria Racing Products Sentinel System may be the perfect solution for you.  We are in the midst of installing the system in two of our cars.  If this sounds like something that may help you and your team, please use our discount code “GHIT” for a 10% discount code to all of our listeners during the checkout process.

PS2  Please don’t forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don’t forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40.  Just enter the code “ghitlikesapex!” when you order.  They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc.  The recently released second generation systems and app increases the capability of the system greatly.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Highlights for this episode include:

Lara and Randy
Our Winning Friends Lara Vernon and Randy Pobst

1)  We start with the important stuff:  who wins the snoring award for the Lucky Dog CMP March 2022 weekend?

2)  What we did, what we brought, what happened, and how we ended up.

3)  What it is like to assemble a new team from several other teams and how the weekend went, what we learned and what we can learn from this weekend.

4)  Our individual thoughts on how the “new to us” car behaved on its maiden voyage to endurance racing and what we each thought of the E36 BMW.  Ryan and Alex are long time endurance racers, primarily in the Miata platform.  Bill has driven the E36 platform many times but had not been to the CMP track until this weekend.  David had also not been on CMP as well.

5)  We spend way more time discussing the teams qualifying session than the session actually took.  This is called foreshadowing.

6)  We then have a recovery/repair plan and get started the race Saturday.  Then we go into detail of the entire 8 hour race Saturday.  

7)  Now the fun begins, as well as the work project for the weekend.  Ryan got a ton of really solid shoulder work welding above his head.  The post incident CSI that we conduct and summarize also takes more time than our racing laps did in total.  Perhaps the first reference of a brake caliper making sweet, sweet love to the rear suspension.

8)  We did allow him to rest a bit by welding a friends team shifter that had failed (again).  It should be problem solved from here. 

9)  The details of our parts search and repair program to get the car back on track for Sunday.

10)  We also have a short example of Podcast In Training that couldn’t be edited out for your personal enjoyment.

And more

11)  Even with a combination of team members with decades of racing experience, there is growing pains in coming together.

12)  With everything going on at a race weekend, we each learned several details of how the race weekend went 

13)  After a brief trip off the rails, we eventually get to “Oh God, it sings”. We eventually get back to our story.  Herding kittens.

14)  We have the beginnings of a recovery plan and then cover our roles within the team.  The importance of roles and areas of responsibilities is key to the performance of a racing team and cannot be overstated.

15)  Apparently there will be a Cubano vs Meatball cook off.  Book your spots early if you want to be a judge.  Spots are limited.

16)  Ryan shares his parts transport system and Vicki is dumbfounded.  Bill has a new project.

17)  An accounting of what we did vs what we should have done and what we will do at the next race.

Special thanks again to Kyle Lockrow and Giggles for their help in making the results of this debacle a bit better.   

GHIT 307:  Race Weekend Recap:  The Entire Team From Lucky Dog Racing at CMP

Thank You Three Pedal Mafia

Mental Exhausting
Chris and Mental
decor
decor 2
3PM
Engine Breakdown
New suspension
Suspension install
Fit

GHIT 0285:  Thank You Three Pedal Mafia

We have four members of the Three Pedal Mafia come up to help Vicki and Bill work on the two Honda project cars for this winter.  We had originally planned a full cage party work weekend but had postponed it until February or until the COVID spike recedes.  What we were able to accomplish with their skills in such a short time was amazing.  They came, they saw, and they fixed.  Some day we hope to be able to perform at that level and repay them in some way.

If you would like to help grow our sport and this podcast:

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc. Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy.  If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review. 

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS  Please don’t forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don’t forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40.  Just enter the code “ghitlikesapex!” when you order.  They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc.  The recently released second generation systems and app increases the capability of the system greatly.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Highlights for this episode are:

1)  Details of the work plan for the invasion by the Three Pedal Mafia visit this past weekend including a surprise visit by Jim.

2)  Shut up we are having fun, lol.

3)  Driving skill review and training was an unexpected addition to the agenda for Miss Vicki.

4)  It was so very cold (for Pennsylvania) that we had to create a micro climate heating area for Miss Chrissy’s feet.

5)  Why we had to replace the exhaust on the 1993 Honda Civic since we will be endurance racing the car this season.  Mental led the festivities on the exhaust project while we set up several of the other projects.

6)  Bill’s planning failure.  And yes, this bothers him greatly.

7)  How the work went on the Honda Civic radiator and oil cooler installation and required fabrication.

8)  While Vicki and I were distracted, the Three Pedal Mafia assaulted the rusting carcass of the Honda Fit that we are looking to race in Grid Life’s Sundae Cup at Lime Rock this year.  The Fit has yet to fully grow into the warm spot in Vicki’s heart.

9)  We try to describe the depth of the love that Mental has for rust, but may not have fully achieved a full description.

10)  As always, Vicki loves to provide wonderful food and drinks as a thank you. We “bribe” everyone who comes over and this weekends was no exception.  Bill added in some of the new thermal barrier coating for increasing the heat control of header and exhaust wraps. The coating also creates a protective layer to protect the system from abrasion and water/chemical attack.

11)  Bill’s engine disassembly is nearly complete for a replacement engine after being guided by Chris, Our Mr. Honda.  Now if anyone knows of any good machine shops in north east Pennsylvania, please let us know. Either by Instagram or via our email at  [email protected]. 

