Dinan Stage 3 reviews...

[Ilikemike]

Thinking of Dinan's stage 3 with the larger 'cooler' and I'm not open to any other software/performance upgrades, I have a 2017 f82 and warranty concerns.....enough said. To those with this system; was it worth it, what is the most noticeable change, how does the car handle now?

[NOLATom]

Originally Posted by Ilikemike

Thinking of Dinan's stage 3 with the larger 'cooler' and I'm not open to any other software/performance upgrades, I have a 2017 f82 and warranty concerns.....enough said. To those with this system; was it worth it, what is the most noticeable change, how does the car handle now?

Same with me. I had the MPE installed and was planning on getting the Dinan Stage 3, but I can't seem to find any feedback on whether it's worth it or not.

[hova00]

Originally Posted by NOLATom

Same with me. I had the MPE installed and was planning on getting the Dinan Stage 3, but I can't seem to find any feedback on whether it's worth it or not.

iam in the same boat.

[TR930]

Car is explosive, breaks traction very easy now. Have yet to run in summer to test if the power is consistant in hot weather. It's alot of $$ but there are clear gains on the street.

[Ilikemike]

Originally Posted by TR930

Car is explosive, breaks traction very easy now. Have yet to run in summer to test if the power is consistant in hot weather. It's alot of $$ but there are clear gains on the street.

Thanks, explosive sounds good, but it sounds like you have not had a chance to drive it in dry warm weather, are you running winter tires at the moment?

[m4282]

Originally Posted by Ilikemike

Thinking of Dinan's stage 3 with the larger 'cooler' and I'm not open to any other software/performance upgrades, I have a 2017 f82 and warranty concerns.....enough said. To those with this system; was it worth it, what is the most noticeable change, how does the car handle now?

Car and driver I thought did a review on this...... supposedly the 0-60 didn't improve much but there was a significant difference between 60-110 a reduction of 0.7 seconds vs standard times.

[Irishace]

If you have warranty concerns do not mod your car, period. You may as well light your money on fire if you are considering Dinan as a legitimate performance option in comparison to true aftermarket options.

The performance increase is laughable and the price tag is even more ridiculous. Do your research on Dinan, there are many cases where Dinan have walked away from their warranty obligations.

[skalberti]

Originally Posted by Irishace

If you have warranty concerns do not mod your car, period. You may as well light your money on fire if you are considering Dinan as a legitimate performance option in comparison to true aftermarket options.

The performance increase is laughable and the price tag is even more ridiculous. Do your research on Dinan, there are many cases where Dinan have walked away from their warranty obligations.

They didn't walk away from me. They paid $16,500 for a new short block N54 after a spun #6 rod bearing that were a known problem of the 335i.

[Ilikemike]

Originally Posted by m4282

Car and driver I thought did a review on this...... supposedly the 0-60 didn't improve much but there was a significant difference between 60-110 a reduction of 0.7 seconds vs standard times.

Thanks, but the C&D review only looked at stage 1.

[m4282]

Originally Posted by Ilikemike

Thanks, but the C&D review only looked at stage 1.

Oh ok sorry - my mistake.

[Ilikemike]

Originally Posted by Irishace

If you have warranty concerns do not mod your car, period. You may as well light your money on fire if you are considering Dinan as a legitimate performance option in comparison to true aftermarket options.

The performance increase is laughable and the price tag is even more ridiculous. Do your research on Dinan, there are many cases where Dinan have walked away from their warranty obligations.

Appreciated! But unless there is an unbiased auto magazine test of the upgrade, those of us out here considering the upgrade have to rely on the personal experiences of those who have the upgrade.....

[Ilikemike]

Originally Posted by m4282

Oh ok sorry - my mistake.

No problem! As some others on this post have noted, it's really tough to get individuals who have the upgrade to discuss their experience. Ideally, I'd like to know what the gains on the Dyno translate into on the road. For that, We need an independent Test (like c&d's test but with the stage 3) of this software or other softwares. There is a substantial number of owners and lessees (I think that's the term) who want a warranty, in spite of less than optimal numbers (as others have noted on this forum). I do have the resources to own and upgrade this car but not to replace an engine....

