[Padfan9]

I have a quick question if anyone can help.....someone has a 2011 335i which is the n55 engine and he is selling a brand new dinan FMIC. I have a 2011 335is which has the n54 engine and I was about to buy the dinan fmic but I need to make sure they are the same FMIC. Does anyone know? It doesn't clarify on the dinan site.

[BQTuning]

Originally Posted by Padfan9

I have a quick question if anyone can help.....someone has a 2011 335i which is the n55 engine and he is selling a brand new dinan FMIC. I have a 2011 335is which has the n54 engine and I was about to buy the dinan fmic but I need to make sure they are the same FMIC. Does anyone know? It doesn't clarify on the dinan site.

Yes its the same FMIC part # D330-0012. However though, whoever is going to do the install will need to do some cutting of some flangs behind the bumper. Take a look before and use as reference to your installer

[Padfan9]

This helps a lot.....How much bigger is the dinan fmic then stock? Its hard to tell since dinan never puts good pictures up of their products.

Did you notice a big difference? What do you think about removing the front grill blocking the FMIC? The lower one between the two front air ducts on our cars.

[BQTuning]

Originally Posted by Padfan9

This helps a lot.....How much bigger is the dinan fmic then stock? Its hard to tell since dinan never puts good pictures up of their products.

Did you notice a big difference? What do you think about removing the front grill blocking the FMIC? The lower one between the two front air ducts on our cars.

Thats my car in the pic slide being added the FMIC. The Dinan FMIC has alot of "dept/width" than height. Total Volume size is what you need to compare. There are alot of FMIC with height that appear BIGGER but they have less volume because of their width/dept limitations

Do not remove the front grill, cut it, the frame also acts as a support to the front of the FMIC leaving he orginal out structure intact

There is a signicant improvement on acceleration and response on just stock map. Adding a tune brings about a world of opportunity

[Padfan9]

Originally Posted by BuraQ

Thats my car in the pic slide being added the FMIC. The Dinan FMIC has alot of "dept/width" than height. Total Volume size is what you need to compare. There are alot of FMIC with height that appear BIGGER but they have less volume because of their width/dept limitations

Do not remove the front grill, cut it, the frame also acts as a support to the front of the FMIC leaving he orginal out structure intact

There is a signicant improvement on acceleration and response on just stock map. Adding a tune brings about a world of opportunity

What do you mean don't remove it cut it? What's the difference?

How do you like the Dinan exhaust? I love the exhaust stock on our cars so I haven't even looked into changing it

[BQTuning]

Originally Posted by Padfan9

What do you mean don't remove it cut it? What's the difference?

How do you like the Dinan exhaust? I love the exhaust stock on our cars so I haven't even looked into changing it

Because from what I understand it connect to something else that supports the front frame. If it wasnt an issue they would have removed mine and not cut it

Dinan exhaust went on the same day I bought the car ie before the car left off the lot I had them put it on.

The stock exhaust sounds nice but not like the Dinan FFE. When I was running stock tune I raced another 335is and I pulled away from him with just the Dinan exhaust mod on my car.

[RoundelM3]

+1 for the Dinan FFE...sounds much better than stock, flows better too.

[TotalPower]

man that sounds really nice and smooth I love the sound of the stock exhaust (especially w/ the top down) but that sounds SO nice. Is the exhaust cat back/axle back?

[RoundelM3]

Axle back...easy to install.

[TotalPower]

1800 dollar axle back? ffffffffffffffffffffffff damn it sounds good

[Padfan9]

Originally Posted by TotalPower

1800 dollar axle back? ffffffffffffffffffffffff damn it sounds good

It does sound good, but I love the stock exhaust and can't spend 2 grand on an exhaust....

I will however spend 4 grand on the dinan fmic, oil cooler and stage 3 upgrade

[BQTuning]

When I get my GoPro Hero2, I will have a full documentary on the Dinan FFE.

The sound is much louder than stock, but the loudness is deep solid, not noisy like the Stang

[TotalPower]

Originally Posted by Padfan9

It does sound good, but I love the stock exhaust and can't spend 2 grand on an exhaust....

I will however spend 4 grand on the dinan fmic, oil cooler and stage 3 upgrade

i probably would too. very solid upgrades for performance and dependability

[Padfan9]

Originally Posted by TotalPower

i probably would too. very solid upgrades for performance and dependability

I agree...I could have gone with JB4. etc and everyone always recommends them but then why do we see so many used for sale? hmmm....

