Jalopnik Dinan 1M Review

[MDORPHN]

http://jalopnik.com/dinan-s3-r-bmw-1...iew-1555384361

"I've driven a DINAN-modified BMW before, a 5-Series, and while that was plenty bonkers, it at least pretended to be a civilized being in public. That's not the case with the little 1-series. Dinan's made a diminutive monster, little and crazy and wild. It's like a squirrel born and raised in a meth lab — don't let the little bastard out of your sight."

Neil

[Slow///1]

Originally Posted by MDORPHN

http://jalopnik.com/dinan-s3-r-bmw-1...iew-1555384361

"I've driven a DINAN-modified BMW before, a 5-Series, and while that was plenty bonkers, it at least pretended to be a civilized being in public. That's not the case with the little 1-series. Dinan's made a diminutive monster, little and crazy and wild. It's like a squirrel born and raised in a meth lab — don't let the little bastard out of your sight."

Neil

I wonder how they would've scored a stock 1M?

[robertm]

Better pics here:

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/04/02/d...-coupe-review/

[TXmtrhed]

Interesting in that Dinan fitted different turbos and their Stage 4 tune, neither of which they market on their website. I wonder whose turbos they used?

[gregthegr8]

Road & Track seemingly took the same Dinan 1M out and they were saying it's essentially the perfect car.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-revi...utally-perfect

[MDORPHN]

Originally Posted by TXmtrhed

Interesting in that Dinan fitted different turbos and their Stage 4 tune, neither of which they market on their website. I wonder whose turbos they used?

Although one of the articles refers to Dinan developing the car so they could use it as a test bed for developing larger turbos, I didn't see any suggestion that the tested car had anything other than stock turbos with a Dinan tune.

Neil

[Pete_vB]

Originally Posted by MDORPHN

Although one of the articles refers to Dinan developing the car so they could use it as a test bed for developing larger turbos, I didn't see any suggestion that the tested car had anything other than stock turbos with a Dinan tune.

Neil

The R&T article makes it clear this is with the bigger turbos- they mention a larger compressor wheel. Dinan's stage 3 tune with intercooler, etc is rated at 398, so this is 46 hp up on that but only 21 lbs ft. Will be interesting to see what lag is like.

[MDORPHN]

Originally Posted by Pete_vB

The R&T article makes it clear this is with the bigger turbos- they mention a larger compressor wheel. Dinan's stage 3 tune with intercooler, etc is rated at 398, so this is 46 hp up on that but only 21 lbs ft. Will be interesting to see what lag is like.

Quite right! That Evelyn Wood Speed Reading thing isn't all that it's cracked up to be

Neil

[robertm]

What I find amusing is this is crank HP. Don't even get me started on the price.

[Dackelone]

Here is a nice video on Steve Dinan. I really like the way he thinks. I just wish his stuff wasn't so expensive.

[One///Em]

Originally Posted by robertm

What I find amusing is this is crank HP. Don't even get me started on the price.

+1 on the crank HP, how do they get it down to the ground? Maybe you get the 'DINAN' decals free

Dinan have always charged the most and delivered the least!

[MrRoboto]

Great video. Steve Dinan seems like a great person, both from a 'car-guy' and business owner perspective. I agree with what others have said..I wish his products were a little more attainable. The prices cause others to look at alternatives even if they are inferior to Dinan.

[MDORPHN]

Originally Posted by MrRoboto

Great video. Steve Dinan seems like a great person, both from a 'car-guy' and business owner perspective. I agree with what others have said..I wish his products were a little more attainable. The prices cause others to look at alternatives even if they are inferior to Dinan.

FWIW, I believe that Steve Dinan is still running the business, but he is no longer the owner. Believe he sold it last Fall.

Neil

[One///Em]

Originally Posted by MrRoboto

The prices cause others to look at alternatives even if they are inferior to Dinan.

