Moving to Dinan Stage 3 and all goodies.

[PhillyfaanM3]

Originally Posted by Cavpilot2k

Any new impressions now that you've had a few weeks with the S3?

Nothing really new, 2nd-4th gear pulls are much stronger and I get up to speeds much faster. The crazy exhaust seems to have settled in a little more, but the sound is still crazy. I need to schedule a Dyno pull to see what the car is actually doing. I was thinking of doing the P3 Gauge next (0-60 and 1/4 mile). Anyone have experience with that?

[PhillyfaanM3]

So...I knew I told everyone I would get the car dynoed and today is the day! I was able to get an appointment before I put the car away for winter.

I have a 9 am appointment at this tuner in Montgomeryville PA. called R/T tuning. I'm scheduled to do 3 runs on their dynojet.

I'm a little anxious to see what kind of numbers the car produces. I'm hoping to at minimum be at or close to the numbers Dinan advertises (373hp & 400tqe). Beyond that I'm hoping to see a bump w the BMS intake, Wagner catted DP and the Berck street race exhaust (no resonators - straight pipe past the DP).

If anyone has experience w Dynojet's please chime in and let me know what it is I should expect to see in percentage of loss from the crank to the wheels.

I'll plan to post some pics, graphs and videos once I'm done.

[c1pher]

I've read that Dinan typically dynos lower than expected. There is an explanation but I don't remember.

[PhillyfaanM3]

Fun experience and now I know what the car is doing. So, this is not intended to spark a discussion over what Tune is better, merely sharing data and giving information back to a community that has shared so much with me.

So according to the guys at R/T tuning, for a manual car they calculate a 15% loss to the wheels.

My car had a max HP of 327.80 and a Max Tqe of 379.27 to the wheels. When you factor the 15% loss at the crank, it puts me at 377 HP and 435 Tqe. (Assuming I did the calc. correctly.

This puts me right in line w what Dinan advertises for their Stge. 3 tune. But I'm like 22 lb ft Tqe more than what Dinan advertises (408 I believe). The difference could be related to the fact that I'm running the Wagner catted DP (200 vs 400 cel), the Berks race exhaust and no mids.

I wish I was pushing a little more HP but happy w the Tqe numbers.

Hopefully this was helpful.

[Matt@EuroJerks]

Congrats!! Thanks for the well written thread.

[Esteban]

This is what I expected as well and not disappointing at all. Dinan is not known for producing big numbers, although as you said Frank, the torque numbers are sufficient enough. Thanks for your efforts.

[c1pher]

Very nice, can't wait to get my stage 2.

[FrostyDC4]

Interesting thread. Thanks for sharing. Is the Dinan S3 doable with 91 oct? That's my only reservation with going with this setup.

[Cavpilot2k]

Reviving this thread.
I am adding an upgraded intercooler and catted (200 cell) DP soon.
From there it is a question of getting MHD or adding an oil cooler (probably not a Dinan model) and going to Dinan Stage 3.

Unfortunately, going with MHD will erase my Dinan tune, so I can't switch back-and-forth to gauge the differences.

Any thoughts on the matter are appreciated. I've loved my Dinan S2 tune, and now once I have hardware, the cost of going S3 from S2 is only like $115 (plus the oil cooler, which is not needed for MHD but is for Dinan).

I know a lot of folks would say go MHD, but it's still barely out of developmental phases, and I know I love the Dinan power delivery - stock smooth, but MORE.

[PhillyfaanM3]

Originally Posted by Cavpilot2k

Reviving this thread.
I am adding an upgraded intercooler and catted (200 cell) DP soon.
From there it is a question of getting MHD or adding an oil cooler (probably not a Dinan model) and going to Dinan Stage 3.

Unfortunately, going with MHD will erase my Dinan tune, so I can't switch back-and-forth to gauge the differences.

Any thoughts on the matter are appreciated. I've loved my Dinan S2 tune, and now once I have hardware, the cost of going S3 from S2 is only like $115 (plus the oil cooler, which is not needed for MHD but is for Dinan).

I know a lot of folks would say go MHD, but it's still barely out of developmental phases, and I know I love the Dinan power delivery - stock smooth, but MORE.

Cavpilot2k,
Exciting...can't wait to hear more about what direction you go and the results you see. Not knowing enough about MHD (like, I know absolutely nothing) I can't provide any input or comparison.

So this is not intended to be one tune is better,
That being said, as you know, I decided to go Dinan(HW/SW), yes it was more $$$, yes more conservative, but it was also reliable and consistent. In the end, I was pushing 377HP & 443 tqe and had no issues. Dealer never gave me an issue when I took it in form service.

I also have to say that when I sold my car, having gone Dinan was important to the buyer...his previous exp, R&D and knowledge of the company were key to him buying it.

[Cavpilot2k]

Originally Posted by PhillyfaanM3

Cavpilot2k,
Exciting...can't wait to hear more about what direction you go and the results you see. Not knowing enough about MHD (like, I know absolutely nothing) I can't provide any input or comparison.

So this is not intended to be one tune is better,
That being said, as you know, I decided to go Dinan(HW/SW), yes it was more $$$, yes more conservative, but it was also reliable and consistent. In the end, I was pushing 377HP & 443 tqe and had no issues. Dealer never gave me an issue when I took it in form service.

