Dinan Supercharger owners...
 

Have you ever tossed a belt?

The previous owner must have had the tensioner installed wrong, or it is tweaked. It wants to make the belt ride off of the supercharger pulley.

I plan to:

- do a lazer alignment of supercharger, tensioner, and crank pulleys
- put torsional force on the tensioner arm to cause the pulley to be level (if it is not).
- start shimming things as a last resort.

Currently, the belt is off and I am driving with low engine load and low engine speed. (To prevent fuel dump.)

Momentum BMW in Houston, TX has done all prior Dinan work.

Meh... first week of ownership pains. Once I get this sorted, it's game on.

ohhh dear. Keep us posted.

:popcorn:

So yeah, one of the BMW "techs" in texas put too much torsional force on the tensioner arm. With an unlevel tensioner pulley, the belt will want to ride right off.

sigh...

The arm looks to have enough material to twist it back a few degrees, but I am concerned about metal fatigue. Anyhow James at Dinan said to go for it.

Here goes...

Oh... and holy crap @ the 41 page installation manual. That kit is no joke. Not hard stuff, but time consuming for sure.

Dinan SS
 

Hi, does it have the hidden front and rear laser detectors? Was this listed on Ebay just awhile ago? If so, I checked it out about eight months ago, was at a car dealer lot that sold mostly trucks. Just curious.

Yes, it is the same.

Any words of warning or wisdom?

Well.... too late now... already jumped into the deep end of the pool. Time to swim. :D

the manual is a joke....its just a close look at what needs done...
i just sold my blue s3 4.6 on ebay...CHEAP :( good dude picked it up though

can you get a new tensioner from dinan?
i wouldnt drive it at all, its gonna be hell on the cats....

Driving under low load/low RPM will not hurt anything with the supercharger offline. At MOST, the oil should be changed asap (possible fuel washdown past piston rings.)

So... here's what it looks like when a Dinan tensioner fails:

Note the uneven space between the rotating arm and the clockspring part of the tensioner.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...5/IMG_1102.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...5/IMG_1096.jpg

When the clockspring becomes worn with age, the tensioner gets loose in the fore to aft direction. This motion under load, compounded by the fact that the pulley is rounded (why did you use a rounded pully Dinan?!?) allows for the belt to fall off the front part of the tensioner. When that happens, it's a crapshoot to estimate what else will be damaged by the flying belt.

It's time to either:

A. Put the pulley on a lathe, and make it flat (for future use with the new tensioner.)
B. Source the pulley manufacturer, and fit a comparable one that has lips on the edges. (Like other S/C kits for domestic musclecars.)

For now, I have a new Dinan tensioner/pulley assembly on the X5, (Dinan part # D315-0315) and she's back to full power.

Hoping this helps someone else,

- an X5 noob

Glad u got it sorted :thumbup:

Thanks man, BMW does make a great product... very happy owner so far.

SC bought in Houston reply
 

Hi, I checked it out back in October '08. Seller was a middle eastern person and the owner of a used car lot, I felt his behavior was fishy on presenting the vehicle. I have nothing against middle eastern people but only wary with used car dealers, just giving a description of the individual, maybe this was the person you dealt with.

The X5 power was not impressive for having a SC and the Bear brakes were not impressive either. I have a '03 4.6 and felt that mine has more power and better OEM brakes than this X5. The SC shuddered under full throttle, made a lot of questionable noises which did not convey a great driving experience and the brakes needed more pedal effort than I thought necessary. I thought people hearing the SC driving by under full throttle might think the X5 was about to explode.

He never said good bye as I left the dealership, I thought he was busy and went to his office, he had his feet up on the desk and was reading the paper. He never followed up with a phone call with the questions I had so either he did not have answers or did not want to answer them. Enough reasons to pass on the vehicle.

The acceleration was not what I thought a SC would produce on the X5 compared to mine, maybe it needs a different exhaust to be in tune with a SC. Maybe the brakes also needed adjustment or that's the way Bear brakes work. The X5 looked good and needed a good detailing which is what you did, looks great! I hope everything works out for you new purchase, maybe I was too careful and picky and you got a great deal.

The truck had a bit of a boost leak. Literally tons of air seeping past a clamp on the supercharger outlet. Hence the drop in power (and running rich/stumbling/shuddering). It was fixed right before I left with the truck. During the test drive after fixing the leak, I had him hanging onto the oshit handle. He said it felt like a different truck. :D

Baer Brakes? They say Brembo on them. They are a floating rotor setup and the LF will require new springs between the hat and rotor (slight noise upon braking at low speed), but not immediately.

