Month 2/Dinan Stage 2

My Gt is slated to go in monday for Dinan stage 2, but i swear i think the car is getting faster over the course of the second month break in......

Debating if i need to bother with the tune, but my deranged mind keeps saying 500HP is better then 400HP

May change my schedule and do the exhaust this friday and then see what happens from there...

the eisenmann exhaust may give me just a little cleaner power and the sound i need to make me think the car is as fast as it is.....

will update all next week.....

mp

If I was not worried about an extended BMW warranty, I would get the DS2 for the 535i when it releases. I would do the same if I had the 550.

After reviewing a lot of posts about the Dinan Stage II performance software, I decided to go for it. I was kind of disappointed with the 550 GT because it was not as quick and sporty as my Dinan chipped 540I Sport Wagon (2001) was. So now I am way happier with my GT because it is so much improved. Not just speed, but smoothness of both up and downshifts are way better. And, I was getting under 18 MPG before. Now, it is easily 18+ driven hard and I just checked after about 1/2 tank road miles --- wait for it --- 24.95 MPG! That is worth the price of the upgrade right there.

So this is my introduction, the Dinan upgrade is so great I had to spread the joy. Anyone who feels their 550 is a bit too much on the luxury side and weak on the sport side will be well rewarded with the Dinan Stage II!

Had to repost here from introductions...

I'm interested to know the odds they will write an upgrade for the six cylinder? I think they have it for the engine in other cars but I don't really understand how comparable the engines are. I assume the tune is different because of the weight and other chassis specs but I would be interested for my 535i if they ever wrote it.

FWIW
DLM

they are working on it!! friend of mine has the 535GT with the renntech tune and its incredible, 70hp and 400 pounds lighter his car was as fast as my 550 and in some ways nimbler....likely was the the final reason i had to get dinan for my car...
over the past 6 months the increase in gts and 535gts is very noticeable I'm sure it will be out soon... in the meantime check out the renntech....

Yup

Originally Posted by silverbmwstreak

after reviewing a lot of posts about the dinan stage ii performance software, i decided to go for it. I was kind of disappointed with the 550 gt because it was not as quick and sporty as my dinan chipped 540i sport wagon (2001) was. So now i am way happier with my gt because it is so much improved. Not just speed, but smoothness of both up and downshifts are way better. And, i was getting under 18 mpg before. Now, it is easily 18+ driven hard and i just checked after about 1/2 tank road miles --- wait for it --- 24.95 mpg! That is worth the price of the upgrade right there.

So this is my introduction, the dinan upgrade is so great i had to spread the joy. Anyone who feels their 550 is a bit too much on the luxury side and weak on the sport side will be well rewarded with the dinan stage ii!

Had to repost here from introductions...

Originally Posted by mpress

they are working on it!! friend of mine has the 535GT with the renntech tune and its incredible, 70hp and 400 pounds lighter his car was as fast as my 550 and in some ways nimbler....likely was the the final reason i had to get dinan for my car...
over the past 6 months the increase in gts and 535gts is very noticeable I'm sure it will be out soon... in the meantime check out the renntech....

I checked out thier website and it had "comming soon" for the F07 2011 and the F05 2012. What system was put in your friend's car? Also, how did they shave 400 pounds off the car?

TIA
DLM

the 535 is 400 pounds lighter then the 550...the renntech boosts hp to 370....
mp

Originally Posted by mpress

they are working on it!! friend of mine has the 535GT with the renntech tune and its incredible, 70hp and 400 pounds lighter his car was as fast as my 550 and in some ways nimbler....likely was the the final reason i had to get dinan for my car...
over the past 6 months the increase in gts and 535gts is very noticeable I'm sure it will be out soon... in the meantime check out the renntech....

Contacted RENNtech regarding the ECU upgrade for the 535 GT, here's their reply:

Thank you for the inquiry regarding RENNtech upgrades for the BMW 535GT.

The ECU upgrade is currently available. All you would need to do is remove the ECU and send it to us. I can see who may be able to help in your area or I may be able to send you ECU removal instructions.