The thing is that the Dinan bolt-ons aren't the best, but rather the old marketing trick that is it costs more it is better quality. For example there are certainly better quality exhausts, suspension, FMIC, etc out there. Also a concern is that Dinan fail to fit basic preventative parts such as an OCC

[rad doc]

Originally Posted by One///Em

The thing is that the Dinan bolt-ons aren't the best, but rather the old marketing trick that is it costs more it is better quality. For example there are certainly better quality exhausts, suspension, FMIC, etc out there. Also a concern is that Dinan fail to fit basic preventative parts such as an OCC

Its funny, anytime some whispers Dinan there is someone quickly there to bash them. It is unreasonable to expect all there parts to be the absolute best. And they are NOT the most expensive. For instance the exhaust has issues but to be fair it is reasonably inexpensive so dont compare it to Akra or other more expensive units. There CAI is nice but pricey, although cheap compared to Gruppe. Tune is overpriced. BUT, you get the Dinan name. Like it or not, correct or incorrect, the name cares some weight amongst the non-hardcore modders who associate Dinan with quality mods. For the record, I dont own anything Dinan!

[One///Em]

Originally Posted by rad doc

Its funny, anytime some whispers Dinan there is someone quickly there to bash them. It is unreasonable to expect all there parts to be the absolute best. And they are NOT the most expensive. For instance the exhaust has issues but to be fair it is reasonably inexpensive so dont compare it to Akra or other more expensive units. There CAI is nice but pricey, although cheap compared to Gruppe. Tune is overpriced. BUT, you get the Dinan name. Like it or not, correct or incorrect, the name cares some weight amongst the non-hardcore modders who associate Dinan with quality mods. For the record, I dont own anything Dinan!

IMO Dinan is for people who don't know any better or want a one-stop-shop. It is stupidly over-priced for an 'ok' product. Personally I'd rather get a variety of the best parts from vendors who specialize in their area.

[rad doc]

Originally Posted by One///Em

IMO Dinan is for people who don't know any better or want a one-stop-shop. It is stupidly over-priced for an 'ok' product. Personally I'd rather get a variety of the best parts from vendors who specialize in their area.

Tend to agree about seperate vendors. But what is stupidly over priced? Their exhaust is 1900 which is cheaper that most including low endish Borla. The CAI is 1700 which is high priced compared to AFE but not compared to other carbon fiber parts. Their intercooler is cheaper than Forge, more that Wagner. There suspension parts are reaonable. Their tune is too much although the warranty thing is there I guess and you can have a BMW dealer install so that has some value. And those are full prices but they often offer 15% OFF.

[One///Em]

Originally Posted by rad doc

Tend to agree about seperate vendors. But what is stupidly over priced? Their exhaust is 1900 which is cheaper that most including low endish Borla. The CAI is 1700 which is high priced compared to AFE but not compared to other carbon fiber parts. Their intercooler is cheaper than Forge, more that Wagner. There suspension parts are reaonable. Their tune is too much although the warranty thing is there I guess and you can have a BMW dealer install so that has some value. And those are full prices but they often offer 15% OFF.

Why choose resonable when you can get a better product for the less/same price? I have no Dinan products on my 1M. I did have their tune and FMIC on my previous 135i and was disappointed as expected more for the $, especially when compared to what other vendors offer.

[rad doc]

No argument there, although better is tough to define. Just pointing out that your and others assertion that dinan is stupidly overpriced is not factual.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by rad doc

No argument there, although better is tough to define. Just pointing out that your and others assertion that dinan is stupidly overpriced is not factual.

+1. Actually, Steve Dinan talks about this very fact(pricing of his products and how his exhaust is NOT the most expensive on the market) in this Smoking Tire podcast. Its worth a listen.


http://www.thesmokingtire.com/2014/t...107-krautwerk/


What I found really interesting was when Steve talked about getting a +25% increase in Hp and having a reliable engine for 125K miles vs getting a 50% increase in Hp and the engine only lasting something like 60K miles. (its toward the end of the podcast).

Dack

[rad doc]

Very interesting podcast. Thanks for the link. Steve Dinan obviously knows his stuff. I also found the discussion on modding and vehicle longevity fascinating. Guess explains why there tune is conservative. Also, addresses the "better" argument. Wonder why there is nothing on the website about the turbo upgrades or stage 4 tune.