Dialing In

GHIT 0098: Ben Liaw from Rogue Engineering on racing BMW’s

Ben Liaw from Rogue Engineering was kind enough to come on this week’s podcast. Ben races and also supports his racing clients at Rogue Engineering in Upper Saddle River, NJ, where they not only assist with race car prep and on track support but design and manufacture many parts improvements for many BMW models.

Also, on this week’s Dominating with Dawson, we went over driving a new to you race car and what you should do prior to driving and how best to acclimate to the new vehicle.

Highlights from this week’s episode include:

1) Stories of how his business grew from designing and manufacturing to mechanical and racing assistance
2) Some thoughts on car prep for racing
3) A great discussion of various BMW models that are used in racing, including strengths and areas where you may want to augment the stock parts and systems. Most 3 series models were discussed including the E30, E36, E46, E92 as well as the more modern F series models, as well as a few 1 and 2 series models and Mini’s, including relative strengths and weaknesses between them.
4) Our first real discussion about the AER endurance racing series
5) Potential upgrades for racing our M240i
6) Spec E46 race cars and priority the addition of upgrades, including the subframe issue
7) Bill gets into a discussion while Vicki has computer issues
8) Alan picks Ben’s brain throughout while he also goes shopping while we are recording “for Vicki” lol
9) Bill put Ben in an unfair spot to compare BMW’s to other typical cars, like Boxsters/Caymans and Miata/MX-5’s etc. Ben, you have our apologies.
10) Vicki wanted to appeal to Ben for any assistance with her latest E36 rear wheel hub and bearing replacement project/debacle. Ben offered his typical preventive maintenance program for hubs and bearings for his AER endurance racing.
11) We even go into critical spares and critical spare philosophy and the potential tradeoff vs pre-race prep
12) Several Dante references and a new level called “Wheel Bearing Hell”. Vicki views this as the hidden 8th level.
13) Rogue Engineering’s incredibly smart wheel studs with a hex end on both ends in case of a sheared stud
14) Bill finds a brand of power tools where he is fully qualified, and even Alan agrees

To contact Ben and his team or follow along with their various exploits, you can go to their website at https://www.rogueengineering.com/ or follow them on Instagram at Rogue Engineering.

Thank you for listening to our podcast. Please subscribe to our podcast your favorite podcast source. If you have any questions or topics you would like for us to cover, please feel free to let us know at:

www.GarageHeroesInTraining.com
or via email at: [email protected]

and you can follow us on Instagram at Garage Heroes In Training
or on Facebook at GarageHeroesIT or Join our Friends of GHiT group.

And if you really would like to help us out, please leave a rating and review on your Podcast App of choice, Apples Podcast app, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, or whatever podcast app you use and we will address any questions that you leave on the review.

We hope to see you out there racing with us.

Bill, Vicki, Jennifer, and Alan

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast and team members in the GHiT Immature Endurance Racing Team

GHIT 0098: Ben Liaw from Rogue Engineering on racing BMW’s

GHIT 0092: Dion von Moltke from Racers360 and Professional Racing Driver is our Special Guest

Winner of the Rolex at Daytona 24 and multiple Sebring 12 Hours

Dion von Moltke is our special guest for this week’s podcast. He is a professional racing driver who has won several major races including the Rolex at Daytona 24 Hours and the Sebring 12 Hour among many others. Dion is currently focused on an excellent online coaching website with several other professional drivers/coaches at Racers360. Racers360 provides many types of coaching to improve any level driver including track guides, technique improvement, webinars, as well as personalized driving reviews of your individual video or data. The costs are very reasonable at $100 per year for a Drivers Lounge membership that has access to all the universal videos and webinars and the individual data and video reviews are $99 per lap. If our results are typical, the improvements can be quite substantial and the value cannot be beaten.

