Dinan Tune for X5

Does anybody here have any connections with Dinan?? The reason I asked is that I am looking to get a tune on my X5 50i that would add 96Hp/103lb-ft to my current stock setup. Although the tune is steep, ($2900) not counting the dealer labor (), but I tought it would be worth it if it came with the Dinan warranty. I e-mailed Dinan and requested a dyno of their tune. I got a reply back that they do not send out dyno's of their tunes, but he would be willing to give me a morey back guarantee if I didn't like it. That is really not the point. I'm sure that I would like a 60, 70, 80 HP increase, but I am paying for a 96HP increase. I doubt my butt dyno could tell the difference between a 70HPvs a 96HP difference. Any suggestions would be helpful.............

On the 50 it is supposed to increase the hp to greater than the M, which would put it at around 500. I have seen threads related to this somewhere at some point. Report back with gas mileage if you do this, just for curiosity sake.

X5M is 555 HP and 500 ft-lbs. The Dinan stage 1 brings it to 495 HP and 570 ft lbs torque. Even with the Dinan tune the X5M is still alot quicker than the 50i

"a lot quicker"? I wonder. Doesn't look like it to me just from the numbers. Sure there is 55 more hp but LESS torque (500 vs 570) and that is what makes things go. Would be interesting to see a comparo of the two and I am surprised that Dinan hasn't done just that. Oh, yes a Dinan tuned 50i is a ton cheaper than a X5M.

I have the X5 50 with Dinan tune and I have driven an X5M. It's definitely 0.5-0.6 seconds faster to 60. Sometimes the numbers don't mean everything.

If you want a fun and fairly accurate way to compare horse power, take the X5 to the drag strip pre tune and record your best time and MPH. After you get your tune, return to the track. (This is best done where the temp and humidity are similar and the vehicle is set up the same way, i.e. tire pressure, full tank of gas, same octane gas, etc.)

Then calculate HP based on the formula below. Please note, these will give you actual rear wheel HP. There is at least a 15% driveline loss on X5.

HP = [(MPH/234)^3 * Weight

You could get your own dyno pre and post tune and get a refund if you feel jipped.

The track will be cheaper, nearly as accurate and way more fun.

Originally Posted by Brian425

If you want a fun and fairly accurate way to compare horse power, take the X5 to the drag strip pre tune and record your best time and MPH. After you get your tune, return to the track. (This is best done where the temp and humidity are similar and the vehicle is set up the same way, i.e. tire pressure, full tank of gas, same octane gas, etc.)

Then calculate HP based on the formula below. Please note, these will give you actual rear wheel HP. There is at least a 15% driveline loss on X5.

HP = [(MPH/234)^3 * Weight

Brian: Thanks for the formula,,however,, living in Tennessee,,drag strips are not that common around here,.,pleanty of "shade trees", but real drag strips are hard to find. Really though, without a dyno, there is no "good" way of telling how much was dialed in..!!

I must have been thinking of something else when I heard those numbers I mentioned.

Originally Posted by buckeyewalt

I'm sure that I would like a 60, 70, 80 HP increase, but I am paying for a 96HP increase. I doubt my butt dyno could tell the difference between a 70HPvs a 96HP difference.

You raise a good point buckeyewalt. Im going to get the tune also. How do we KNOW if we are getting 96hp/103lb-ft or close to it. Are we suppose to take Dinans word?? Thats a lot of money just to be taking someones word. I would like to see some proof. I do have dragstrips available to me though, but putting my X5 on a dragstrip just doesn't sit well with me at the moment. Im not one to WOT (wide open throttle) my vehicles any way. I have a Turbobusa for that, and I WOT that every time I ride it. (BTW my bike can make 309 horses on 8 pounds, I have the dyno sheets. Talk about a beast) I have a LS400 and I only WOT that vehicle once in 11 years....... So you guys are telling me there is no other way to tell??

Buck, a quick way to solve this is to sit down and write Steve Dinan a letter and set forth your concerns about the dyno and the end result after the installation. I am sure that Steve will be quick to respond with the information you need. I suggest snail mail as that does get more attention these days than email. Just a thought.

Originally Posted by UncleJ

Buck, a quick way to solve this is to sit down and write Steve Dinan a letter and set forth your concerns about the dyno and the end result after the installation. I am sure that Steve will be quick to respond with the information you need. I suggest snail mail as that does get more attention these days than email. Just a thought.

You know,,,,that doesn't sound like a bad idea. I will do that........!!!Thanks for the idea...

You guys are aware that it's going to be impossible to guarantee "standard" gains as there are too many factors that will come into play.

I spoke to Dinan last week regarding the tune for our 7 to discuss ensuring some baseline gain. The type of dyno, vehicle condition, fuel, weather and especially altitude will all impact the results. I won't be tuning until the spring/summer but have already arranged a pre- and post- tune dyno to see the actual gains. I'll expect a significant gain, but also know that I won't see the optimum numbers that they claim at sea level. I will discuss more with my dealership as they are an authorized Dinan agent.

Buck, you are very welcome. Hope you get the info needed.

Originally Posted by Cdnrockies

You guys are aware that it's going to be impossible to guarantee "standard" gains as there are too many factors that will come into play.

