530iii

Anyone see the K&N carbon fiber ramcharger for the E60? It also says Gruppe M on the side.



I saw it on www.bmw5.net

ipse dixit

Yeah, both GruppeM and K&N have CAI for the E60 - but IIRC both are more expensive than the Dinan model. I believe Conforti also came out with a cone for the E60.

Also, FWIW, the money spent on the CAI is not worth the (purported) hp gains. Something like $150/hp ... even using the manufacturer's advertised hp gains. That's quite a bit of $$ for minimal gains that you won't even notice.

Also, be aware that even if the hp gains are true, there may be a considerable loss in low-end torque. So it's a trade-off. Higher overall hp? Or lower hp band, but higher torque curve?

For my money (and for daily driving), I'll take the latter any day.

Happy shopping and modding.

stream

Agreed. Most won't notice any power gains...perhaps an increase in intake sound...but is that really worth the $$? :thumbsdown:

EuroCarFan

Dinan claims a 17hp increase with just their CAI alone. They're a highly regarded tuner so I don't think their claims are exaggerated.

znod

We'll see. I trust Dinan, and the figures look good:

Peak Horsepower Gain: 17 @ 6500 rpm

Peak Torque: 339 @ 4000 rpm (I think this value should be 343; apparently, Dinan added 14 to 325 (HP) rather than to 330 (max torque before the CAI)

Peak Torque Gain: 14 lb/ft @ 6500 rpm

Besides the HP gain, the torque gain probably will be decent across a pretty wide RPM range. In this regard, I am confused, however, when Dinan says "Peak Torque: 343 [corrected by me] @ 4000 rpm, but also says "Peak Torque Gain: 14 lb/ft @ 6500 rpm." Does anyone have any thoughts? I am hoping that the implication is, as I infer, a decent torque gain across a wide, and the most important, RPM range.

I have no idea what the other company's are claiming or what their prices are. I like the Dinan warranty and don't mind paying "too much" for Dinan's parts to get it. Also, the Dinan CAI looks very good. Have you seen the pic on the CAI that Dinan has added?

EuroCarFan

I can't comment on the torque power band but as for the looks, I think the Gruppe M looks probably the best. I saw the newly added picture of the Dinan CAI on their website also. It looks nice as well.

Slightly off topic, anyone know when Dinan will have their ECU remap/patch completed for the E60?

znod

Who knows? It looks like the MAF is next, but I can't be sure of course. And, yes, Gruppe M does very nice work. I like the two CA intake hoses on the Dinan, but Gruppe M, for example, may do the same thing.

ipse dixit

Really? You should talk to some of the irate Z8 owners about how they feel about Dinan, or better yet the E39 M5 owners who decided to do the S2-M5 Dinan upgrade and how Dinan played "the huh? what hp gains" story ...

Not bashing anyone here, just warning all the good folks not to believe everything you read, hear, see, etc., when it comes to modding, even with a brand name like Dinan.

Jeffs

hmmm...I went on the K&N filter website....which one is for the E60??
http://www.knfilters.com/kits.htm

EuroCarFan

Really? You should talk to some of the irate Z8 owners about how they feel about Dinan, or better yet the E39 M5 owners who decided to do the S2-M5 Dinan upgrade and how Dinan played "the huh? what hp gains" story ...

Not bashing anyone here, just warning all the good folks not to believe everything you read, hear, see, etc., when it comes to modding, even with a brand name like Dinan.
[/quote]

Interesting read. Thanks for sharing ipse. I completely agree that we all should be smart and take a grain of salt with every claim from every tuner. I guess I should restate my comment to read that "they're a RELATIVELY highly regarded tuner..." I'm sure there are lots of other Dinan customers who are extremely happy with their products. Every company will have their share of good and bad feedbacks.

Getting back to the CAI discussion, I think I would still prefer the Dinan CAI at $1000 than the Gruppe M CAI at $1300-$1500 (I forgot the actual cost). Anybody know the claimed power gain of the Gruppe M CAI?

I followed their application chart and it only showed the filter element for the 525, 530 and 545. Actuall, it shows a Kit fo the 525 but it doesn't look like it comes with the tubing.