12)  Vicki had a bit of a heel toe down shifting discussion with Chris and Chrissy. This should help her with her down shifting, especially at the end of the long straights.  Hopefully, she will get to drive and ride with an instructor this season, hopefully with Chris.  She also has some practice that she can start with ahead of that while driving on the street.

13)  Obviously much more to follow in coming weeks.  We need a few parts, some tools, and some machining assistance, but we will keep you posted as we learn.

GHIT 0285:  Thank You Three Pedal Mafia

What Tire Pressure Should I Use

Such a simple question or is it?

DwD 0277: “What Tire Pressure Should I Use” – such a simple question or is it

On this issue of Dominating with Dawson, we try to answer the potentially unanswerable question that we hear at the track “What Tire Pressure Should I Use?”.  Alex joins us as we try to answer as best we can.  First we go over  several  of the factors that can affect what the answer could be.  Next we try to go into the various methods that can be used to actually determine the correct answer.  (The reference to Andy Hollis during this episode is expected by all long time racers.)  Now is we can only have Mr. Hollis as a guest on the podcast.  We have a ton of questions.

If you would be interested in helping grow our sport of high performance driving and our podcast:

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc. If you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it. This would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving. For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy.  If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review. 

A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/WhatTirePressure

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS  Please don’t forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don’t forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40.  Just enter the code “ghitlikesapex!” when you order.  They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

DwD 0277: “What Tire Pressure Should I Use” – such a simple question or is it

Jaime Garcia Races Wheel to Wheel

Jaime
Race FF Pod
Jaime Dominating
But its not front wheel drive

GHIT 0262:  Jaime Garcia from the RaceFF podcast returns to Talk about his 1st wheel-to-wheel race and upcoming Endurance Racing Prep

Jaime Garcia returns to discuss his first Honda Challenge H2 race which was his first ever wheel to wheel race and satisfied his lifelong goal.  We also talk through his upcoming preparation for his new 24 Hours of Lemons endurance race.  In Jaime’s last episode he was driving back his car after getting the cage installed so we had to see how his event went.  Now we need to figure out how to get a photo of his (short) cross country exploits during the event.  (Jaimie, please send us a shot or a link to where it is)(Christmas is coming you know, lol). 

We also start discussing some of the differences in racing a front wheel drive car vs a rear wheel drive platform.  Vicki is still going through some PTSD from her last race at Laguna Seca with Lucky Dog Racing League.  We also discuss Jaime’s upcoming preparation project for his endurance race. 

If you would like to help grow our sport and this podcast:

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice. This includes the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc. Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating, that would be great. Even better is a podcast review. We would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy.  If you go to your podcast library, simply under shows. Then click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review. 

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS  Please don’t forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don’t forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40.  Just enter the code “ghitlikesapex!” when you order.  They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc.  The recently released second generation systems and app increases the capability of the system greatly.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Highlights from this episode include:

1)  Jaime discusses his recent H4 Honda Challenge race, how it went and what he can improve.  He also goes into some of the car improvement projects that he has upcoming. the goal is to improve his car’s capability and hopefully improve his competitiveness within class.

2)  We discuss potential things we have learned about towing vehicles to the race track and a story of poor dealer service that led to our switching in tow vehicle (and Bill crossing off our local Ford Dealership, even though he is still eyeing a GT 350R longingly)

3)  Tips we learned about renting car trailers from U-Haul.

4)  We walk through Jaime’s endurance race car plans and provide some tips and things we have learned, most the hard way, lol.

5)  Jaime has an experience with the local carp parts store brake pads from his last endurance race.  We try to appeal to his budget consciousness to upgrade to our brake pad of choice.

6)  Our introduction to the anime show “Initial D”.  Time to do some homework.

7)  We discuss the aspects of theming, tech inspection, and bribing the judges to help make up for experience and potential black flags.

8)  Several tips on racing seat installation and making accommodations for a team of different sizes, heights and lengths.

9)  In the past, we have had three drivers have claustrophobic experiences/panic attacks when getting strapped into the car.  We discuss several things we have found to help if this happens.

10)  Critical spares and parts to bring tot he track with you and how to decide what to bring and what not to bring.  We have a bit of a philosophy for each of our cars that dictates what we bring to an event.

11)  Bunches of little tips and tricks for detailing the last few percent of your car.

12)  We start planning a 2022 meetup and race.  Perhaps a honeymoon race?

GHIT 0262:  Jaime Garcia Returns – Wheel to Wheel

Our Intro to Optimizing Your Tire Pressure

DwD 0253:  Introduction to Optimizing Your Tire Pressure

On this issue of Dominating with Dawson, we talk through the importance of optimizing the pressure in your tires.  No doubt this is of great importance to the performance of the tire as well as affecting the wear characteristics of the tire.  We go through what you should try to target and several methods that can be used to determine the optimum tire pressure.  Each method is a balance of cost, ease, and accuracy.  There is no doubt we will revisit this topic again, probably more than once.  

If you would be interested in helping grow our sport of high performance driving and our podcast:

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc. Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy.  If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review. 

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS  Please don’t forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don’t forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40.  Just enter the code “ghitlikesapex!” when you order.  They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

DwD 0253:  Introduction to Optimizing Your Tire Pressure

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