I am happy to spend more and get dinan...more reliable power, much more TQ and no warranty issues. I am going to get the dinan fmic friday, then wait 3-5 weeks and get the oil cooler and stage 3 upgrade! I am excited..I hope I notice a different between the stage 2 and stage 3...I am sure I will..it says its only 20 more hp and 10-15 more TQ but with the fmic and stage upgrade, I am sure itll give me more power, especially with other mods.

[Sleeper]

You can do so much better for less money. Dinan is just so expensive. Nice parts, but foolishly expensive for the gains you get.

With Cobb continuously working on the AP, and with the pending release of Access Tuner, Dinan will be left even further in the dust.

That said, if warranty is your main concern, that's a different conversation altogether.

[Padfan9]

Originally Posted by Sleeper

You can do so much better for less money. Dinan is just so expensive. Nice parts, but foolishly expensive for the gains you get.

With Cobb continuously working on the AP, and with the pending release of Access Tuner, Dinan will be left even further in the dust.

That said, if warranty is your main concern, that's a different conversation altogether.

Warranty is my main concern...Thats the issue....if you could do anything without warranty being void, I would have gone with cobb, helix fmic, no oil cooler....but peace of mind is worth a lot to me....

[RnmEvo9]

Originally Posted by Padfan9

Warranty is my main concern...Thats the issue....if you could do anything without warranty being void, I would have gone with cobb, helix fmic, no oil cooler....but peace of mind is worth a lot to me....

It takes minutes to flash back to stock with the cobb whenever you need to take it to the dealer. As for the FMIC, I guarantee you they will not give a shit about a bigger fmic. Downpipes on the other hand is iffy..

[BQTuning]

Originally Posted by Sleeper

You can do so much better for less money.

Dont you think he/we/us already know this ? There is an obvious reasons why many of us decide to go this direction FIRST

Originally Posted by Sleeper

Dinan is just so expensive.

We have 60k cars so what do you expect ? When you have a Merc, Porsche, or GTR what do you think mods will cost ?

Originally Posted by Sleeper

Nice parts, but foolishly expensive for the gains you get.

You mixing apples and oranges here. Arent you aiming at the gains the "tune" gives ? The parts are quality engineered mods and without doubt have very satifying gains without the Dinan tune. I take it you dont know what you are talking about other than just tutored retoric.

Dont worry I will show you how affective the Dinan mods are with the Cobb Stage 2+

Originally Posted by Sleeper

With Cobb continuously working on the AP, and with the pending release of Access Tuner, Dinan will be left even further in the dust.

And many of us can sit back enjoy our Dinan mods/tune and wait for you all to do all the testing, corrections, fixes and getting all the bugs out so when we do decide to change house you did all the cleaning for us.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Sleeper

That said, if warranty is your main concern, that's a different conversation altogether.

It should be if we paid almost 60k for car


Dinan Mods + Cobb Tune = (I'll just look at it as a Dinan Stage 4)

[RoundelM3]

First of all, just because someone has Dinan parts other than the software, it doesn't mean we spent all that much money. There are all manner of tuning parts available from fellow posters here in the "private owners for sale/trade" section. My car has Dinan S3 software purchased from the dealer during a sale ($400 off on S2 18 months ago, and then just the $400 difference to move up to S3), and my Dinan FFE was purchased at half-price from a fellow poster on the aforementioned forum section. Since I am beyond my factory warranty (time, not miles), I opted to go with an ETS 5" FMIC that I bought on a "Black Friday" deal, and my ER Oil Cooler cost half of what the Dinan cooler sells for, although I could have purchased both of those items usedat similar prices if I had wanted to wait. There's nothing wrong with slightly-used quality parts - my FFE was only used for 1 month and had no dirt or corrosion on the mufflers. At half-price, it was a bargain.

If you're going to S3 on a car still under factory warranty, Dinan wants you to use their FMIC and OC because they were developed specifically for S3 tune stage and they can be confident about providing the parallel warranty. In my case, they allowed me to upgrade because they weren't going to be providing that warranty. Dinan has been building racing engines and other components for real competition vehicles for over 20 years - that's how they make the bulk of their income. Their engines are engineered to survive endurance racing. The parts and software they make for street vehicles is an offshoot of their racing activities. Anyone who's been around the professional racing world knows that highly-engineered racing parts are not cheap, and any that are would be very suspect for poor quality. For the investment I've made in my cars, I'll choose a tuner with a reputation for quality and dependability and a history of professional racing success every time.

