Vapiano

I am thinking of adding the following Dinan products below, based on what Dinan is telling me; I should expect to gain 30 HP & 33 ft/ lbs.TQ. This is not a ton of power, but the driveability and fun factor should go up based on the mods. Not looking to create a rocket ship here, just want a bit more snappiness, add a slight exhaust note and allow her to breathe better.

Anyone have any experience with the exact upgrades, what are your thoughts? Worth it?

Thanks.

Free Flow Exhaust

High Flow Intake System

Stage 3 Engine Software

High Flow Throttle Body

pjinca

It used to be worth it because Dinan had a relationship with BMWNA so their mods were covered under your warranty. That is no longer the case Dinan no longer at BMW Dealers - BMW M3 Forum (E90 E92)

So, since the parts are no longer covered under BMW warranty Dinan seems to me to be WAAAAAAY overpriced for their parts without that advantage.
Alternatives are:
RPI Exhaust
RPI ram air scoops with a homemade intake system https://5series.net/forums/diy-do-yo...ox-545i-64045/

You can choose the Dinan tune or someone else like ESS, or VF Engineering, etc

The high flow throttle body is the one that makes the least sense, in terms of performance gains it will be negligible.

Vapiano

I spoke with my dealer today and they still sale and install all Dinan products, from my understanding, once I add Dinan's parts they will pick up the warranty.

westsidebalto

Interesting. Because it certainly hasn't stopped BMW dealers from still being authorized Dinan dealers, despite how BMW AG may feel about it. I was in the dealership over Thanksgiving and they had a full Dinan display. That post is 4.5 years old too, so you would think BMW would have told the dealers to take a hike by now.

ETNav382

Pjinca, I read thru that topic and nothing has changed about the BMW/Dinan relationship. It was a person asking a question/stating what he read and people thought that something was changing.

jm545i

+1

OP I'd suggest you listen to answers to your original question, rather than uninformed Internet 'wisdom' coming from half-read off-topic blog posts.

I have all of the upgrades you mention (plus a couple more), and love them. If you are looking for the biggest bang for the buck, I'd probably skip the throttle body, but I haven't experienced the package without them. I am quite certain that the intake provides one of the biggest HP bumps, and also adds a fantastic though subtle intake sound when you get on it. Highly recommend.

The software eliminates the strange throttle response curve the factory afflicts us all with, and I highly recommend it, particularly if you have a manual.

I happen to love the exhaust note, and get complements on it all the time. I've heard more aggressive systems as well, and think they sound great also, YMMV.

Overall a great and balanced package.

Good luck.

Vapiano

Thanks jm 545i, this is the information that I am looking for. This will be my DD and I don't want to take it to the extreme. I am look for better performance, sound and throttle response. How do you like the strut braces?

pjinca

Let's be real, the 545 is worth MAYBE $15k today. If you are in the habit of spending money stupidly, then Dinan is the way to go. I, however, not being a moron, will not invest that much money (which adds little to no actual value to the car) for mods that can be had at half the price. With a 545 there is no warranty to worry about because almost nobody has one on their 545 at this point.

https://5series.net/forums/e60-parts...p-dinan-42403/

My car is very heavily modded, and at no point will I spend more than 10% of the value. Somethings don't make sense. A Dinan S5 (E60 M5 version) produced 650 HP, but was it really worth the extra $80k in the price? Um, no.
Dinan also make suspension products, which are really relabeled KW's, only because they say "Dinan" on them BAM!!! They cost a few hundred more than KWs.
If you're the type of person that needs to spend $200 o jeans, then Dinan parts are for you. If you're the type that realizes there's many ways to improve performance without spending money like you wipe your ass with it, then maybe looking for reasonable equivalents is the way to go.

Vapiano

pjinca, I appreciate your insight; but if someone makes an educated decision to move forward with Dinan how does this make them stupid? Yes, there are other combinations that extract absolute power from the 545i, that is not my intent as stated in my original post. Dinan may cost more, but they are a proven product for the BMW platform and offer a very nice integrated no worry package. My goal was to gather information and that is still the case.

I bought the 545i because my Honda Accord was boring as hell! I little spunk never hurt anyone, how you get there is all a matter of personal taste. BTW, I have a 5 yr./100,000 mi. extended warranty I purchased via my Credit Union to protect my investment. The car has 60k mi. on the clock at this point and I work from a home office, this will come in handy.

With regards to adding value to the car, most know that modding actually takes away value in most cases. Especially if you are trading it in at a dealer. How many mods in your signature do think add value to your car outside this forum? I don't think you modded to add value, you modded based on your personal taste and what you wanted. I will be doing the same.

I am not trying to start a war here, just making what I think is a valid point. I am new to this platform to some degree and I am on a fact finding mission.

I buy my jeans at Gap Outlet so I can mod!

pjinca

Very well stated points, and you are correct, we all (at least we should) mod to suit our own tastes. Good move getting the warranty. I apologize if I offended, just wasn't to pleased with the condescending tone of an earlier response.

I have owned 37 cars now (including 3 Honda Accords - 1 of which I raced on the SCCA), and modded all of them to varying degrees. I have always followed the philosophy of "value for performance", a lot of times the most expensive options look attractive and proven. However, there are many proven options out there that provide equal or better performance for better value. Most companies provide a warranty for their parts and most follow the same guidelines as Dinan: for BMW (or your warranty) to not cover something because of aftermarket parts they have to prove the aftermarket parts caused the problem.

BTW, outlet stores ROCK!!!