For this episode, we cover a variety of topics including:
1) Dion’s racing history
2) An overview of Racers360 and its various offerings
3) Coaching is available in many areas of racing including wheel to wheel, autocross, karting, and motorcycle racing
4) How the coaches are curated and how they tailor their coaching to each individual driver
5) The tiers of the Racers360 personalized coaching: One Lap analysis for an +/- 15 minute review of your lap for $99 thru the full race analysis to review your skills and race craft
6) Many, many race craft tips and techniques to improve your driving and several common areas where you can improve
7) Comparison of professional vs amateur racing strategy and techniques
8) The best modifications to improve your lap times: HINT IT IS NOT ON YOUR CAR
9) What is BOP
10) When is the best time to start looking for assistance from the Racers360 coaches
11) Potential car set up opportunities available at Racers360
12) Dion recommends we get more cars. Bill agrees very quickly.
13) What lap video should you submit
14) The importance of hitting the apex, as well as car angle at the apex
15) We bond over our shared GTI history
16) What is his favorite shape steering wheel
17) Alan refers to El Jeffe as a trophy truck

Winning — **You too may eventually be able to waste good champagne!!!**

In addition, we begin our weekly series with Ben Dawson where we go into various topics related to racing and help you to understand and improve your driving skill and knowledge. This week’s topic is “Smooth is Fast” Part 1. If you have any questions or topics for us to discuss, please let us know at [email protected].

You can find Dion and his team at: www.racers360.com or using his email at [email protected] or [email protected]. We really love the team and the help that they have offered.

Best regards,
Bill, Vicki, and Alan
Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast
and team members in the GHiT
Immature Endurance Racing Team

GHIT 0092: Dion von Moltke from Racers360 and Professional Racing Driver is our Special Guest

GHIT 0087: SilverSleeves Racing Team Driver Greg Birch

On this episode, we had Greg Birch on from the SilverSleeves racing team from the west coast. We first met the team at Laguna Seca earlier this month but both of us had less than ideal racing weekends. It was great to catch up with Greg and we look forward to racing with them again.

Barbie Corvette and Team SilverSleeves — SilverSleeves Racing Team

Barbie Corvette — SilverSleeves Racing Team

Highlights for this episode include:

1) What is a Wolseley Hornet, its history, and how to get one onto the track, as well as future plans
2) Greg’s Mini fascination and history with both classic Mini’s and modern Mini’s
3) Canada is a great place to get low cost cars for racing due to insurance rules and where Bill and Alan are going soon, very soon
4) Where the Magic Bus nickname came from and its full history
5) Some of the driving rules for their team and perhaps how they should be our teams
6) a reasonable place to get driver training in the pacific northwest
7) The SilverSleeves car assortment, like the Austin 1800, and MG 1100 and the Barbie Corvette
8) Getting to hear the words competitive and Ford Probe engine in a sentence
9) What is a Hydrolastic Suspension and its “advantages” in racing
10) Racing in Lucky Dog and the 24 Hours of Lemons series
11) We come up with a way to expand upon their primarily British car themes
12) Bill’s idea to limit speed creep win low cost endurance racing and fortifying Class C cars
13) Discuss the mini as the predecessor to all transverse front wheel drive cars that are so prevalent today and its racing heritage
14) Team fastest lap punishment ideas and a discussion on speed creep in low budget endurance racing
15) Tire wear versus tire growth, lol
16) Waterford Hills Race track
17) Dialing in our new JCW Mini Cooper with as much cater as we can get
18) Too many cars and a way to possibly limit the issue with your significant other
19) One of the best team mantas we have heard
20) A very helpful the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
21) The inherent greatness of in race racing with a friend on the track, like when Greg raced with Todd of Everyday Driver that may be in their upcoming tv episode on Motor Trend
22) Best west coast tracks to add to our list

We had no luck getting any info on the new theming ideas that SilverSleeves is working on but look forward to the big reveal.

Hydrolastic suspensions for everyone!!

Here are a few videos where the SilverSleeves team and cars are featured.

Best regards,

Bill, Vicki, and Alan
Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast
and team members in the GHiT
Immature Endurance Racing Team

GHIT 0087: SilverSleeves Racing Team Driver Greg Birch

GHIT 0083: Our 2019 Review and 2020 Goals Episode

On this episode, Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, Kate and Bill went over our 2019 season and our 2020 goals. Are we on the same page? Do we even belong in the same book? Listen in and find out. Some of it was news to us, lol.