[schnell1982]

Originally Posted by skalberti

They didn't walk away from me. They paid $16,500 for a new short block N54 after a spun #6 rod bearing that were a known problem of the 335i.

I agree.
Dinan is legit
All the negative talk are from haters and the typical bandwagon dinan bashers that have no clue what is going on rather then hounding the forums.
I have Dinan, I know many people with it and never heard of anything ever negative.

[AIRPOWER]

I looked at both Dinan and ACS because both offer warranties on the Drivetrain with their product. I went with ACS because of the great deal that I got with them and they were local (ACS Aachen Germany) to me at the time.

If you are considering Dinan you should look at ACS. Here is the link to my thread on ACS that posts my Dyno numbers stock and with ACS.

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1249887 scroll down about 3 or 4 posts for the second Dynos numbers.

M3 Stock at the crankshaft 475 HP
M3 Stock at the wheels - 405 HP
M3 Stock TQ: 451

M3 ACS tuner module at the crankshaft - 529 HP
M3 ACS tuner module at the wheels - 458 HP
M3 ACS tuner module TQ - 512

If you have severe warranty concerns but also do want better performance, then Dinan or ACS are really your only 2 options.

Good Luck.

[NOLATom]

Originally Posted by AIRPOWER

I looked at both Dinan and ACS because both offer warranties on the Drivetrain with their product. I went with ACS because of the great deal that I got with them and they were local (ACS Aachen Germany) to me at the time.

If you are considering Dinan you should look at ACS. Here is the link to my thread on ACS that posts my Dyno numbers stock and with ACS.

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1249887 scroll down about 3 or 4 posts for the second Dynos numbers.

M3 Stock at the crankshaft 475 HP
M3 Stock at the wheels - 405 HP
M3 Stock TQ: 451

M3 ACS tuner module at the crankshaft - 529 HP
M3 ACS tuner module at the wheels - 458 HP
M3 ACS tuner module TQ - 512

If you have severe warranty concerns and also do want better performance than Dinan or ACS are really your only 2 options.

Good Luck.

I just looked at the CS website earlier today. I saw a post about it having the fastest track time on bmwblog and googled them. I was trying to decipher exactly what they meant by warranty on their website. It had a few statements that weren't clear to me, but if I understand you correctly, you are saying they offer the same warranty protection as Dinan?

On their site, they claim a gain from 431 to 510 hp.

[brianplee]

I am pleased with the Dinan Stage 3 but have yet to get it on track after the upgrade (too much rain). I will be instructing at Laguna Seca March 4-5 and hope to test it out with track tires. I also have the Dinan coilovers and linkages.

This is my second Dinan M Car. I also had an e36 Dinan S3 (supercharged, Dinan suspension) that was installed at 10,000 miles. It had 120,000 miles when I sold it. I did have a few superchargers fail (belts wore out) and Dinan replaced it each time under warranty. Other than the supercharger issues the car was bulletproof and used for 6-10 track weekends a year for more than 6 years.

[LOW4LYF]

Originally Posted by Irishace

If you have warranty concerns do not mod your car, period. You may as well light your money on fire if you are considering Dinan as a legitimate performance option in comparison to true aftermarket options.

The performance increase is laughable and the price tag is even more ridiculous. Do your research on Dinan, there are many cases where Dinan have walked away from their warranty obligations.

Lol... I'm guessing you get paid by the company in your profile picture

You always get what you paid for! Never heard something bad about Dinan Stage 3 here in Forum, but heard a lot negative about bench flashes

It's not only about HP... it's the whole package ... and there is a reason why companies like Dinan or AC Schnitzer charge more then the Garage Companies

[TR930]

Originally Posted by Ilikemike

Thanks, explosive sounds good, but it sounds like you have not had a chance to drive it in dry warm weather, are you running winter tires at the moment?

I have driven it in warm weather, just not hot weather. The car is very fast, you will not beat awd cars off the line though, traction is difficult. Car pulls hard 3-5 once hooked up. I suspect the heat exchanger will make the car more consistent in the summer but I will find that out soon enough.
Stage 1 was noticeable over stock, stage 2 and stage 3 were progressively the same. You can switch maps too at a stop to try and feel the differences yourself. I will get a dyno up on a couple of months to show the progressive gains.