[JamesM3M5]

I've worked with Steve D on a Grand Am team, and we were in his shop for a week last year. Those guys are ANAL when it comes to quality. They build some of the nicest parts, and it shows in the prices. Dinan has always been one of the most highly respected names in BMW performance.

[Padfan9]

Originally Posted by JamesM3M5

I've worked with Steve D on a Grand Am team, and we were in his shop for a week last year. Those guys are ANAL when it comes to quality. They build some of the nicest parts, and it shows in the prices. Dinan has always been one of the most highly respected names in BMW performance.

You have all made me feel much better about spending more....thank you!

[Sleeper]

Originally Posted by BuraQ

Dont you think he/we/us already know this ? There is an obvious reasons why many of us decide to go this direction FIRST

My goodness, you are such a Dinan nutswinger. Anytime the name Dinan is even breathed around here, you pop out from under your rock to defend the name like it was your father's. Anyway...

Originally Posted by BuraQ

We have 60k cars so what do you expect ? When you have a Merc, Porsche, or GTR what do you think mods will cost ?

How does that have any relevance at all to what we're talking about.

You can mod a Benz, Porsche, Nissan, Subaru, Honda, Kia, John Deere lawnmower etc etc cheaply with less prestigious (so to speak) brands; or, you can spend much more on supposedly higher quality, name brand parts. Doesn't matter what vehicle you drive, the same principle applies.

I'll dumb it down further -
On a 335i, you can get a $450 set of downpipes; or you can get a $1,000 set of downpipes. Both parts are going on BMW's that cost the same from the factory. One part is cheap, the other is expensive.

Originally Posted by BuraQ

You mixing apples and oranges here. Arent you aiming at the gains the "tune" gives ? The parts are quality engineered mods and without doubt have very satifying gains without the Dinan tune. I take it you dont know what you are talking about other than just tutored retoric.

Dont worry I will show you how affective the Dinan mods are with the Cobb Stage 2+

Same fruit. By the way, it's 'rhetoric'.

If you want to talk tunes, Dinan is the most expensive, has the least amount of room to move forward with different stages, has the least flexibility in terms of what parts you can use (to maintain the warranty substitution), and doesn't have the ongoing R&D that the other tune options do. The power output also leaves a lot to be desired.

If you want to talk parts, again, Dinan is more expensive for the same thing. The Dinan FMIC is a rebranded Spearco. Does that merit it being one of the most, or the most expensive FMIC on the market? I would argue that it wouldn't.

A $1,300 intake? Come on. An $1,800 FFE? AE's exhaust is very high quality with precise fit and high quality construction - it also has dyno proven gains. It retails for around $1,800 too. Dinan's axleback exhaust is the same price, provides 0 HP but likely has very good fit and construction.

I could go on, but my point is that Dinan's parts with or without the tune aren't any better than less expensive parts. The premium for Dinan's warranty is ridiculous. Same performing parts, weaker tune, all much more expensive.

Originally Posted by BuraQ

And many of us can sit back enjoy our Dinan mods/tune and wait for you all to do all the testing, corrections, fixes and getting all the bugs out so when we do decide to change house you did all the cleaning for us.

You sit back with less power and a deeper hole in your pocket.

Dinan:
Most expensive, lowest performing tune.
Most expensive, equivalent performing (maybe) parts.
Limited stage increases.
Limited R&D on current tunes.
No warranty if you do decide to deviate from the Dinan route and put on other brand parts.
When you do switch engine management software, you're spending more again.

Meanwhile, I'm running Cobb Stage 2+ (parts and software) for just over what the Stage 3 Dinan software costs... and I'm making way more power . And even more yet when we can start getting Protunes.

Originally Posted by BuraQ

Thanks

You're welcome. Happy to help!

Originally Posted by Padfan9

You have all made me feel much better about spending more....thank you!

To you and all others with Dinan software and parts, I'm not trying to discredit the brand or the decision to go with Dinan. BuraQ just thinks Dinan is an offshoot of God's left hand, so I took exception.

I hope the new Dinan parts do the trick for you.