2008 550i Sport Package Dinan Mods Overview/Review

Originally Posted by NOTORIOUSe60

Nerd, literally not at all. The tranny in the car I have read about in many online sources is estimated to handle upwards of 500hp (and we're nowhere near that).

Its a tank...



Have the your SA reset the adaptations for sure, thats a free way to get the engine back to square one at least (barring there actually is something mechanically wrong).

Check out the Dinan software upgrade, $425 this month from Dinan, plays with the air-fuel rations, the VANOS timing and the fly-by-wire sensitivity of the throttle and gets rid of the delays BMW built into the throttle. The software re-map will only add negligible HP & Torque gains if done alone but the change in the seat-of-your-pants review is huge and really opens the car up.



Supersprint headers are sick. The italians make a sick product and I have heard of some pretty significant gains on the N62B48 motor (like in the 30-40 hp range). One thing in they are pricey as hell and I don't even know is supersprint stocks them for the N62B48? I know they do for the M5 v10...

For me it's like, hey, do I want to spend $4k+ on the work I did plus a Dinan exhaust or spend closer to $5k installed for headers for a substantially similar gain. I went my route because I felt it offered a more well-rounded gain and some more practicality. The headers would by my Stage II if I were to do it... Then I'd be in the 420hp range and that would be pretty damn sick.

If you do, definitely let me know how it goes, if you dyno'd it pre and post, where you found them and what it set you back.

Good luck!

Well I want both eventually, but I can't do it all at once. I think the headers will require a tune and the X-pipe should increase scavenging. Hopefully it goes well. Thanks man.

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Originally Posted by champaign777

I have stock 550i and i feel sluggish every time when i try to stop or push engine
driving me nuts ... i am going to dealer next week to talk about this

good news !
dealer reprogrammed entire car ( 2010 550i M Sport ) and from what i feel the lag is almost gone
before it was like ,- you slow down and then you push gas and you got this "what do you want from me ahhh" for 0.5 sec and then there are 2-3 slights pushes before engine is aligned with the rear wheels
this was on any speed before and we talk about Drive mode , not about Sport mode
now there is no gap on a high speed and on a low speed you got only one push and it's really fast
not that this lag is totally gone ( which i think is not possible for such a powerful engine ) but 70-80% improvement for sure
also i noticed slight ( maybe 0.5 MPG ) improvement in gas consuming on a HW ( drove 50 miles to another dealer as one which is near me is a total reap off )
LOL

Notorious, did you ever have an opportunity to dyno your 550i?

Another question, did you ever upgrade your exhaust? I like the route you went with doing everything except the exhaust; to me, the stock exhaust sounds decent but I have never been one to be in love with a loud exhaust. I like that it is a nice, refined sound. It seems that RPI and Dinan make the two most popular exhausts for our cars so which one gives the more refined sound?

Originally Posted by TX550

Notorious, did you ever have an opportunity to dyno your 550i?

Another question, did you ever upgrade your exhaust? I like the route you went with doing everything except the exhaust; to me, the stock exhaust sounds decent but I have never been one to be in love with a loud exhaust. I like that it is a nice, refined sound. It seems that RPI and Dinan make the two most popular exhausts for our cars so which one gives the more refined sound?

I have not yet dyno'd the car, no. To be honest, I know how different it feels and how much more pleasant it is to drive plus my wife is pregnant and life's a changin' a bit so it's not high on my list of priorities (although it would be cool to know).

Regarding the exhaust, that is the exact reason I did not upgrade my exhaust. I'm in my 30's and out of my own personal days of wanting/needing over the top car sound (no judgement whatsoever to people that are putting aftermarket exhausts on, just not my bag any longer). I would say however that if I ever did I would agree with you on the Dinan exhaust but would say Remus instead of RPI. I don't know the potential hp/tq gains of the Remus vs. the RPI but I do know the Remus is a more muted, angry sound than RPI. Personally I would just go Dinan. At the end of the day, Dinan only plays with BMW, Steve has a longstanding relationship with BMW, they spend big money r&d-ing and their products seem to be built rock solid. For me those things plus their warranty are worth the extra bucks. Peace of mind is priceless as I don't ever want to be messing up this $72k car I've got, know what I mean?

Originally Posted by NOTORIOUSe60

I have not yet dyno'd the car, no. To be honest, I know how different it feels and how much more pleasant it is to drive plus my wife is pregnant and life's a changin' a bit so it's not high on my list of priorities (although it would be cool to know).

Regarding the exhaust, that is the exact reason I did not upgrade my exhaust. I'm in my 30's and out of my own personal days of wanting/needing over the top car sound (no judgement whatsoever to people that are putting aftermarket exhausts on, just not my bag any longer). I would say however that if I ever did I would agree with you on the Dinan exhaust but would say Remus instead of RPI. I don't know the potential hp/tq gains of the Remus vs. the RPI but I do know the Remus is a more muted, angry sound than RPI. Personally I would just go Dinan. At the end of the day, Dinan only plays with BMW, Steve has a longstanding relationship with BMW, they spend big money r&d-ing and their products seem to be built rock solid. For me those things plus their warranty are worth the extra bucks. Peace of mind is priceless as I don't ever want to be messing up this $72k car I've got, know what I mean?