I will touch base with you tomorrow to go over the details.

I look forward to working with you.

my friends was done by a renntech dealer in Tuckahoe NY nice job and he is pleased... until i had the din an stage 2 upgrade, i spent a number of days wondering if i should have gone the 535 renntech route..his car WAS as fast as my gt550 and handled amazingly well and was still getting high teens to low 20s mpgs and he is no light footed driver....

I must say the 550 din an s2 blows just about anything in its size class out of the water...

car squats a little under wheel spinning take offs but i am looking into stiffer spring setups for it...

i think even the 535 with renntech should consider stiffer springs....anyone going this route is never using comfort plus so it might as well go away anyway......

if you do go this route i do highly recommend the eisenmann exhaust as well...not sure of specifics for the 535 with renntech but i bet it gets the HP up close to 390... now your talking legit 550 hp numbers and still in a car 10% lighter in weight....

mp

Originally Posted by mpress

my friends was done by a renntech dealer in Tuckahoe NY nice job and he is pleased... until i had the din an stage 2 upgrade, i spent a number of days wondering if i should have gone the 535 renntech route..his car WAS as fast as my gt550 and handled amazingly well and was still getting high teens to low 20s mpgs and he is no light footed driver....

I must say the 550 din an s2 blows just about anything in its size class out of the water...

car squats a little under wheel spinning take offs but i am looking into stiffer spring setups for it...

i think even the 535 with renntech should consider stiffer springs....anyone going this route is never using comfort plus so it might as well go away anyway......

if you do go this route i do highly recommend the eisenmann exhaust as well...not sure of specifics for the 535 with renntech but i bet it gets the HP up close to 390... now your talking legit 550 hp numbers and still in a car 10% lighter in weight....

mp

I've worked with those guys. They do some magic.

What does this do to the warranty (afraid to ask)?

voids it if found but is easily made undetectable..
he has already serviced his car at bmw and had no issue...took him 5 minutes to put it into stealth mode..

all in all a very good mod

mp

Originally Posted by mpress

voids it if found but is easily made undetectable..
he has already serviced his car at bmw and had no issue...took him 5 minutes to put it into stealth mode..

all in all a very good mod

mp

stealth mode?

original ecu properties

Originally Posted by mpress

original ecu properties

secret button?

no renntech gives you the ecu flash on a flash drive...they send you a kit including software and obdII cable you download your ecu info and send to them..they create the tune and fedex back the a flash drive with the tune for you to down load... now on your computer you have both fils your original ecu program and the renntech upgrade program... if you need to take your car in or if the dealer resets your ecu you have both programs to send to your car original and flashed....

evolved does the same thing now i think...

Originally Posted by mpress

no renntech gives you the ecu flash on a flash drive...they send you a kit including software and obdII cable you download your ecu info and send to them..they create the tune and fedex back the a flash drive with the tune for you to down load... now on your computer you have both fils your original ecu program and the renntech upgrade program... if you need to take your car in or if the dealer resets your ecu you have both programs to send to your car original and flashed....

evolved does the same thing now i think...

thanks so much for the clarification. I'm down the street from AI so maybe I'll talk to them about doing the flash for me before scheduled maintenance.

Originally Posted by mpress

<snip>

...they send you a kit including software and obdII cable...

<snip>

Is this the same cable you would use to code mods to the rest of the electronic systems? I'm thinking about some of the stuff in the coding thread and this may kill two birds with one cable.

TIA
DLM

i was thinking same thing but this is a usb not a network cable... somewhere in the coding thread i read u early need the network cable not the usb one..
mp

Did you ever get the DINAN Stage II programming installed?

I just received the following from Scott at Dinan:

"We are still hard at work on the communication system used on the 535/GT. Unfortunately is it quite different than that used on the other cars that employ the N55 engine. I don’t have any eta available at this time, but it is of the highest priority in our software development program.


Best regards,"

So it looks like there are some differences with the 535 that cause them a challenge.

FWIW
DLM

Waiting for "Scott's" response with great anticipation! We need to arrange a group buy when it is ready!