More Power

[CharlieHustleX5]

I will say with the upgrades I currently have, my x5 reacts better even if the overall increase is minimal in numbers. I do notice the car accelerate much stronger throughout the range between shift points. I dont know if its what you're looking for, but maybe you need to feel the difference and not stare too hard at the increase of power numbers?

[sprocket1200]

Charlie is spot on. increasing maximum hp doesn't make it better. making it usable will be more real world.

[wallyx5]

We have discussed this issue before and there is really very little you can do to get more HP out of these engines. Dinan is a waste of money for the little return you get. I opinion is buy a 4.4,4.6,or 4.8. I wished I would have done this. That being said this is what I have done so far.

AFe cold air intake
X pipe
Turner pulleys ( this one made the biggest difference you could feel)

I am going to buy stainless headers, and finish my exhaust so I will report back after that is done.

Or you could spend 6,000 and buy a supercharger which will give you around 350 HP or just buy a 4.4.

[CharlieHustleX5]

Originally Posted by wallyx5

We have discussed this issue before and there is really very little you can do to get more HP out of these engines. Dinan is a waste of money for the little return you get. I opinion is buy a 4.4,4.6,or 4.8. I wished I would have done this. That being said this is what I have done so far.

AFe cold air intake
X pipe
Turner pulleys ( this one made the biggest difference you could feel)

I am going to buy stainless headers, and finish my exhaust so I will report back after that is done.

Or you could spend 6,000 and buy a supercharger which will give you around 350 HP or just buy a 4.4.

I think the only thing that makes the Dinan package unappealing is the exhaust kit they include in it. Thats the bulk of the package price and provides the least improvement of all. I dont think the 3.0 has a huge problem with power, its just not a beast like its 4 liter counterparts. IMO, its not about how much total HP your engine can produce, its how effective the power is utilized at the times you want it. The Dinan package does make a noticeable difference, more apparent once you're rolling as opposed to off the line from a dead stop.

I've been really interested in pulleys though for the x5. Did you just order a e46 pully set or do they have an e53 set specifically made for that application?

[wallyx5]

Originally Posted by CharlieHustleX5

I've been really interested in pulleys though for the x5. Did you just order a e46 pully set or do they have an e53 set specifically made for that application?

Go to Turner Motor Sports.com they have a set just for the e53. This upgrades provided the best bang for the buck.

[CharlieHustleX5]

Originally Posted by wallyx5

Go to Turner Motor Sports.com they have a set just for the e53. This upgrades provided the best bang for the buck.

I checked right after I posted and surprise surprise, they actually did have one. Thanks for the heads up!

Question - When you ordered your set, were you refunded the 61 dollars for sending the alternator pulley you didn't use back to them? Or is 250 the price and that note regarding the refund for returning the pulley not applicable to the e53??

[wallyx5]

Originally Posted by CharlieHustleX5

I checked right after I posted and surprise surprise, they actually did have one. Thanks for the heads up!

Question - When you ordered your set, were you refunded the 61 dollars for sending the alternator pulley you didn't use back to them? Or is 250 the price and that note regarding the refund for returning the pulley not applicable to the e53??

The final cost is $ 250.00 once you return the unused pulley. So 250+61=311 shipped and then you mail it back in the box they give you. It's real simple and they quickly credit you the money.

This is a must upgraded for 3.0 guys that want some performance out of their X. What i noticed the most was how much more quickly it would reach 110 from 60.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by secretaznsauce

throw a turbo on there

While that's the FIRST thing I would do I purchased an X5 3.0 5spd before I bought my 7, but in regards to the OP, a turbo kit isn't very warranty friendly.

Sobi has an AFE cold air intake for sale in the For Sale forums, which costs less than the $$Dinan$$ version, and neither have been proven to produce more or less horsepower compared to each other, so why pay more? Powerchips offer software upgrades that will give more power than the conservative tunes that $$Dinan$$ is known for offering. Just about any aftermarket software for the most part won't cause warranty issues unless you actually tell them about it, and the CAI is easy enough to swap back and forth if you ever need to take your 3.0 into the stealership for servicing.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by faz

I would like to get more power too (for obvious reasons) but everything that I have read so far about Dinan stuff doesn't seem to be worth the $$$/hp gain. May be since my frame of reference is motorcycle world and bang for the buck ratio is much higher in that world than it is here with X5??

100%. Coming from 3 motorcycles, and great tuner vehicles like my old MR2 Turbo, RX7 Twin Turbo (had two of them) and F350 Turbo Diesel (two of them also), it's absolutely absurd to spend upwards of $1000 on $$Dinan$$ stuff to get a measily 10-15hp!! IMHO, their stuff for the most part is a complete waste of money, and the people who push it the most either have a personally vested interest because they have to justify in their mind and wallet that they spent so much money for such little dyno proven HP gain, or simply because to the BMW nieve that once someone mentions $$Dinan$$, that they suddenly assume it's some super car. $$Dinan$$ just did a good job of marketing, and pricing their products so highly that lost of people won't buy the stuff makes people that actually do buy it, feel a little more exclusive. To me it's all smoke and screens...I learned that w/ my M5 dumping money w/ $$Dinan$$ before I finally saw the light and looked elsewhere to get the same/more gain w/o as much cash output.

Even while under warranty, $$Dinan$$ certainly isn't the only option...hell, BMW dealerships even dropped them so the dealerships could sell their own products. If $$Dinan$$ is the holy grail of BMW tuners, why would our own dealerships do that? There are plenty of aftermarket options that aren't permanent at all, give more gain and cost potentially thousands less. Personally I'd suggest going and getting HP mods from the people who mod the 3.0 the most out of anyone...the www.e46fanatics.com guys would be a good start.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by dragoncoach

I think selling is a little extreme. However, if you purchased a V-8 initally, the acquisition cost would have been higher, but adding mods can easily exceed the cost difference. I was initially going to purchase a 3.0 but ended up getting a 4.4. The extra horsepower comes in handy more often than you think. The OP said he only wished for more power once and a while, so I would just leave it stock and enjoy it. The cost/benefit wouldn't be worth it. Good Luck.

After coming around and considering the purchase of an X5 for the second time around, I thought about getting the 3.0 also. For the minor 1-2mpg difference, and pulling around 5000+lbs of SUV, the 4.4 was the only way to go unless I took the 3.0 the forced induction route. The 4.4 has more problems, so it's definately a tradeoff...love it when it's running perfectly, hate it when maintenance is due.