I spoke to Dinan last week regarding the tune for our 7 to discuss ensuring some baseline gain. The type of dyno, vehicle condition, fuel, weather and especially altitude will all impact the results. I won't be tuning until the spring/summer but have already arranged a pre- and post- tune dyno to see the actual gains. I'll expect a significant gain, but also know that I won't see the optimum numbers that they claim at sea level. I will discuss more with my dealership as they are an authorized Dinan agent.

I kind of understand what you are saying, BUT when a tuner makes a claim that you are going to get XXX hp and XXX ft-lb, I think you better get close to those numbers. I can possible see a 10% varience but not more than that, I am sure that the folks at Dinan have been around long enough to know what the parasitic (sic) loss should be. They have 5 full time engineers on staff, so they should know. I am going to write to Dinan and see what kind of response I get. Mind you, I am not trying to bust their chops if they are reasonably off on their claims, but I can't see them being 20%-40% off either! Like I said before, my butt dyno probably can't tell the difference between a 60hp difference vs a 93hp difference, but I would be less likely to pay $2999 for a 60hp tune!!!!

I just dinan stage 2'd my 2013 e70 X5 50i m sport today. 495hp and 573lb/tq. Yes, it grabs the gas, but so worth the power, it is insane. My wife's 2010 M5 V10 was side by side during our 0-60 test granted she doesn't know how to get off the line as well as i do. After 70mph, her V10 and sleeker body design beat me, but still. I ran a 13.88 in cold weather the other day for my 1/4 mile in the X5. Whether you get the 35 or 50i, look into the DINAN upgrades. I'd rather be filling up every 6 days but be able to have this insane power when i want. If i drive it economically, i still get 20mpg easily.

Originally Posted by garychampagne

I just dinan stage 2'd my 2013 e70 X5 50i m sport today. 495hp and 573lb/tq. Yes, it grabs the gas, but so worth the power, it is insane. My wife's 2010 M5 V10 was side by side during our 0-60 test granted she doesn't know how to get off the line as well as i do. After 70mph, her V10 and sleeker body design beat me, but still. I ran a 13.88 in cold weather the other day for my 1/4 mile in the X5. Whether you get the 35 or 50i, look into the DINAN upgrades. I'd rather be filling up every 6 days but be able to have this insane power when i want. If i drive it economically, i still get 20mpg easily.

My brother has a 550i and I have an x5 5.0i. We both did the upgrade. Worth every penny IMO. Oh and The X5 sounds way better I was amazed that you could bury the needle with room to spare with the X5. I just wish I could turn off the x drive so I could light up the tires when my inner hoodlum wants to come out.

Can you guys report a little more on your dinah upgrades ?

Gas mileage ?
Did you only tune the car or also exhaust and intercooler ?
Any other improvement aside of speed ? throttle response ? transmission shifts ?

Not sure about the gas mileage, but I'm assuming it can get down to 11 or 12mpg if I'm driving it really hard for the week, otherwise the dinan software keeps the original fuel mixtures in D so that the car shifts at 2,000 rpm. In other words, the dinan upgrades only use more gas if you are constantly flooring it. Since I did these upgrades right when I got the car, I can't really remember what the car was like before the upgrades. The shifts are pretty long in sport mode, allowing you to get up to 3500rpm depending on how hard you are in the throttle. Gears 1, 2 and 3 are pretty short (only about 1500 rpm off from eachother). To get the fastest off the line, I try to keep the torque at its highest by shifting at 4500 rpm, which drops into the next gear around 2800 rpm

i had stage 2 for my old 550i. it's a no brainer. since my x5 50i is really my wife's now, i wont do the tune. but if it fits your checkbook and your goals, you are a fool not to do it. easily the most exciting thing i did to my f10 550. the dinan tune is sweet. run don't walk

highyo... can you share MPG changes ?
not that it really matters but I always wonder...

Did you install the tune at yoru bmw dealer ? how much ? any discount... ?

Originally Posted by philooo

highyo... can you share MPG changes ?
not that it really matters but I always wonder...

Did you install the tune at yoru bmw dealer ? how much ? any discount... ?

MPG went from 17.5 or so to 15-16. nothing too dramatic. you don't really find yourself stepping on it for that long cuz 0-60 whoooooooshes by very quickly. i thought it was more civilized too aroudn town but that may be in my head

i went to motor works west in wycoff, nj and had some discount that dinan offered. i think like 15%. that place is a shrine to bmw. the labor shouldnt be more than 30 min tops

Originally Posted by highyo

i had stage 2 for my old 550i. it's a no brainer. since my x5 50i is really my wife's now, i wont do the tune. but if it fits your checkbook and your goals, you are a fool not to do it. easily the most exciting thing i did to my f10 550. the dinan tune is sweet. run don't walk

+1 my 5.0i is like a bat outta hell. I got the stage 2 tune. Since there were no Dinan dealers nearby, I had them mail the cables, and they walked me through the programming with my laptop over the phone. Required me downloading their software, and then downloading the tune (and no, I don't have a copy of it :P, they lock it down real good!)

You won't regret it though. The X5 exhaust is awesome too. Sounds like you are in a race car.

Originally Posted by pdizzle

You won't regret it though. The X5 exhaust is awesome too. Sounds like you are in a race car.

Do you mean the stock x5 exhaust sounds different with the tune ? Or did you upgrade to Dinan exhaust ?

What impact on your mpg and throttle response at take off ?