Beefed up The Rear End.

[boosted323]

I just got the car back from the shop. Just installed the TMS reinforcement kit as well as powerflex subframe bushings. The car feels so much better now. The rear end is rock solid. I would highly reccomend anyone with FI to get this done.

Some Pics Below.

[dke46T]

Pics dont work ...

[yellowssm]

so youre telling me all I have to do is put red x's on my car and the rear end will be stronger?
Can I have a link to purchase these red x's?

[boosted323]

so youre telling me all I have to do is put red x's on my car and the rear end will be stronger?
Can I have a link to purchase these red x's?

There you go smart ass

[yellowssm]

There you go smart ass

:woot:

[NightRunner]

Honestly,

Those are some horrible looking welds made by someone who has no clue what they were doing. I'd be a little skeptical/afraid. I probaably still have pictures I took from the first time I welded when I was 16 that look just as bad as those.

here's what a good mig weld looks like:

http://www.fmxramps.com/ramps/rev1_02.jpg


see the difference? If I were you i'd take it to another place that actually has a certified welder and have them reweld it.

[MSpired]

Can you guve us a review of the Powerflex subframe bushings please

[dke46T]

I must also state that those welds are very questionable. I would not let anyone learn how to weld on my car especially where the job needs to be done right the first time instead of always having that thought in the back of your mind if there will a problem later on.

Hope everything works out and im looking to read about the review.

Dave

[BartenderPlease]

Sh*tty welds but I guess it works. Good idea on beefing it up!

[BadBoostedBmwM3]

Well, this is something I need to do to mr 323i if I start with any mods.

BTW, did you have any ripping/tearing that you needed to repair??

And, If you don't mind me asking How much did everything cost??

[pat]

^^ +1 on labor. I just did vorshlag nylon motor mounts and UUC race tranny mounts. This kit should alleviate excess stress going into the diff.

[SPDu4ea]

*shrugs* Looks like the typical "gorilla weld" -- ugly, but they look plenty strong. I wouldn't worry that they will fail -- they'll be far stronger than the surrounding sheet metal. I would paint them though to prevent rust...

[boosted323]

The welds don't have to be pretty for it to be good. You will never see the welds anyway. The job was done by vac motorsports, a very reputable company in the BMW community.

NightRunner: Look how thin those welds are first off. And you worrying about my car huh.:confused:

The whole cost including the TMS reinforcement kit, powerflex bushings, and rear diff bushings, plus labor was a little over $2200. Beefed up the rear diff, and rustproofed the whole subframe.

[boosted323]

*shrugs* Looks like the typical "gorilla weld" -- ugly, but they look plenty strong. I wouldn't worry that they will fail -- they'll be far stronger than the surrounding sheet metal. I would paint them though to prevent rust...

Already rustproofed. The one pic shows it where it looks like grease.

[bluejeansonfire]

Honestly,

Those are some horrible looking welds made by someone who has no clue what they were doing. I'd be a little skeptical/afraid. I probaably still have pictures I took from the first time I welded when I was 16 that look just as bad as those.

here's what a good mig weld looks like:

http://www.fmxramps.com/ramps/rev1_02.jpg


see the difference? If I were you i'd take it to another place that actually has a certified welder and have them reweld it.

Those welds on boosted 323's car are gorgeous. you should see my car to see some shotty welds. The pic you have is of friggin' thickassed steel. YEs, when you have thick steel, you can do a pretty bead like that. But to even have continuous welds on sheet metal is impressive, all i have is a tack every half cm. And really, the limit of what is needed for strength.

[bimmer07]

putting the stiffer bushings in the rear subframe are going to make it way more prone to tearing even with the reinforcement.



i did my own reinforcement with the turner plates back in august and replaced with OEM bushings

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j54/sethw30/51270168.jpg

[battaM3]

thought you were getting a new car... My car will be at vac soon..

[boosted323]

thought you were getting a new car... My car will be at vac soon..

I was planning on it but decieded to keep it. You upgraded to the ASA right. You still have your c38 blower?

[boosted323]

Those welds on boosted 323's car are gorgeous. you should see my car to see some shotty welds. The pic you have is of friggin' thickassed steel. YEs, when you have thick steel, you can do a pretty bead like that. But to even have continuous welds on sheet metal is impressive, all i have is a tack every half cm. And really, the limit of what is needed for strength.

People fail to realize how much more difficult it is to weld such thin metal. Even the reinforcement plates from Turner were thin too. Personally I don't think any other shop could have done a better job.

[battaM3]

didnt upgrade yet.. waiting for AA to release new upgrades.. I think im just going to overspin 81 trim.. Theres a guy making just about 500rwhp with the 81 trim...
I was going to go hpf but i bought new wheels suspension etc carbon fiber roof instead of dropping 20k plus on turbo..

[battaM3]

once the weather gets nice we should set up a meet..

