[2turbodinan]

Hey guys ...
I am fairly new here. I have always, somewhat, kept in tuned to the e90 posts, but I have never formerly written a post before. Well... I have been debating whether I would like to move forward and upgrade my software at a local dealership. By the way I have a 335i with about 34,000 miles at this point. I recently had my car serviced at the dealership, under warranty, for misfire in a few cylinders, which turned out to be a few bad injectors. I asked my service adviser about upgrading and his advice to me was not to do it because it voids the warranty and there is always a toss up between who is responsible if something goes wrong. But on the flip side of that I also talked to the parts department who sell the Dinan and all the products offered and he said that it doesn't void the warranty and that if, in fact, something did go wrong that between factory warranty and dinan someone will cover the repairs, etc. He also said that a lot of people love it and rarely came back to have their car looked at, specifically, because of the software. I mean the software is done at the dealership, what gives? I don't know what to do. I really want to get it done along with exhaust and possibly intake, but I am afraid of long term consequences that may arise in the future. Any input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Potty_Pants]

^ 2yrs or more... no related problems. just HPFP failure about 8,000 mile ago.

IMO .... IMO .... IMO

two frames of mind...

1. i want to wake up every day and not worry about anything related to a boost in performance = dinan

2. i want to wake up every month do a patch or encounter some error,loose wire for higher performance.

as far as performance goes Id consider Dinan to be a Stage 2 product and the other piggies as S3.

please fight amongst yourselves and remember this is just my OPINION.

ppp

[2turbodinan]

No one has an opinion on this or experienced a problem with the software upgrade and had to take your car into to the dealership under factory warranty. I understand all modifications are a risk, but I just want the opinions from those who have this upgrade. Likes and dislikes... Anything would help

[JayKay335i]

Searching should help.

[Delnari]

I just purchased my 335i with just over 34K miles on it. First day after purchased I went to the Dinan shop and had the Stage 2 kit installed. As many have posted here, it makes a world of difference in the power delivery on a stock (unmodified) car. Only had it for 5 days and nothing has gone wrong. Just too easy to cruise at 80 mph though

What I will do in the next year is change out the intake and exhaust to get some more sound from the car and maybe a little bump in power. If that all goes well I will spend the money for new intercooler, oil cooler, limited slip differential, and upgrade to the stage 3 kit. Nice thing with Dinan software you are covered by their warranty if the factory doesn't. Upgrading from one stage to the next stage is just the cost difference so for me another $500 to go from stage 2 to stage 3.

Go ahead and get the software if you have the money; you won't be dissappointed. If something does go wrong and you worry about the warranty the dealer can reflash the factory OEM version and hopefully fix whatever problem you are having. And when you want to go back to the Dinan software it is just the cost of the installation only (for me $115).

Hope this helps with your decision.

[John 070]

Just what I think practically speaking. It's hard enough to get the BMW dealership to do anything when you're covered under a full warranty. In a dealership, many people talk out of their a**, especially when it comes to selling something to a customer. So if a parts guy says Dinan and the svc. dept. will work it out, and the svc. mgr. says the warranty will be void in his eyes, and the techs, SA's, and foremen report to him, I think the customer is going to get no service, while suddenly Dinan and the parts guy are silent about the issue. My .02 based on my experience with BMW.

[mojave]

I have the dinan tune and it will probably be the only mod that I do to the car. The added power that it gives makes a night and day difference in my enjoyment of the car.

I have a few friends that have it and one that had to have work done to the wastegates on his car, and he had no warranty issues, Dinan and BMW worked it out behind the scenes. Dinan's primary advantage in the tuner market is the warranty that they offer. Without this they lose 75% of their sales. In my opinion (obviously because I have the tune) you may deal with a little extra crap at the dealer, but the warranty issues will be covered as advertised. The one thing you will however lose is your ability to get the original owner extended warranty through BMW.

[punky8d]

I guess everything depends on the stealership that you go to..
Try to do a search or ask around I guess.. Which stealership are somewhat not ASS to slight mods...

[Moja]

I bought mine with the tune, so I don't have much in the way of comparison to base (other than a few test drives of stock models)

I've not had any issues however, and absolutely love the power. I would recommend it to anybody who needs a new reason to fall in love with their 335 all over again.

[GnokGnik]

Why not go for something that is discreet like a JB+ and just remove it before you take it in for servicing? I have my JB+ @ only 50% (only 91 octane near me) and it makes my 335i feel sooo much faster. I am guessing I am getting something around 360hp/380tq.

[mojave]

Given the sophistication of the electronics and BMW's desire to show that you had a mod if anything goes wrong, I would not bank on them not being able to figure out that you were running a piggyback. The dinan is way overpriced, and not the fastest, but they have been in the BMW modding business for a long time and they give you a warranty.

[Potty_Pants]

Just a note...

Dinan doesnt charge for reflashes, they will reimburse the dealer for reflash.

ppp

[Irishace]

Life is too short to worry about this stuff. If you find enjoyment out of your car and will like it even more with the tune then go for it.

[Jjse90]

I'm happy with my stage 2 reflash had it for about a year now and put about 20k miles on with the tune, no issues so far except for one which everything was covered with no problems. Big improvement over stock it's like night and day and still gets great gas milage. I have raced another member on here who has the jb3 1.4 on map5 with dci and my car had a slight edge over his so for performance it's pretty comparable with the other tunes out there unless he switches to map7 which I can't do,lol.

[Delnari]

Looks like the Dinan upgrade did knock me out of getting the CPO done, but for the price BMW charges for just 2 years I can go extended with a company that covers the same items for much longer time frame for just a little more.

One warranty company, Carchex has offer me 7 years / 125,000 miles on top my current 35,000 miles for $3200 with a zero deductible. That would cover my 335i until 2017 or 160,000 miles! Even items that are starting to wear out but haven't fail yet are covered; like window motors for example.

Like most of them it is transferable, or can be cancelled with a pro-rated refund if you sell or trade the car. Given the issues that turbo motors can experience with lots of hours/miles on the motor I think this is a good investment in the car.