1989 535i - sold
1999 M3 Tiag/Dove - sold
1998 M3 Turbo Arctic/black - current
2004 Built motor TiAg/Black - Sold
2008 E61 19T Turbo-Wagon - current
2011 E82 135i - S85 Swap - current
1998 M3 Cosmos S54 swapped Sedan - current
1998 Turbo: PTE6870 | 1.15 ar | Hp Cover, Custom Divided T4 bottom-mount, 3.5" SS exhaust, Dual Turbosmart Compgates, Turbosmart Raceport BOV, 3.5" Treadstone Intercooler, 3.5" Vibrant resonator and muffler, Arp 2k Headstuds | Arp 2k Main studs | 87mm Je pistons | Eagle rods | 9.2:1 static compression, Ces 87mm cutring, Custom solid rear subframe bushings, Akg 85d diff bushings, 4 clutch 3.15 diff, , Poly engine mounts, UUC trans mounts W/ enforcers, 22RPD OBD2 Stock ECU id1700 E85 tune, 22RPD Big power Transmission swap w/ GS6-53
Got my Mig supplies today. The guy at my local airgas said for mig welding stainless i should use 100% argon gas and a .030 ER308/308L wire. So thats what i got. Sound right?
Maybe next round get Tri-mix for mig welding stainless.
100% argon is for tig the majority of the time.
1996 332IS
Built 3.2
CES/Steed TS Precision 6466, spraying a "$π!℅" load of meth.
Technique Tuning 80# tune.
1/4 mile 10.84 @ 136.72
Your 1 and only stop for all your BMW performance needs
WWW.CESMOTORSPORT.COM
Well I made my first welds today. Probably should have started with something other than the reinforcement plates for the rear subframe. But it's been done. I just stitched it, so I figure I can go back over and redo it if need be. Also I think I should have spent twice as long cleaning. Take a look at these beads and tell me how I can improve. Thanks.
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0323172054a.jpg
0323172054b.jpg
1996 332IS
Built 3.2
CES/Steed TS Precision 6466, spraying a "$π!℅" load of meth.
Technique Tuning 80# tune.
1/4 mile 10.84 @ 136.72
Your 1 and only stop for all your BMW performance needs
WWW.CESMOTORSPORT.COM
1996 332IS
Built 3.2
CES/Steed TS Precision 6466, spraying a "$π!℅" load of meth.
Technique Tuning 80# tune.
1/4 mile 10.84 @ 136.72
Your 1 and only stop for all your BMW performance needs
WWW.CESMOTORSPORT.COM
the right ratio of amperage and wire speed is really critical with mig. Play with it on a piece of scrap to dial it in first. I agree that more amperage is needed.
One more point to add..
Lots of the strength from a sheet metal reinforcement like this comes from the rosette weld. You missed every single one of them on every plate.. You should really fill those in.
Rosette weld: A type of circular weld created by making a hole in one section of a tube or blind channel and joining it to a second piece inserted inside. Also known as a rosette weld.
The holes in the plates get filled in with weld, connecting the plates to the body.
Last edited by chikinhed; 03-24-2017 at 10:05 PM.
'97 M3, Estoril blue, 2 dr, euro 6-spd, EFR 9180 divided T4 .92 IWG, RK tuning, CP 8.5:1 pistons, Eagle rods, Schrick cams, L19 11 mm ARP studs, O-ringed block, Supertech stainless/inconel valves, Supertech springs & Ti retainers, ported head, S54 oil pump/pan, 80 lb. injectors, OBD1 intake manifold, Steedspeed twin scroll T4, 3.5" SS exhaust, eBoost2 EBC, HFS-4 W/M injection, AEM Failsafe, Zeitronix data logger, Racelogic TC, OpenOBC w. ethanol %, Ireland Eng. engine mounts, UUC black tranny mounts w. enforcers, UUC twin disc feramic, ARC-8's, MCS 2-ways, Z3 rack, Rallyroad strut bar, X brace, Eibach sway bars, Ground Control LCAB bushings, Bimmerworld RTAB's, Powerflex subframe bushings, 210 4-clutch LSD, Stoptech BBK, titainium shims, steel braided lines, brake cooling ducts.
