Dinan Upgrades
 

This is my first post. I am interested in hearing opinions of anyone that has done Dinan upgrades to their X3. I am going Monday to have the stage 2 programming and the Composite air induction system put in my 04 X3.

Dinan upgrades are designed to make any BMW a more powerful/track ready vehicle. The ideal application (from the mouth of a dealer/certified installer) is for a 3-series wannabe M3, 5-series wannabe M5, etc.

The X3 is not a track car, nor a performace car--in fact, stage one Dinan for an X3 is practically insignificant (only increases the the jumpiness of the throttle).

My suggestion would be to beef up your X3 with some exterior mods, like aluminum running boards, aero kit, etc. The Dinan company puts together a sweet package, but you own an SAV, not a coupe.

[QUOTE=rbensmithX3

The X3 is not a track car, nor a performace car--in fact, stage one Dinan for an X3 is practically insignificant (only increases the the jumpiness of the throttle).

[/QUOTE]

I beg to differ...I have used my X3 on the track and auto-x it regularly (with extremely impressive results). While not a dedicated race car it is totally competent in high performance situations!

However I do agree that the Dinan stuff is too expensive for the minimum return. Personally I would not do it.

I, too, beg to differ on the efficicacy of the free-flow intake (ferget the software unless you do a bunch of mods, i.e. free-flow exhaust, bigger throttle body).

I'd also add that given whut it is (the X3), it's pretty agile. I don't have the Sports Pkg, but I don't seem to have much trouble giving 'dancing lessons' to a lot of folks in supposedly 'sporty' cars in the hills around here.

I have had Autothority free-flow intakes on two of my previous BMW's (`87 325is, `96 328is) and in both cases, it provided much crisper throttle response and a very noticeable improvement in HP & torque. It wasn't huge, but it was a noticeable seat-of-the-pants improvement with a little better MPG to boot, and definately made the car more fun to drive. Oh, yeah, the induction 'honk' was lovely, too, like a 300# chainsaw yodeling;)

Bear in mind that these were just big K&N conical filters on a ~ 12" tube that mated with the airflow sensor (no cold air box/heatsielding) that breathed from behind the headlights that cost about $180-200 at the time.

The Dinan intake unit for the X3 has an enlarged airbox (heat shield) with a cold air pick-up from the left brake duct that should make for cool air & pretty free breathing. I'm going to use some of my Xmas $$ to put one on, I'll let you know, but I'm at 7000' in Santa Fe, and I'll take all the improved airflow I can get.

Best regards, M2

The stage two also increases redline by nearly 300 rpm's as well as quicker throttle response. The rep at Dinan was very helpful in describing what i could expect as well as offering a full refund if not satisfied. I will post again after it is installed Monday.

If you really want to get Dinan upgrades then now is the best time since they're offereing a 10% rebate.

I went today to Braman BMW in West Palm Beach. I am 2 hours plus from there and I had an 8:00 install time for my new mass air induction and stage 2 programming. Dinan even makes the appt. for you.They have recently insituted a new program where the dealer puts in a PO when you call Dinan and place the order for the upgrades. I was very impressed with the dealer. We are talking about red carpet treatment. Free cappaucino, danishes and Plasma screens in the customer lounge. I was there for several hours before we realized that my mass airflow kit did not ship as I had confirmed with Dinan on friday. My service advisor was embarassed, but very professional. I talked to Dinan and they were also very sorry. I am waiting to hear what they are goin to do to compensate me for the trip and travel. I did get some feedback from the people at the dealer. They said that they could not do the stage 2 programming without the mass airflow, but the results with other 3 series were worth the money and the wait(they had never modified and X3). You can be sure I will post what I think of the result of my 1100.00 investment in these upgrades. Braman is an experience in itself with respect to inventory, customer care and how they accomodate their customers. 5 star. I am disappointed because it was my birthday and my wife got me these mod's. I know Dinan will not let me down.