Help Me Decide - Dinan Upgrade on New X5 50i

[Btcus]

Originally Posted by Brian425

I am getting about 12mpg in NYC driving, mainly city driving. I know another member here getting a bit less than 10mpg.

I had it about 8 months before I did the tune. Basically, I waited until a sale. I expect to do the intercoolers and Stage 4 during the next sale. I am still considering downpipes.

Honestly, I have never left a vehicle stock. I mod everything to make more horsepower. I came close to buying an X5M; but, I could not comfortably swing the extra $$ at the time. I buy all my vehicles and keep them a while, so once out of warranty, I hope to be experimenting with bigger turbos, injectors, etc, etc.

It's an addiction.

Good perspective. My Dinan rep told me that the intercooler would make the chip function smoother so i would want to install that if i decide on a chip upgrade.

The problem is that the current 15% discount ends at the end of the month. Dinan said I could buy now and instal later so I may go that route saving a $G.

The main debate I have going on in my noggin is the question of do I REALLY want 520 horsepower? After all it comes stock with 400.

In your opinion do you use those extra 120 horses on a regular basis and are they noticeable?

[Brian425]

Originally Posted by Btcus

Good perspective. My Dinan rep told me that the intercooler would make the chip function smoother so i would want to install that if i decide on a chip upgrade.

The problem is that the current 15% discount ends at the end of the month. Dinan said I could buy now and instal later so I may go that route saving a $G.

The main debate I have going on in my noggin is the question of do I REALLY want 520 horsepower? After all it comes stock with 400.

In your opinion do you use those extra 120 horses on a regular basis and are they noticeable?

The main benefit of intercoolers is to reduce the intake temperature. This will net you a small HP gain. The other key benefit is a more consistent vehicle.

I use the HP everyday. Everyday, there is a chance to really lay into it. It makes me smile. The Stage 2 really improves low end power and makes passing from 60-100 a blast. In my opinion, this is the way the vehicle should have been delivered.

[BeamerandBimmer]

Originally Posted by Brian425

The main benefit of intercoolers is to reduce the intake temperature. This will net you a small HP gain. The other key benefit is a more consistent vehicle.

I use the HP everyday. Everyday, there is a chance to really lay into it. It makes me smile. The Stage 2 really improves low end power and makes passing from 60-100 a blast. In my opinion, this is the way the vehicle should have been delivered.

Where in NYC can you go 60-100mph? I have plenty of opportunity to use the 440hp BMW gave me because I live in the sticks. If I had not gotten the Performance Package I would be all over the Dinan packages. One of the things I love the most about this 4.4tt v8 is the 480 #ft of torque. Beats the 380 in my 500hp V10 in daily "in town" driving.

[BeamerandBimmer]

BTW I'm averaging 18.8mpg with an average speed of 44mph over the last 3000 miles.

[Brian425]

There are plenty of places to go from 60-100. The hard thing is finding the places for 125-150. ;-)

[Car_Girl]

Something else to consider is that the 'fun to drive' feeling comes from a well calibrated system which has a relatively high degree of torque on the low end with a good throttle response curve. You can get a relatively inexpensive tune and get a lot more pleasure out of the 'off the light' feeling than if you plop a whole lotta cash into a whole lotta system.

I drove the X5M and was prepared to drop a big chunk of cash on a brand new one but honestly, it was a major disappointment. I really expected to feel a MAJOR difference when driving it. It was such a disappointment, I told my husband not to bother coming out to check out the vehicle. It would have been a waste of his time. Immediately, I turned my focus to the 5.0i with the M Performance Package after driving the stock 5.0i without it which I was already impressed by compared to the X5M and that's what I decided on for my dd.

But when I jumped behind the wheel of my X5 5.0i with the Performance Package the day I picked it up, the amount of peppiness it had off the line brought a huge smile to my face. That's something the X5M was missing. And I really can't believe the X5M felt so heavy like it took a while before the big ponies kicked in. I wouldn't call it laggy. I'd simply call it uneventful. I'm SOOOOOO glad I didn't go for the big HP numbers. If I had gone sheerly by specs and ignored the torque / throttle response calibration, I would be disappointed in a $100K purchase as I type. But instead, I went with a highly optioned 5.0i and I have zero regrets. The 440hp and the tune of the M Performance Package gave me everything I was hoping for and then some.

Before you make your purchase of the Dinan package, see if you can find an X5M to test drive if you haven't driven one already and don't fall in love with the Dinan specs until you've convinced yourself that the mods are worth the money. You're buying yourself bragging rights and high performance but you could be disappointed in the lacking 'fun to drive' feeling if the calibration isn't set in a way that gives you the quickness off the get-go. Better yet, if you know someone who already has the Dinan upgrade on an equally equipped vehicle, maybe you can drive it to see for yourself?

By the way, on the mpg issue - I'm getting around 14.6 combined city / hwy with only 400 miles on the clock and I'll need to refuel tomorrow. I've been watching it improve from the initial 10mpg that I saw on the display when I picked up the vehicle last week. It's a trend in the right direction anyway. I'm hoping to get around 15.5 to 16 ultimately.