Aluthman's Intro and Build thread

B7 A4
#221

Seriously those welds are going to keep me up just thinking about them. Wow. The one stick welded manifold with the schedule 10 pipe looks OK.

As for the twin scroll. I like to hear that you are trying it out but haven’t convinced yourself of the outcome. I think that’s smart and really shows your interest and commitment.

I see a lot of mixed reviews on the twin scroll. It’s billed up to be better and faster spooling but when you look it’s not what it’s cracked up to be. I think with you building your own and so many of the gt audi kits falling so short. I think it should be interesting I think if it can work you will see. The only thing I will add is. Keep the primary pipes the same size from the head to the collector. When you do the math the restriction won’t be the exhaust pipe it will be the exhaust wheel.

#222

Thats some great advice, its all in the collector. I would get one of these too. Avoid cracked collectors.

http://elmerracing.com/raceshop/exhaust/merge-collectors/turbo-merge-collector/4-to-t3-twin-scroll-detail

#223

Yes the bigger of any gains are going to be in the collector.

#224

That’s a T3 TS collector, so no go with an EFR. I’m using the cast T4 collector above that I already bought. I’ll do some port work on it though.

#225

I forgot you had already bought one. CNC or Cast, its gonna be much better for reliability than a welded one. Good purchase! that treadstone one looks pretty nice.

#226


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsf5539135.jpg

Kind of a proof of concept for my custom meth tank project. I used 16 ga aluminum scrap because that’s what I had. I will probably use this for the big one also. I initially forgot about physics and couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t weld completely shut. [confused] Once I drilled the hole for the hot gases to escape, it was easy. These were some of my first outside corner joints and the fit-up was freehand and not great, so I know the welds could be better. It holds water though and I’m pleased with how it turned out since all I’ve done up to this point was stringers and sticking two pieces of metal together.

As far as the meth tank project goes, I’m still debating between aluminum and stainless. I filled my mini tank with pure meth, and sealed it to see just how corrosive meth is. If it goes a while with no serious issues, I’ll probably use aluminum. I could always look into coating the inside of the tank also. Any idea how hard it is to powdercoat the inside of a tank with a 2.75" opening?

#227

the one top weld looks great! and the others look like they’ll hold. do u have a boost leak checker? u should pressurize it and make sure its air tight.

well done for a first attempt, you’ve got the hand eye for welding for sure.

#228

Better than EPY! lololol speaking of why does he never post here??

That mini tank looks nice, have you looked into making a custom tank for the side compartment?

#229

:smiley:

#230

I’m going to keep practicing before building the big one. I might make another small one with some of the thicker scrap I have and see how that turns out. I can probably rig something up to see if it is air tight. After my corrosion experiment, I will do some destructive testing to check and see how strong the welds are.

#231

I can lay down better beads on thicker aluminum. It’s easier to control the puddle without blowing through.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps1f548f88.jpg

Hopefully I can get welds like this on my end product. This is just some 1/8" scrap I had laying around. Corners are an entirely different animal than stringers on plate though.

#232

Just ordered the parts to make the big tank. I decided on 0.100" 6061 aluminum, mainly because it’s easy to cut, cheap, and doesn’t need backpurging like stainless does. My design looks like it will hold about 4 gallons, up from my current 2.5 gallons. That may decrease a bit based on having to clearance it for the cubby it’s going into. All said and done, it looks like I’ll have about $175-$200 in materials wrapped up in this project including welding consumables.

#233

Looking into powder coating or anodizing for increased corrosion resistance to the meth. I run a 50/50 mix right now, so it shouldn’t be a huge issue though.

#234

:smiley: LOL - good stuff!

Sometimes its the simple things, eh?

#235


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsdf2199d8.jpg

Cardboard mockup of my meth tank. This will be going in the drivers rear cubby right above the pump. I’m going to add a filler neck and cap that pokes through the little door for easy filling. The main tank should hold right about 4 gallons and I still plan to add a sump to the bottom. All the aluminum showed up the other day, so now I just need the free time to start putting this thing together.

#236

That is a clean mockup dude, good work. Looking forward to the finished product.

#237

I also checked the mini tank and there was absolutely no signs of corrosion with pure meth in it since the day it was made. I think the corrosion of aluminum by methanol is greatly over-exagerrated. I probably won’t even coat the inside now. If it does corrode with a 50/50 mix after a few years, I can always make another one.

As far as the welds on the little tank, it took some significant persuasion with a 3lb. sledge to bust it open. I feel they were more than strong enough for the application.

#238

Got started on the actual tank tonight. Welding thicker material and using 3/32" filler rod is sooo much easier than using the thin stuff. I need to figure out what I’m doing for baffles before I weld the tank up all the way.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps5e0bff32.jpg


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zpscfa1d7a0.jpg


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps686ef5ac.jpg


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zpsc57c2f3a.jpg


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps51cf598c.jpg

#239

Damn son, you’ve got some welding skills!

I actually just got a Hobart MIG welder myself. Practiced some and was feeling comfortable on the bench, but welding under a car was a whole other ballgame. I got the job done though, but I am looking forward to spending some more time and getting better with it.

#240

Just getting started. I think I’ve had my TIG for right at 2 months now, and had never used one before. I did a bit of MIG way back in high school shop class, but that’s it. I have been reading everything I can find on TIG though. I also taught myself on aluminum because it was supposed to be hard. Hopefully stainless is easy when I get to my manifold.