I understand where you are coming from completely. I'm not certain at this point if I will ever mod mine because I'm not sure how long I will be keeping it but if I decide to pull the trigger, I'll be going with Dinan for sure.

I had a question about the Dinan intake; are oiled filters a requirement? I wouldn't use a K&N filter, or anything else like it in my Jeep Wrangler with the trusty old straight 6 much less in an expensive, German V8.

Originally Posted by TX550

I understand where you are coming from completely. I'm not certain at this point if I will ever mod mine because I'm not sure how long I will be keeping it but if I decide to pull the trigger, I'll be going with Dinan for sure.

I had a question about the Dinan intake; are oiled filters a requirement? I wouldn't use a K&N filter, or anything else like it in my Jeep Wrangler with the trusty old straight 6 much less in an expensive, German V8.

What's wrong with the oil K&N filters, i was thinking about getting one for my car.

Originally Posted by MRV99

If you get 400 then thats great! Just from what I have read from past dinan 5's and what the power listings on the dinan site I thought 40hp was quite aggressive for the mod list. If Steve said it will be 400 then who am I to argue. Good luck

I know this is old but just saw it. The 40hp and 32tq (or so) number was with the Dinan exhaust as well, which as you know I do not have. My mod list should, at speed, put out right around 30-32hp and 24-25 tq.

Just didn't want the extra sound of a new full exhaust, ZHP exhaust sounded good enough to me as I like sleepers, always have.

Best!

Originally Posted by TX550

I understand where you are coming from completely. I'm not certain at this point if I will ever mod mine because I'm not sure how long I will be keeping it but if I decide to pull the trigger, I'll be going with Dinan for sure.

I had a question about the Dinan intake; are oiled filters a requirement? I wouldn't use a K&N filter, or anything else like it in my Jeep Wrangler with the trusty old straight 6 much less in an expensive, German V8.

With the Dinan box, yes and no is an aftermarket filer a requirement.

If only running the CAI, if you can find a paper filter to fit, you could certainly use that but when looking at my Dinan box vs the stock box, it seems (?) the Dinan box is slightly larger so I don't think the stock paper filter size would work (but thats just eyeballing it, I am NOT sure). Also it comes from Dinan so they obviously believe it should be there and their claimed gains only apply when using one.

When/if you also have the Dinan Stage II or III software upgrade, the coding is re-written specifically to use the resistance that a K&N oiled/cloth-dry filter would provide (less than paper) so it is supposed to be used with them, NOT the paper filter.

Hope that makes sense.

Originally Posted by KLR4LIFE

What's wrong with the oil K&N filters, i was thinking about getting one for my car.

Some people believe the oil from the filter, which is certainly possible, can affect and ruin the MAF sensor which helps the engine programming determine air/fuel mixtures, throttle response, etc. Some people have had issues, many have not but it is definitely possible. I personally believe that with the proper level of oiling (not over-saturated) and a MAF sensor cleaning spray squirt or two that they are completely safe.

Also, they do provide a bit less filtering. Thats a whole other conversation as to whether or not that causes any issues with the motor. Again, I am not a believer that a well maintained filter can hurt the motor, but to each his own.

Originally Posted by KLR4LIFE

What's wrong with the oil K&N filters, i was thinking about getting one for my car.

In short....nothing's wrong with a K&N. I've spent a ton of time on the phone with Dinan while I built my Dinan5 and the guy (I forget his name) responsible for my area indicated that he throws in a filter every 25k miles. He doesn't keep them, just replaces them. That's what I'm doing. They even sell K&N filters on their website.

If its good enough for Dinan its good enough for me.

Originally Posted by NOTORIOUSe60

Some people believe the oil from the filter, which is certainly possible, can affect and ruin the MAF sensor which helps the engine programming determine air/fuel mixtures, throttle response, etc. Some people have had issues, many have not but it is definitely possible. I personally believe that with the proper level of oiling (not over-saturated) and a MAF sensor cleaning spray squirt or two that they are completely safe.

Also, they do provide a bit less filtering. Thats a whole other conversation as to whether or not that causes any issues with the motor. Again, I am not a believer that a well maintained filter can hurt the motor, but to each his own.

For me, the problem isn't so much the oil problem, it's the fact that it WILL filter less than stock. Really, the only way to see if it does hurt the engine at all would be by running UOAs between oil changes; if you have silica in the mix, it usually points to a filtration problem. I am not sure if someone has done this; until I have a little over a grand burning a whole in my wallet, I will do it myself and see if there are truly any negative effects.