It might have had a thing or two wrong with it, but most six year old cars do.


It's in good hands now though. ;)

edit: (My Mitsubishi forced me to become a shadetree mechanic... I had no choice!! haha :))

Brembo not Baer brakes is correct
 

Hi, my mistake , Brembo not Baer brakes was what I meant. Was the difference in power obvious after the fix of the SC, night and day? Sounds like you got a great deal, I think if you research the idea of a different exhaust it would greatly increase the power. Keeping the tips would make it under the radar and new exhaust would take advantage of the SC. I kinda of envy you because the X5 is very nice with all the goodies it came with, again great job on the detailing.

Just curious what you scored this for? Funny story with the ohsh%$t handle.

Trying to convince the dear husband that I need to have my '05 X5 supercharged and have looked at the Dinan S3 package. Any advice or warnings? Is the extra power truly worth the $20K I will pay to have this done? Any help is appreciated.

My advise...buy the new twin turbo X5 or X6.

Apologies for the late reply...

$27K

I would have no outstanding regular maintenance issues present before taking the plunge. I have not driven a naturally aspirated X5's, so I am not sure if the power justifies the dollars. That is subjective from person to person. Do I love it? Absolutely. The rub is that Dinan supercharging (as I understand) is only available on pre-facelift models.

So,

:thumbup:

You'll be in something newer, better, maybe faster (I have yet to race one!), and that awesome warranty. The speed difference between the S/C 4.6is and the X5M would be so slight that I would absolutely go for the new hotness.

X5 ///M if one can swing it or 2011 50i Twin Turbo X5 :thumbup:

$20k for a supercharger is ridiculous, especially when the same Vortech V2SQ can be purchased for around a few thousand online. ESS makes a kit up to 2003 for the X5 in the $7500 range, but I don't see why they have haven't stepped up to the facelifted ones.

I have to agree w/ some other posters though on just getting the X5M instead.

Well, I have already tried to convince the husband that I need the X5M and that did not go over to well. As for the supercharger and my price configuration I guess I was not clear on what comes for that price. Here is a breakdown:

Supercharger System; High Flow Intake Manifold; High Flow Air Mass Meter; High Flow Throttle Body; Free Flow Exhaust; Strut Tower Brace; Signature Floor Mats; Serial Numbered Dinan S3-X5 4.4i Plaque; Dinan Deck Lid Badge actual price is $14295 and then 32.5 hours of labor. Figured it would be about $20k.

Biggest problem is I love my body style and I love my X5 built to my specifications. I am totally open to all other options and would like to thank you guys for you input. I will definitely start looking at those other options. I am just trying to get a little more out of my X5 because I have so much fun pushing the boys around when they get in front of me on BMW cruises. :D

Atta girl! I didn't know it came w/ that much stuff. Is that the only package they have, because some of those items you can find elsewhere. I like getting the best bang for my buck aka cheapskate, so certain things I could really care less about in the package.

The Air Mass Meter and High Flow Intake Manifold are just M62 non-VANOS units since they're larger, but they're also factory BMW parts that $$Dinan$$ is just relabeling and charging more for.

The Throttle Body is exclusive to them, so i'll give them that.

I don't know if anyone else makes Strut Tower Braces, but they've gotten good reviews from those who have them.

Free Flow Exhaust...I'm sure there are more "affordable" options. I tried fitting the same Magnaflow 14816's that a ton of M5, 540 and 740 guys have used, but the X5 mufflers are like half the length!

Is your X still under some sort of warranty, or do you care who installs it. I have family that I wouldn't mind visiting in Cheney, so I would consider installing the kit for at about 1/3 what the stealerships would charge. While in there, I'd suggest changing the intake manifold gaskets, the OVS valve (basically a PCV valve, on the back of the manifold)

I am still under factory warranty until December and then I start my CPO warranty so I have to be careful about what modifications I do because I don't want to void my warranty. After the warranty is up it will be a free for all as far as mods. This is one of the reasons I was looking at Dinan. I still have not decided on supercharging the X5 or waiting and trying to find a CPO X5M, which I am assuming will be tough. I really like the body style on mine and the options. I still don't care for the new body style but I guess when you are sitting inside feeling the 555 HP I won't be complaining.

Don't forget about the 2011 50i TT X5...should be available for order mid-2010 :thumbup:

Thanks I will have to research that one also.