Pros and Cons of adding Dinan S3 to 4.6is - Page 2

bigfish · #11 09-23-2006, 02:11 PM

So far my X has stood the test of time. The Dinan people I spoke with said that the transmission and diff are over built by BMW and can stand up to the addtional stress. Dinan also puts fairly mild parameters in when they tune a BMW. They are looking to keep the car capable as a daily driver and not put so much stress as to start breaking things and incurring costs warrantying stuff left and right.

My sense is that their is some room between the way my car is currently set up and the point at witch it would start breaking things like the Trany, diff & axles. The hard part, the fun part is finding that happy medium!

As far as the comment regarding "why not get a sports car?" I have had several as well as bikes including a GSXR 750RR (w/dry clutch, had it re-jetted, re-piped, added steering dampener, upgraded breaks, tires, blah, blah etc..) which I had a lot of fun riding, however my X5 is my daily driver and I love driving it during my day (I am in sales and I'm on the road often). Plus it is such a sleeper that know one is looking for a 456hp SUV in their rear view mirror!

If I can take something amazing like an X5 and make it better, then that's half the fun! I'd love to see just what is possible with this X5 platform! Who knows maybe 600hp & 500fpt?? I will keep you all posted.

Bigfish

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kirkX5m · #12 09-23-2006, 02:26 PM

Pros
- 450 hp and big boost in torque, especially at low-end

ITS AMAZING!
- nicer (throatier) sound ESPECIALLY THE WHISTLING!!!!!
- Doesn't dramatically alter exterior appearance of the vehicle XCEPT FOR THE BADGE!
- Even with this add-on, I'd be way ahead financially vs. buying a new X5 and modifying it to comparable performance level

Cons
- Cost (15K+ Ouch!) MORE THAN THAT, ADD INSTALLATION
- Wear and tear - is the suspension/transmission, etc. of the stock 4.6is up to handling that additional power? I HAD TO REPLACE MY TRANNY ONCE ALREADY. BUT ANOTHER STOCK 4.6 FRIEND OF MINE ALSO REPLACED HIS, SO I DONT THINK THAT WAS LINKED TO THE BLOWER ADD ON.
- Doesn't dramatically alter exterior appearance of the vehicle
- Resale - rumor is that people don't like to buy used X5's with Dinan kits because they assume the car has been driven aggressively by prior owner[/QUOTE] NOT TRUE, I BABY THIS CAR LIKE NO OTHER. I BEAT UP ON THE BEATER 330 H A HA HA HA HA

AS FOR THE ESS KIT YES ITS CHEAPER BUT IF YOUR CAR IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY I WOULD GO WITH THE DINAN KIT. MY FRIEND HAD ESS BLOWER ON HIS 540 AND 40K MILES LATER, HE SOLD THE CAR, HAD TOO MANY ISSUES...IM ABOUT 30K MILES INTO MY DINAN S3 AND NO SUCH ISSUES....ON ANOTHER NOTE, IF YOU ASK ME IF I WOULD DO IT AGAIN, I WOULD SAY NO. ITS BEEN A GREAT EXPERIENCE TO ADD ON THE SUPERCHARGER TO THE CAR ( I WENT FROM S2 TO S3). BUT I THNK ITS JUST BEST THINKING TO BUY A CAR THAT CAN BE THE BEST IT CAN BE OUT OF THE BOX AND THE DEALER'S LOT. ADD COSMETICS ADD AUDIO VIDEO BUT LEAVE THE ENGINE ALONE....JUST MY 2 CENTS

GMGX5 · #13 09-23-2006, 02:37 PM

I have installed both and found the Dinan to be superior in support and fit and finish, Getting parts from ESS is weeks of waiting. Ess always seems to set off the check engine light while Dinan did not. I also noticed the ESS seemed to have quite a vibration under full throttle.

PeteM · #14 09-23-2006, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMGX5

I have installed both and found the Dinan to be superior in support and fit and finish, Getting parts from ESS is weeks of waiting. Ess always seems to set off the check engine light while Dinan did not. I also noticed the ESS seemed to have quite a vibration under full throttle.

How long ago did you install the ESS? Was it for the X5? What did they say caused the warning light and did you resolve it? And more importantly what did they say about the vibration?

GMGX5 · #15 09-23-2006, 08:16 PM

They are always trying to blame the installer or coming up with software fixes that dont work, but it was 2.5 years ago. The Dinan system can be adjusted and tuned by the installer and if that fails with a few print outs from a bmw DIS machine they can tell where it is running rich or lean and make a modified software download to compensate for different engine characteristics. For my money Dinan is the only way to go in North America. European and American cars are different in there emission
equipment etc. which is where I believe they were having issues.

GMGX5 · #16 09-23-2006, 08:19 PM

For the record I installed a E38 740 ESS unit which I took off and installed a Dinan unit. I did a 4.4 X5 which had the vibration and check engine light problems and A z3 that the customer almost drove it thru the showroom window he was so frustrated...

Curtis · #17 09-23-2006, 10:34 PM

Either kit from Dinan or ESS should run fine on your 4.6is. If you have any intentions of going for the S/C I would skip the Dinan S2 in as much as the CAI from the S2 is not compatible with the S3 S/C instalation. The X5 is very durable and I have had no engine or driveline issues. To date I have 80,000 miles on an ESS S/C with over 106,000 total on the X. They have been very hard miles too!

SeattleYates · #18 09-25-2006, 12:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dinanaholic

The Dinan S2 package will bring his 4.6 up to around 370 HP which is exactly what I currently have. . . .if you want to meet on the Eastside on weekend I'll let you drive my rig then you can see for yourself if it is enough. . .If I had to do it over again I'd go with the supercharger out of the box as this is exactly what I am saving for now...

Just to follow up, Dinanaholic did indeed meet me and I drove his rig (which is absolutely gorgeous, BTW - a shining example of what love and attention can do to make and keep an X5 looking "better than new"!

). While his black sapphire beauty (with the Dinan S2) sounds a little thoatier than my stock 4.6is, and seems to shift slightly more smoothly (undoubtedly due to the Dinan software), there is negligible difference in power, from what I can tell -- just as Dinanaholic told me there would be. I guess that shouldn't be surprising, considering that the increase in power is only about 10%.

Based on this experience, I'm thinking that, although the S2 is significantly less expensive than the S3, it's still a lot of money...so I'm going to (as both Dinanaholic and Curtis have suggested) consider skipping the S2, and either get the S3 package or just the supercharger--and perhaps the strut tower brace to firm up handling -- instead. (Thanks again, Dinanaholic, for taking time to chat with me and let me "test drive" your baby!)

GMGX5 · #19 09-25-2006, 12:54 AM

Good choice, from all the ess,asa,ert and Dinan S/C's I have installed I always end up with Dinan. You wont be sorry...

ESS4.6is · #20 09-25-2006, 10:21 PM

I chose the ESS kit. Either one you chose will deliver decent power. I liked the power gains, but eventually down sized the pulley and had it custom tuned. Installed some minor transmission modifications and left it at that. I do have check engine lights come on every so often due to a failing injector (needs to be upgraded) or from emissions, but other than that I have no complaints with the ESS kit (easily upgradable). I've had a dinan kit on a 5 series before and it is a solid kit as well. The X5 is capabable of maybe 600bhp but the costs and probelms associated with getting it into that range is quite high. If your looking to build a really fast SUV, I would not choose the X5, likely choose the Trailblazer SS.

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