Performance upgrades?
 

I want to make my X faster! I need some help on what to do and where to find parts. I already have exhaust on it. I'm looking for a chip or someone to re-map my ecu? Which is better or is there a difference. I'm not so advanced with these new cars lol. Im with the old casr (carbs, distributors etc.) So any help I will appreciate. Thanks.

Since you live in Florida I would recommend you take a trip to Active Autowerke in Miami and have them tune it. Check out their site.

No chip is going to make much if any difference. There is little there to be had, doesn't matter who sells it. The only thing that will make a significant difference is supercharging it. You can spend a lot of money on individual items (exhaust, intake, tune, pulleys) but if you want more power the easiest thing to do is sell it and get a V8.

This is a thread I've wanted to start for awhile and since I have a 4.6L V8, I've been going through the Dinan site adding up all of the parts needed, short of supercharging my ride to make it better, quicker, more nimble etc. If anyone has any personal experience with any of the bolt ons and ECU upgrades, please post you're results.

First of all, nice avatar!:thumbup:

As far as Dinan specifically, quite a few guys on here have "Dinan"ed their E53 V8s, myself included. I think you will find that almost everyone has been very pleased with both the performance and the looks. You can do it piece-meal, or all in one fell swoop. Basically we are talking about 1) cold air intake, 2) throttle body, 3) exhaust and 4) Stage 2 or Stage 3 software depending on which bolt-ons you have installed. You can also add a Dinan strut bar as the icing on the cake:cool:. Please leave all illusions of beating Cayenne Turbos or Jeep STR8s back in your dreams. They will all still smoke you out of the toll booth. BUT: You CAN expect a modest 25-35hp boost with the above combination. Dinan thoroughly tests and warranties all their mods, so whatever horsepower numbers they post tend to be the real deal. And you will definitely feel a difference in terms of throttle response, sound, and acceleration. Dinan is certainly not the only or the cheapest way to go. You can save money by doing a-la-carte from different mod-makers. For example AFE intake + Supersprint exhaust. I just found Dinan convenient because it was one stop shopping and installation. But it ain't cheap!

One other thing to keep in mind. I did my Dinan mods 3 years ago when there were no X5 twin-turbo V8s on the market. At that time I did not regret the cash outlay because the E53 4.4i was still considered a mean and fast BMW SUV. But times they are a-changin'... If I had to do it all over today, I would not invest that much into an aging E53 chassis. I would simply save the Dinan money towards a down payment on an X5 50i. But that's obviously dependent on your budget and how long you expect to stay in your 4.6is.

Hope that helps!

I personally like the body shape of my X5 compared to the new ones and they also gained almost 500lbs over the E53 so I think I'm going to plug away with the bolt-ons. Aside from having round tips vs oval like the 4.6, do you really think there's that much difference really between Dinan exhaust and the factory exhaust? I cut the silencer out and replaced it with an 'X' pipe so it sounds better and probably less restrictive. Also, since I had the exhaust replaced on insurance due to getting rear ended last year, it's still brand new.

I am waiting on my supercharger kit now and I have a few other goodies up my sleeve.

Just chip tuning alone wont do that trick, other mods will help give it a nice push but forced induction is almost the best way to go, if you looking for substantial power gains.

Are you installing it yourself? I have friends that are accomplished mechanics but is it more difficult with BMWs or is it something that is quite manageable?