Areas covered included:

2019 Review:

1) How did our Team’s 2019 go in your opinion, Highlight and Low-light
2) How did your personal season go? Highlight and Low-light
3) Things you want to keep the same/similar and Things we need to change or improve
4) Biggest team weakness or missing need
5) Best Race or HPDE and Worst Race or HPDE
6) Our traditional Good, Bad, and the Ugly

2020 Goals:

1) What race goals do you have For you, For the team, For cars
2) Personal, Non-driving/racing goals
3) What driving/HPDE goals do you have, Any tracks or races interested in for 2020
4) Any additions to our team in terms of People, Tools, Training, Paddock, Cars,
5) Roles/Responsibilities, and Team talents missing/needed
6) What would define a successful year? For you and for our team
7) What would you say to the other members of our team

We try to do this every year and would recommend it to you and your team.

Bill’s inner planner sometimes takes over.

Best regards,

Bill, Vicki, Jen, Kate, and Alan

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast
and team members in the GHiT
Immature Endurance Racing Team

GHIT 0083: Our 2019 Review and 2020 Goals Episode

GHIT 0077: Our Friendsgiving Work Weekend

Thank you to Chris and Chrissy

Alan, Zombie Vicki, and Bill go over our recent Friendsgiving Work Weekend with special guest from the Everyone Racers Podcast hosts, Chris and Chrissy who came up to guide, instruct, and assist us with several of our cars that, as always, need repair and improvements. Highlights to the discussion include:

1) Our two and a half Porsche 944’s that are available and soon to be posted for sale for HPDE or racing use.

2) Capri update and our updated plans going forward

3) Winter is here in Northeast PA and when the sun goes down, the temperature leaves the garage in a hurry

4) How we organize our garage for both parts and cars and how Chris helped Vicki determine what is good to keep and how to identify the unknown items we have collected since our race team started.

5) What parts are worth keeping and what parts have donated all they have to give

6) Alan’s hamster powered internet shows up again

7) Our plans for the new Honda race car project code name Godzuki

8) The difference between parts replacement projects and part fabrication projects

9) Our repair update of the race truck/El Chrissy/The Bad Hombre steering issues and exhaust leak and the potential for a power steering line cooler to be added

10) Our repair update of the BMW E36 race car

11) How many ignore the potential for their race car to be their own planetarium

12) Alan bonds with several local FLAPS in our area

13) We need a bunch of camber shims to fix our S-10

14) We have renamed our race truck due to this week.

15) Alan gives a visual description of suspension geometry

16) A discussion of our hubs and bearings for the E36 and transferring the brake cooling ducts to our other race cars

17) Vicki and Bill plan to go to a local race shop to see what is available for our use

18) Alan’s fall led to a broken jaw, so does disagreeing with Kate. You can choose which is the cover story and which is real.

19) Alan impersonates a BMW E36 while Chris was investigating our electrical wiring issues

20) Spare parts and supply at the track discussion

21) Vicki, pre-Zombie, and Bill received a welding lesson on our Miller 211 MIG welder and began the learning process in earnest

22) Vicki relates welding to her art background

23) Chris and Chrissy had a spare moment to test our Mazda MX-5 on the test track for a good shakedown run

24) Skid pad event discussion and planning for this winter/spring at Lime Rock

25) Car show Fails on YouTube, a worthwhile time waster

26) The best way to say thank you/bribe people to help you (Hint: Food, drink, and beer)

Bribing Hard — We bribe our guests hard! And that was after we ate.

Special thanks, as always to Chris and Chrissy for coming up and helping. We learned a ton and accomplished quite a bit. We hope our bribes of food, drink, and racing were sufficient to lure you up again, hopefully soon.

If anyone wants a garage tour, we could put up a video (excuse the mess) on our YouTube channel. Just let us know.

E1R is Cool — Everyone Racers podcast is way Cool

Best regards,

Bill, Vicki, and Alan

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast

and team members in the GHiT

Immature Endurance Racing Team

Links mentioned

For part ID and a great source for auto parts

Our Miller 211 Welder

Welding related YouTube channel

Everyone Racers Podcast

GHIT 0077: Our Friendsgiving Work Weekend