Are you sure you weren't pressing the brake? It doesn't take any special expertise to drive a turbo car, sounds like there is something wrong with the car you drove. Mine never had ANY lag before or after the Dinan upgrade. You could be confused by the silky smoothness of the 6 compared to the V8, the 6 just pulls with no peaks or valleys in the torque curve which is found in normally aspirated engine.

 

Thought you had the math right, just wanted to make sure. The 535 is a great car and I thought long and hard before making my choice. In the end it was the wheels and M aero package that I liked on the 550 that won me over. But these are mods you can add to the 535 as well if you liked. Being a fan of instant gratification, I didn't want to go through the process of ordering the car, ordering parts, getting parts painted and installed after delivery. Happy to pay a small premium for the hassle free choice of not dealing with the mods.

Sounds like the 535 is the choice for you. Enjoy the new car!

 

There may be a .1 after the number. Right after I got the car I took it in for the upgrade and they screwed around for a couple of hours and couldn't get the software to load. They talked to Dinan who told them that there were a couple of changes in the ECU since the first version of the their software came out and to wait for the next upgrade. Dinan upgrades the software package every month on and it's available at their dealers on the 10th. So back I went this month and presto the software downloaded with no problems.

To the best of my knowledge it's still 384 and 421. And I do notice turbo lag. Kicks in around 3500 rpm or so. Reminds me of my 1988 Porsche 930 turbo ... car came on like a rocket ship when the turbo spooled up. A bit scary in corners.

 

Much different experience than I had. The 535 and 550 are virtually the same in straight line acceleration and the turbo lag is basically non-existant. The biggest difference I noticed between the two is that the ttI6 doesn't have the deep growl of the V8. My previous car was a 2005 545, and the 535 is both quicker and handles better.

When you add the Dinan flash, the 535 is a beast and blows away the stock 550 in performance. It still doesn't have the V8 growl, but IMO that becomes a moot point after feeling the torque of the 535. I did notice a little turbo lag after the Dinan flash though -- the acceleration is definitely not linear but kicks in with a vengeance after about 3500-4000 rpm.

 

TORQUE RULES

 

Here we go again...

 

Clearly it's a topic that is still on people's minds. Probably won't go away until the ttV8 differentiates the two cars.

 

Very true, but until snowboarder chimed in, it was a rather unbiased discussion of the attributes, pro and con of the two cars. Now it has returned to my dick is bigger than your dick.

For example, take your statement: "When you add the Dinan flash, the 535 is a beast and blows away the stock 550 in performance." I would not define the the performance difference as "blowing away" a 550. Sure, the software upgrade gets the 535 to 550 type performance levels and maybe even tops a bit, but not blows it away. Now if you were talking about bang for your buck in terms of value, you're a bit better ground but again, not blowing away.

They are both great cars. Let's just keep it to what we like about our various cars without the need to talk down other peoples individual purchase decisions...

Not trying to stir a fight, just my $0.02...

 

Have you driven both? I have.

A stock 535 is already at 550 type performance levels, which is why the 535 vs 550 debate started in the first place. A Dinan'd 535 does indeed blow away a 550 from a performance standpoint. That doesn't mean the 550 isn't a great car (it is), but the OP is trying to make a determination. As someone who has experience with both cars I gave my opinion.

I don't think anyone turned it into a p*ssing match until now.

 

No I have not, and never claimed otherwise. Define "blow away" for me? That is my point. I don't know this but what are the times for a Dinan 535 and a 550? I would not call a Dinan 535 doing 0-60 in 5.1 (or what ever the number is) vs. a 550 doing it in 5.3 blowing away. I just made up those numbers but how about some hard data instead of "blows away".

And my apologies, as I said I'm not trying to start another pissing match! You're right, I have always said both are great cars, different strokes for different folks. I just found the blow away comment without any factual backing a bit inflammatory, just as snowboarders comment was.