I also have to say that when I sold my car, having gone Dinan was important to the buyer...his previous exp, R&D and knowledge of the company were key to him buying it.

Excellent point on resale. Dinan does definitely carry more clout than other tunes.
My only gripe is the need to drop another $800-ish on the oil cooler (if I went ER, not Dinan). Going Dinan HW versus a Wagner FMIC and ER Cooler is probably another $1k if not more (I am working on getting a quote through a recently acquired hookup at my local BMW/Dinan dealer - maybe he will shave off some $$).

I wouldn't say I'm a Dinan fanboy, but I definitely do like and respect their products. They got bagged on quite a bit for a while, but I think especially with their recent work on F-series, they are gaining a lot of clout back.
And I've LOVED my S2 tune.
Simple, reliable, predictable power.

[bluebeemer]

I had S2 on my 09 135i for 6 months, added VRSF stepped FMIC and phoenix charge pipe then went S3. Had a small factory oil cooler on the 6MT and since I never track it oil temp is simply not an issue. S3 definitely pulls a bit harder than S2, and it was only $100 to upgrade. Love both tunes. Are you getting CEL lights with the 200 cell cats? Would LOVE to free up the downpipes but no good way to address dreaded CEL with Dinan tune. Love my 1!

[firstorbit]

Wow. Great thread OP. I also have Dinan S3 and it's really curious to see the dyno plot.

As soon as I got my car and did some full throttle pulls I noticed that "bounciness" or "waviness" in the power delivery and this dyno absolutely confirms that.

I did a bit of searching on this issue before, and all I could find out was that some other people had experienced this and complained to Dinan about it, and their response was just that some cars do that.

It almost feels like a yo-yo. I suspect that it may be related to some kind of feedback loop where it's hitting a check before it turns up the juice more.

[Sancs]

Will be getting my Dinan S3 on Friday! Cant wait

Soo is ok to put the Wagner catted DP with Dinan?? Is it worth it??

[Cavpilot2k]

Originally Posted by Sancs

Will be getting my Dinan S3 on Friday! Cant wait

Be sure to post thoughts/impressions.
I plan to eventually go Dinan S3, but debating which hardware to use. Since warranty is no longer a benefit, it's hard to justify the additional money for Dinan hardware over, say, Wagner/ER.

And I can't speak to S3, but I just ordered the Wagner catted DP and will soon be able to post impressionsof its contribution to S2.

[PhillyfaanM3]

Originally Posted by firstorbit

Wow. Great thread OP. I also have Dinan S3 and it's really curious to see the dyno plot.

As soon as I got my car and did some full throttle pulls I noticed that "bounciness" or "waviness" in the power delivery and this dyno absolutely confirms that.

I did a bit of searching on this issue before, and all I could find out was that some other people had experienced this and complained to Dinan about it, and their response was just that some cars do that.

It almost feels like a yo-yo. I suspect that it may be related to some kind of feedback loop where it's hitting a check before it turns up the juice more.

To be honest, I didn't really notice it. But I was driving a manual and not the Auto. Not sure what Trans you have, it could make a difference.

[PhillyfaanM3]

Originally Posted by Sancs

Will be getting my Dinan S3 on Friday! Cant wait

Soo is ok to put the Wagner catted DP with Dinan?? Is it worth it??

I had the Wagner DP and it worked fine, still threw codes like 1x a month.

[Cavpilot2k]

Originally Posted by PhillyfaanM3

I had the Wagner DP and it worked fine, still threw codes like 1x a month.

If I am not mistaken, Wagner changed their catalyst sometime last year (200-cell Euro 6 maybe) and is supposed to be less likely to throw a code. Only time will tell if that claim holds any water, but I'm gonna go with it anyway.

[PhillyfaanM3]

Originally Posted by Cavpilot2k

If I am not mistaken, Wagner changed their catalyst sometime last year (200-cell Euro 6 maybe) and is supposed to be less likely to throw a code. Only time will tell if that claim holds any water, but I'm gonna go with it anyway.

I say go for it.

[Cavpilot2k]

Originally Posted by PhillyfaanM3

I say go for it.

Already ordered. Should be delivered Friday.

[500AF]

Originally Posted by PhillyfaanM3

Fun experience and now I know what the car is doing. So, this is not intended to spark a discussion over what Tune is better, merely sharing data and giving information back to a community that has shared so much with me.

So according to the guys at R/T tuning, for a manual car they calculate a 15% loss to the wheels.

My car had a max HP of 327.80 and a Max Tqe of 379.27 to the wheels. When you factor the 15% loss at the crank, it puts me at 377 HP and 435 Tqe. (Assuming I did the calc. correctly.

This puts me right in line w what Dinan advertises for their Stge. 3 tune. But I'm like 22 lb ft Tqe more than what Dinan advertises (408 I believe). The difference could be related to the fact that I'm running the Wagner catted DP (200 vs 400 cel), the Berks race exhaust and no mids.

I wish I was pushing a little more HP but happy w the Tqe numbers.

Hopefully this was helpful.

Interesting and thanks for you write up. So when the chip advertiser the HP gain its at the crank and not the rear wheel?

[Cavpilot2k]

Originally Posted by 500AF

Interesting and thanks for you write up. So when the chip advertiser the HP gain its at the crank and not the rear wheel?

Yes, Dinan advertises crank numbers.