[packetpilot]

I've only had the Stage 3 tune for about four days; it's my first from Dinan. I've had APR Stg1 and Cobb Stg2+ tunes in the past on a 2.0 TSI and N54, respectively.

This is not at all like those. There's no "wall of boost" that prompts a "holy effing sheeeeeeeet" when you drop the hammer.

The power is certainly there, but it's delivered in a subtler fashion. This lends itself to those who track a lot, and want to leave the tune on, without it causing the chassis to get out of shape. Some might say the tune is "more refined" in its power delivery. Some might say it's "weak"... but it depends what you're after.

Ignoring any and all warranty facets for the purpose of Driver Experience comparison:

If you rip around on canyon runs frequently and want to be able to put the power down in a controllable fashion, the Dinan Stage 3 is the tune for you. If you want to keep 295 or narrower non-track-focused tires on your car and still have traction while exiting a turn, this is the tune for you. If you track a decent bit, especially on racetracks that aren't laden with rather long straights, then this is the tune for you.

If you don't have any canyons nearby and live in areas where nearly all of your turns are right angles, with the occasional on-/off-ramp fun, then that boost wall you'll find in non-Dinan tunes is going to impress your friends and freeway rolling-drag competition a bit more. Do be aware that this wall doesn't just slam into your adrenal gland and butt dyno, but through your entire drivetrain as well. Also, that boost wall comes with a pretty twitchy throttle. Better buy a pair of Vibrams or Toms and learn how to roll on with toes only, when it counts.

If you're after quarter-mile times, then the Dinan would be a silly choice.

My $0.02, after a handful of days.

[AIRPOWER]

Originally Posted by NOLATom

I just looked at the CS website earlier today. I saw a post about it having the fastest track time on bmwblog and googled them. I was trying to decipher exactly what they meant by warranty on their website. It had a few statements that weren't clear to me, but if I understand you correctly, you are saying they offer the same warranty protection as Dinan?

On their site, they claim a gain from 431 to 510 hp.

ACS gives a 2 year warranty that caps out at 30K euro. There are also some significant "safety" features built in that I'm sure Dinan has as well like it only kicks in when normal oil temp is reached and the power delivery is not off the line. You can see the delivery in the Dyno chart on my thread.

And yes they claim 510HP but typically you get a little more like I do.

I can attach. Copy of my warranty card if you want.

[hova00]

With the power levels that Dinan claim for the stage 3 it should be fast no matter what.

Drag strip, road course, back roads all should show elevated levels of performance over stock but all we get is individuals giving there opinions without #'s.

Dinan as a reputable company should gather all relevant performance data that a prospective customer would want to see including stock whp, 1/4 mile, and data logs and compare them to their staged upgrades. Dinan owners tend to shy away from the dyno possibly because it won't make as much power as they would deem satisfactory for the expense.

I have only driven 1 Stage 2 Dinan F80 M3 and my comp. pack M3 felt faster.

[Brasko]

Originally Posted by AIRPOWER

I looked at both Dinan and ACS because both offer warranties on the Drivetrain with their product. I went with ACS because of the great deal that I got with them and they were local (ACS Aachen Germany) to me at the time.

If you are considering Dinan you should look at ACS. Here is the link to my thread on ACS that posts my Dyno numbers stock and with ACS.

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1249887 scroll down about 3 or 4 posts for the second Dynos numbers.

M3 Stock at the crankshaft 475 HP
M3 Stock at the wheels - 405 HP
M3 Stock TQ: 451

M3 ACS tuner module at the crankshaft - 529 HP
M3 ACS tuner module at the wheels - 458 HP
M3 ACS tuner module TQ - 512

If you have severe warranty concerns and also do want better performance than Dinan or ACS are really your only 2 options.

Good Luck.

Those are some solid numbers. I was looking into a Hamann and Dinan originally, but this has got me thinking.

Thanks for sharing!