bobster52

I am going to wait to decide whether to mod my car as far boost/ecu goes. I was one of the guys who built the WRX's when they first came out. That was different because the cost of replacing a short block was cheap, we almost always upgraded the turbo and we knew we were voiding the waranty the day we started all of the mods. The N54 engine is extremely easy to hop up, a JB2 cost $379 and 45 minutes of your time and you have a really fast car but it will void the waranty if there is an issue that could be related to the mod. The Dinan flash is no different. BMW will void waranty covg and you will have to rely on Dinan. Here is a couple examples; You develop a wastegate actuator problem, with the flash BMW will probably deny repair and you will have to go to Dinan for help. Well there is a service bulletin out for this problem so Dinan might also deny. You could be stuck in the middle. Let's say you develop a tranny problem or clutch problem, is Dinan going to pay? Because I'm pretty sure BMW is going to deny because of the increased power. I think the 335 guys are going to push these issues going forward and BMW will likely get like subaru and become very defensive about waranty issues on modded turbo cars. i am going to wait and see where all of this goes for the next 6 months. Once you flash your car I think it will be marked and that could have a profound effect on resale value. I guess the bottom line is how much do you trust Dinan now and for the term of your new car waranty.

The problem with wear and tear on turbos has to do with increased boost at high rpm levels. One reason our cars are strong on the bottom end is the small turbos and that is the same reason they fall off up top. You can push more boost up top but it is hard on the turbos and relatively inefficient due to the heat. If you install larger turbos you develop turbo lag but they will be much stronger up top. The way I think of it is that you don't really want to run your turbo at it's absolute max and when you are pushing 14-15 psi with our cars you are probably doing that. One area that we should be careful about is aftermarket exhaust systems. Technically when you reduce back preasure on a turbo engine it lets the turbo spin up quicker. If BMW starts having turbo life problems on these cars it would not suprise me if they use exhaust systems to deny waranties. Now if BMW performance comes out with their own system like subaru does then they will have a hard time denying waranties when comparable systems are used.

Just my 2 cents,

Bob

chipsroy

well, my car is still at the shop. they are going to replace the turbo also. the only sad thing is that i'm driving around in a light blue 3 series wagon.

chipsroy

pennetta

I have had the Dinan software since the end of January. Its great and well worth the money. There is an understanding between Dinan and BMW, Dinan covers anything that BMW doesn't for 4yrs/50,000 miles including consequential damages. My dealer said that the relationship is very effective where BMW covers most things as normal but if something is caused by the increase in boost, then Dinan pays.
Remember in addition to increasing boost, Dinan also increases the performance of the water pump to offset the increase in heat the engine puts out (they can do this because its electronic), they also require you to have an oil cooler (all 535 have it stock, some 335's do not) so their mods seem very well thought out.
I drive my car sportingly and haven't blown up anything in two months and I don't think I ever will.

DFWRaider

Thanks to everyone for their input here.

Pennetta, I had already read some of your previous posts which have motivated me to have this installed once I get past my break-in period. Any idea what your 0-60 time is?

pennetta

Did not do any timed runs before or after. I can't find it now but the 335i ran 4.5 secs after the Dinan flash, the 335i weighs only 200 lbs less than the 535i. At this power level its now more about getting traction than getting more power. It would be a nice option to get the varilok differential.

bobster52

i think 535i 0-60 times are about .2/sec greater than equally tuned 335i's. With the extra HP of the flash the 535i will hook up better and it runs a lower rear end ratio that more than offsets the taller rear tires. Put a 200lb guy in the passenger seat of the 335i and you've got a race. Check out dragtimes.com for 335i times.

chipsroy

well, got my car back from the dealer after a month and and new turbo. i love bmw, the service is great. i'm off to get my car re-flashed so i can get the car running like it's supposed to .

DFWRaider

So this might expose me as the ignorant guy I am, but what did your car do when the turbo blew and realized there was a problem?

535xiT

My 535xiT was delivered two weeks ago and went to the local authorized Dinan BMW dealer for the ECU upgrade. After two hours of trying to upgrade they were unsuccessful. Dinan told them that my car was too new and that perhaps the April 11th upgrade to the program will work. Didn't know there was such a big difference in ECU's on this engine.

Anyway keep the impressions coming and I'll add mine post upgrade.

Bad Bimr I'd like to know where you get your information about warranties. This is not what Dinan or BMW have to say on the matter. Please post your source for your comments. Thanks.