[boosted323]

didnt upgrade yet.. waiting for AA to release new upgrades.. I think im just going to overspin 81 trim.. Theres a guy making just about 500rwhp with the 81 trim...
I was going to go hpf but i bought new wheels suspension etc carbon fiber roof instead of dropping 20k plus on turbo..
Yeah I hear ya. The **** adds up. Im going to put an 81trim in this summer hopefully. Planning on running around 18to20psi. And for all the dumbasses that are going to argue with me about running that much on a rotrex, you should just call AA and get your facts strait.

once the weather gets nice we should set up a meet..

Yeah Im down for that.

[Snox400]

I just got the car back from the shop. Just installed the TMS reinforcement kit as well as powerflex subframe bushings. The car feels so much better now. The rear end is rock solid. I would highly reccomend anyone with FI to get this done.

Some Pics Below.

Why are you defending VAC?? They're the ones who screwed you over with some of the worst-quality work I've ever seen. I normally don't bother to post to bash someone, but this was just too astonishing. I'm shocked at seeing VAC's work in comparison to their their reputation.

That is really amazing...

[BadBoostedBmwM3]

The welds don't have to be pretty for it to be good. You will never see the welds anyway. The job was done by vac motorsports, a very reputable company in the BMW community.

NightRunner: Look how thin those welds are first off. And you worrying about my car huh.:confused:

The whole cost including the TMS reinforcement kit, powerflex bushings, and rear diff bushings, plus labor was a little over $2200. Beefed up the rear diff, and rustproofed the whole subframe.

Thats a little expensive... but its VAC. I was quoted $1800 here for everything.

I would of thought that VAC had better welders.

[battaM3]

Vac does all my work... She runs great..They might be a little more then other places but there customer service is great and they are cool as how

[boosted323]

Why are you defending VAC?? They're the ones who screwed you over with some of the worst-quality work I've ever seen. I normally don't bother to post to bash someone, but this was just too astonishing. I'm shocked at seeing VAC's work in comparison to their their reputation.

That is really amazing...

If you can show me a picture of a better weld on such thin metal then ill agree with you. Until then keep your opinions to yourself buddy.

[Activ3]

Looks good to me! If you guys haven't personally been underneath your car inspecting the horrible sheet metal bmw uses for the subframe mounts, then you can't really say much about the quality of the welding. You can take the BMW pliers that come in your trunk tool kit, give them to your wife, and I'd bet she could bend the metal. When you're using thicker steel of course you can get a pretty weld job done that looks clean and fancy, but that's not the case here...

[robbieracer]

From the looks of it, it doesn't appear they ground the paint off before welding and those welds (non-uniform) are usually the result. If they spent a few extra minutes grinding the paint off, I'm sure the welds would look better.

[boosted323]

From the looks of it, it doesn't appear they ground the paint off before welding and those welds (non-uniform) are usually the result. If they spent a few extra minutes grinding the paint off, I'm sure the welds would look better.

That might be the case. But the fact that I will never see those welds unless I tear my rear end apart, I don't really care how it looks. All that matter is durability.

[robbieracer]

That might be the case. But the fact that I will never see those welds unless I tear my rear end apart, I don't really care how it looks. All that matter is durability.

I wouldn't worry about the strength of the welds, it's just a cosmetic thing that you'll never see. I'm sure your reinforcements are tons stronger than stock...
Thanks for sharing the PICs; I'll have to take a look at mine and see if there's anything visible. I don't have FI, but just installed a new suspension so this is something I'll want to keep my eye on.

[bluejeansonfire]

From the looks of it, it doesn't appear they ground the paint off before welding and those welds (non-uniform) are usually the result. If they spent a few extra minutes grinding the paint off, I'm sure the welds would look better.

welding over paint is IMPOSSIBLE... they definitely ground all the paint away. It would be failed splatter otherwise. NO significant welds would be made, it would look a million times worst. And it doesn't look uneven, it is perfect. That's a phreakin' good e46 weld-up job.

[jetskier88]

looks good. i know you must sleep alot better now... stupid subframe was always in the back of my mind anytime time i was driving...
here are some pics from my job... except i reinforced the subframe cage (sway end links) for no reason bcuz i ended up doing the whole rear M3 conversion

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=622610

[robbieracer]

welding over paint is IMPOSSIBLE... they definitely ground all the paint away. It would be failed splatter otherwise. NO significant welds would be made, it would look a million times worst. And it doesn't look uneven, it is perfect. That's a phreakin' good e46 weld-up job.

I'll have to disagree with you there, I've welded over paint before and it always turns out crappy. The molten is so hot it melts the paint away as you weld, you just loose the nice uniform welds. I have welded sheet metal too, you just need to lower the temp down so you don't burn through the thin metal. Those are not good looking welds!:rolleyes:

[boosted323]

I wouldn't worry about the strength of the welds, it's just a cosmetic thing that you'll never see. I'm sure your reinforcements are tons stronger than stock...
Thanks for sharing the PICs; I'll have to take a look at mine and see if there's anything visible. I don't have FI, but just installed a new suspension so this is something I'll want to keep my eye on.

It seems that a lot of m3s have had subframe problems even without FI. The TMS kit is reasonably priced. I would highly reccomend it. I dont really think the urthane bushings are necessary though.