BMW 335i Muffler Delete Exhaust!

Two doors, Two Turbos, and now, Twin straight pipes! This 335i is a beast! Here are some pix from the muffler delete project.  I'm proud to say that the owner was thrilled with the sound, and loves everything about it!

Out with the old muffler!

Left side getting laid out.

The 4" Tip if powder coated black, and fits perfectly in the stock bumper.

100% TIG welded Stainless Steel construction!

The most important part of this exhaust mod was to ensure the tips fit perfectly even in the bumper.

The hangers are bent around and under the tubing for added support.

DONE! Looks as amazing as it sounds. The sound is clean and mellow, with no excessive drone on the freeways.  Joe was thrilled with the result, and enjoys the exhaust everyday! Big thanks to him for giving me the opportunity to work on his blue beast.

S2000 Oil Pan Baffle Install

Well I had a great opportunity to install an oil pan baffle for another S2ki member today. People often ask, "Is welding aluminum hard?". The honest answer is Yes, and no. Aluminum is very picky about how it likes to be welded. Any small amount of oil, dirt, grease, or other contamination can spell disaster when welding aluminum. I were welding intake manifolds that were put together with CNC milled pieces that were perfectly new and clean, I would say, "welding aluminum is easy!". But if I were welding cracked oil pans all day, I would say, "Welding aluminum SUCKS!" Oil can bake it's way into the aluminum, and that is why great care needs to be taken when welding an oil pan like this. All the surfaces have to be methodically scrubbed and cleaned. First, the entire pan is scrubbed with degreaser and scotch bright pads. This pan wasn't too bad, so that was enough to pull out most of the oil.

Acetone is used for the final cleaning. The pan looked clean before, but you can see all the black material that came up after scrubbing it with acetone.

All edges of the baffle must also be sanded and cleaned with acetone.

To ensure a nice weld, even the filler rod must be cleaned. Even tho this rod came out of a sealed container, scrubbing it with acetone reveals all the junk that was on it.

Almost ready to weld. Cold aluminum is difficult to weld before it comes up to a certain temperature. I use a heat gun to gently warm the material to make the welds go smoother.

As I weld a bead and then stop, I be sure and clip the ends of the filler rod so that the oxidized material on the tip does not contaminate the next weld.

And so it goes...

Done! Another pan ready for the track!

S2000 Turbo Drain Solution!

This is absolutely the best placement for a Turbo or Supercharger oil drain on an S2000! A -10 AN fitting is welded to the front chain cover in the lower left hand corner. This area offers the perfect isolated location for the oil drain, and the high drain location eliminates back up in the line. It's also a more convenient location for the drain, allowing for a shorter, more direct drain line path.

Want a cover with a -10 oil drain fitting welded on? Shoot us an email, we have covers in stock ready to ship! BAWSSinc@hotmail.com

XDC HIN Drift Event, April 14 2012: Phoenix AZ - DAY2

HIN Phoenix 2012!

We were all lucky enough to dodge the rain at the 2012 Hot Import Nights event at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix AZ.  The event seems smaller this year, no doubt due to the week long threat of rain.  But not a drop fell at the event on Saturday. Here now is a Fan's view of the drifting action, as Forest Wang Takes the win on Day 2. 

Worn S2000 Valve Guides... All too common problem!

Well we had a customer come in with a 2006 Honda S2000, only 65K miles, and a consistent #3 cylinder miss fire code. The compression numbers came back as #1-250, #2-250, #3-150, #4-250. In addition, we performed a leak down test and were able to see a %40 loss, and hear the exhaust valve leaking. It was clear that the head needed to be pulled. Here is a video of what the #3 exhaust valve looked like after it was pulled.


The side to side movement is due to excessive wear on the valve guide. This is an all too common issue with the S2000. This side to side movement leads to wear on the valve seat, eventually leading to a leak, compression loss, loss of power, and poor gas mileage!

The head was treated to a Bronze Valve Guide upgrade along with a full valve job. Because this head come out of a 2006 S2000, it was already equipped with the later model AP2 retainers.

Once the machined head was installed, the compression was back to 250 psi across the board! After only a few miles of driving, the owner said that the car was completely different. It was running perfectly smooth, and the power increase was dramatic!

Like what we posted, want to know more? Shoot us an e-mail at BAWSSfab@gmail.comor check out our Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BAWSSfabrication