Visual aids, and going one step further, to reach the heavier gauge panel above the thin sheetmetal (E-46 M3 Touring)l:
All paint ground off and hit with a coat of Copperweld (which works great, but despite efforts to clean tip/tube, clogs up to be useless the next time you try to use it; I'll try another can in a few years, to see if they've improved it...)
I seal-weld around the entire plate, as well as the plug-weld, to prevent any moisture from getting between the panels.
Surface ground flat and primed
Seams sealed.
Prep for and application of rubberized textured undercoating.
Match factory E-coat color with PPG paint.
You're welcome to view the whole album to see an M3 trunkfloor assembly being fitted to this E-46 Touring (so the S-54 M3's exhaust could be fitted.
So, this Harbor Freight Band Saw is AMAZING!!!!!! Finished the hot side piping up, the cuts were so perfect that I mostly just fusion welded everything with only a little filler in a couple spots.
So I do realize my welds are a little too gray, at this point that's fine as I really didn't want to have a bright polished pipe under the hood. I will probably get it powder coated with some sort of textured finish. That being said this is technically my first real project TIG welding and the most SS experience I've had before was a few practice lines on a plate. I think I did ok for being so new to it.
IMG_20170327_175649305_HDR.jpg IMG_20170327_192859749.jpg IMG_20170327_192911520.jpg
1997 328is - Megasquirt PNP, Holset HX35, Deka 80lb injectors, SPA T3, Precision PW39 WG, Synapse Synchronic BOV, DKM Organic Twin Disc Clutch, Innovate LC-2 W/B, Mishimoto Intercooler, Mishimoto Catch Can, Mishimoto Rad, Devils Own Meth, Porsche 911 calipers with E46 M3 rotors, Corsa Exhaust
some master welders in this thread
98 Estoril ///M3 4/6
S54 swap CSL
The gray will be either too much heat or not enough gas coverage.
Stainless steel is a "get in, get out" situation.
Pipe like that only needs 50-60amps to fusion weld, 10-15cfm argon . if you pulse with the pedal, or set the machine to pulse or will keep the heat down a little. Or take your time and skip around from tack to tack.
Good job !
1996 332IS
Built 3.2
CES/Steed TS Precision 6466, spraying a "$π!℅" load of meth.
Technique Tuning 80# tune.
1/4 mile 10.84 @ 136.72
Your 1 and only stop for all your BMW performance needs
WWW.CESMOTORSPORT.COM
http://www.harborfreight.com/horizon...saw-93762.html
First thing is clean out the gearbox and replace the oil. Then just properly adjust the blade using a square against the table. Once it's setup right it's good to go. I've been using the blade it came with on 309SS without any issues so far. Will upgrade to a starrett blade later.
1997 328is - Megasquirt PNP, Holset HX35, Deka 80lb injectors, SPA T3, Precision PW39 WG, Synapse Synchronic BOV, DKM Organic Twin Disc Clutch, Innovate LC-2 W/B, Mishimoto Intercooler, Mishimoto Catch Can, Mishimoto Rad, Devils Own Meth, Porsche 911 calipers with E46 M3 rotors, Corsa Exhaust
For a regular guy, who isn't an instagram showoff welder (yet ), those welds look great!
Pulsing will help but I wouldn't use it to fix this problem. Pulsing should be used to improve good technique not cover bad. With stainless it's critical not to linger. Use more heat than you think you need and get moving, fast. Also make sure you have good gas coverage. If your machine allows it, try turning up the pre-flow. Using a gas lens helps a lot too, I like the Furick FUPA or sometimes even the Weldtec Megaflo. Beware that these lenses require a lot more flow to work properly (25cfh for the Furick, 30+ for the Megaflo).
It also probably means you're not backpurging. Probably not a huge deal for a charge pipe but if you're going to do stainless work on anything load bearing, backpurging is critical with stainless welding or you compromise it significantly. If you have black "sugar" on the back of the weld, that part of the weld will lose the corrosion resistance and will corrode and crack in time.
One tip I recently picked up for welding stainless structures where back purging is not practical, like boxed structures (I'm making a tubular structure), this is the saviour. On the youtubes they say you have to use methanol but it's not true, that's only if you have to meet mil spec. Otherwise it works just as well with Isopropyl.
http://www.solarflux.com/Pages/Productinfo.html
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