• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Garage Heroes (In Training)

Garage Heroes (In Training)

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

  • About Us
  • Our Cars
  • Our Drivers
  • Handy Links
  • Tips/Tricks
  • Contact Us
  • Questions or Comments
  • Sponsorship

E36 race car

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

Rogue Engineering
Rogue Engineering at the track

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

Rogue Engineering
The Key Is In The Preparation

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

GHIT 0058 Thompson 2019 Race Wrap-Up

New Drivers and a New to Us Car

Alan, Jennifer, and Bill with our “new to us” BMW E36 race car

This Thompson 2019 episode is dedicated to our friend Aaron Leinemann.  He has had some unexpected bad medical news and a GoFundMe page has been started to assist.  Please share whatever you can to assist Aaron and his amazing family.

On this episode, our team reviews the 2019 24 Hours of Lemons race GP du Lac Chargoggagogg(etcetera) at Thompson Speedway in Northeastern Connecticut.  We entered our Race Truck El Jeffe a 2004 Chevy S-10 with many Isuzu Hombre body panels and our new to us 1998 BMW E36 3-series car for our first race with it after buying it about two weeks prior.  El Jeffe was updated from the former Stan Lee livery to and Avengers Endgame livery and the E36 was quickly themed in the paddock to be a Captain America car. 

  • Alan as Spider Man
    Alan as Spidey
  • Bennett Rocketing Deadpool
    Bennett Rocketing Deadpool
  • Connor with a Serious Chin
    Connor with serious chin
Garage Heroes were present and accounted for

We review Friday practice and spend most of the episode covering the race on Saturday and Sunday.

Highlights include:

  • New Drivers, several first timers at Thompson
  • Thompson track walk and review
  • Saturday and Sunday within El Jeffe
  • Saturday and Sunday in the BMW E36
  • El Jeffe brake issues and a potential fix and path forward to alleviate this ongoing problem. 
  • Our 4 black flag debacle and how it impacted our position in the race (HINT not well)
  • Bill got to make two signs with Connor to slow the cars in the pits
  • A minor incident where a car came across the bow of the El Jeffe and removed moist of the front end facia
  • Saturday night’s Potluck Dinner hosted by the Three Pedal Mafia team for Stuntin’ and Explodin’ fest
  • We show our exceptional math skills several times this episode
  • Team awards for the weekend
  • Hella Sweet or Butt Terrible idea of the week
  • To do’s and improvements for our next race
  • Radio and Helmet communication issues
  • Then things devolved from there
  • E36 performed very well
  • El Jeffe was a race truck
Proof we were ahead at least a few times

GHIT 0058: Thompson 2019 Race Wrap-Up

Primary Sidebar

Most Recent

  • Tom O’Gorman Returns for a Second Lap
  • Top 5 Tracks that are Fun to Drive
  • Tom Thalmann
  • Our Hero Related Preview of 2023
  • Retreat From Moscow 2023

Categories

  • Aerodynamics
  • Autocross
  • B Spec
  • Cars, Mostly ours
  • Comic Books and Movies
  • Dialing In
  • Dominating with Dawson
  • Driver Education
  • Fitness
  • Food
  • GLTC
  • Grid Life
  • Guests & Interviews
  • Honda Challenge
  • HPDE
  • Lemons Rally
  • Mechanical
  • Motorcycles
  • Our Team
  • Races
  • Racing 101
  • Radios and Communication
  • Safety
  • SIM racing
  • Sundae Cup
  • Telemetry
  • Themes
  • Track Photography
  • WoOT

  • About Our Team