[B_Rice]

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1316362

Your guy's thoughts?

[Anderw]

Originally Posted by B_Rice

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1316362

Your guy's thoughts?

Thats definitely an eye sore

[ORIGIN M.]

That is why ///M went with Orange no doubt. Haha!!

Originally Posted by Anderw

Thats definitely an eye sore

[B_Rice]

Originally Posted by red-sauerkraut

That is why ///M went with Orange no doubt. Haha!!

I'd go with a more subtle color if my welds looked like that

[Sindarin]

Roll the car a couple times, see if they hold up.

[RoundelM3]

Definitely not machine-welded. Take a look at the frame/bracing welds on a Ferrari - they're much more uniform. I suspect that BMW is using a non-factory provider for the roll cage, as this doesn't look like BMW-quality welding.

[amw896]

welded in China.

[XutvJet]

That's quite terrible.

[Cyberdemon]

A lot of welds look like shit then get grinded smooth and people think they look amazing, even if it was a shitty weld.

It's not great, but let's be honest it's probably fine for a hand job.

[allthatisntnow]

So a good weld is a one that looks 100% aesthetically pleasing as opposed to actually being strong and up to task?

Id rather it was strong than pretty in anything structural tbh

[EuroDude]

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

A lot of welds look like shit then get grinded smooth and people think they look amazing, even if it was a shitty weld.

It's not great, but let's be honest it's probably fine for a hand job.

He said hand job!

[overcoil]

Went last night to dealer to look at M4 -GTS.
The roll-cage is great looking - the center X-bracing looks nice in-person.
The peripheral junctions look like a custom bike and there was an info tag on the bar.
The carbon-fiber hood also has a hand built quality to it, I'll post a pic below.

[overcoil]

In this pic u can see waves on edge of hood and it doesn't look like it's a mistake the car looks extremely well assembled.

[RoundelM3]

Originally Posted by allthatisntnow

So a good weld is a one that looks 100% aesthetically pleasing as opposed to actually being strong and up to task?

Id rather it was strong than pretty in anything structural tbh

A good weld is one that is uniform, which doesn't create weak points. The one in the first picture is amateurish at best. It's been said that "a good weld looks like a row of nickels".

[Cyberdemon]

These look fine.

Based on this, it's safe to say that since it's a low volume hand made part that guy just got a welder who was either rushing home for the evening or had a lazy eye. Either way, still shouldn't be a real structural concern.

[overcoil]

Originally Posted by roundel335

A good weld is one that is uniform, which doesn't create weak points. The one in the first picture is amateurish at best. It's been said that "a good weld looks like a row of nickels".

I found this quote on a welding site -

"Seems like every year someone starts thread asking how to get stack of dime look welding bead or how to make MIG welds look like TIG welds. (Learn to TIG weld.)

I can't understand why they want to make bad welds that looks like they were made by a want to be welder with silly idea of how good welds should look. Should base welds on sound weld engineering not fashion fad. Yes exposed welds are part of the design but I cringe when fashionable weld look is more important than proper welds. This reminds me of show ****er spaniels that are bred to look fashonable, not caring that makes them poor hunting dogs and high maintinance pets."

[XutvJet]

In a $133K car, hand done welds SHOULD look like a coins overlaying one another. There's no excuse for welds like the ones depicted, either in a M4 GTS or a $80 Huffy bicycle.

[Reznick]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

I found this quote on a welding site -

"Seems like every year someone starts thread asking how to get stack of dime look welding bead or how to make MIG welds look like TIG welds. (Learn to TIG weld.)

I can't understand why they want to make bad welds that looks like they were made by a want to be welder with silly idea of how good welds should look. Should base welds on sound weld engineering not fashion fad. Yes exposed welds are part of the design but I cringe when fashionable weld look is more important than proper welds. This reminds me of show ****er spaniels that are bred to look fashonable, not caring that makes them poor hunting dogs and high maintinance pets."

He's exactly right. Growing up in a fabrication shop, I've seen that exact thing countless times. Welds look great, but one whack with a hammer will knock it apart. BUT, whoever did the work in the pic the OP posted should be ashamed. The multiple stop and start points not only looks horrible but the high, low bead would lead me to believe penetration of each point isn't close to what it should be. So they didn't seem to care about strength or looks.

[Dylan86]

The pic shown is a bit rough, but it's not "unsafe" or weak, IMO. I wouldn't be happy with it, either, on a car of that $$

Making dime beads with Moly isn't easy, nor required for it's integrity. Also, has anyone ever tried welding in kung-fu like poses from the inside of a cabin? It's not easy on a bench, with a proper back purge setup. I can't imagine some of the positions these guys would be in to get one of these cages properly fitted, and look stunning too. Not saying it can't be done, but every end product will look different with hand fabrications.