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Dinan Suspension Review

24K views 143 replies 24 participants last post by  Airjoe 
#1 ·
Just a teaser for now. I just got my car back from the dealer and I will do a full write-up tonight.

Here's how she looks:
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Bmw Luxury vehicle
 
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1
#2 ·
Awesome. You lucky guy.

Please can you comment on how the suspension affects these things:
1) Crispness of Turn-in response
2) General body roll
3) Stability in bus-stop chicane like maneuvers (when you make a quick right then left again move at speed as if driving through a bus stop or driving around an obstacle).
4) feeling of weight transfer when braking
5) Ride Quality
6) Is the ride height reduction in front and back identically the same or has the angle of the car changed slightly
7) Do you notice the car is lower when getting in and out
 
#3 ·
1) Crispness of Turn-in response
Some more detail here if you can:

1: at different speeds
2: does it change turning point (are you finding early apex compared to how you turn)
3: does it change exit (are you better able to handle late apex)
4: if you can find a good place, how does it change back to back or complex curves

Very jealous, have some fun getting some answers.
 
#6 ·
Congrats!! Use it well
 
#8 ·
Aaaaaand? :D
 
#9 · (Edited)
Thanks for the comments so far...;)

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Luxury vehicle Executive car


Okay, before I get into my review I need to supply some background:

My car is not stock!

1) I swapped out my 19" MSport 351M wheels and Goodyear LS tires for 19" BBS RGR wheels and Michelin Pilot Super Sport non-RFT tires.

What did this do? It trimmed 71lbs of unsprung weight, improved my grip, improved my road feel, lightened the my steering, and softened the ride. This was a significant improvement in the overall handling nature of the car.

2) I added Dinan S1 and then S2 software

What did this do? It knocked my 0-60 down to 4 seconds and my quarter mile down to 12.5 seconds. But there was a downside, my car would suffer from significant squat during hard acceleration, which if in a turn (like pulling into traffic) meant I had to actively manage my power to control the understeer.

3) I swapped out my Summer wheels for even lighter Winter wheels.

What did this do? It help me draw a much needed conclusion, the stiffer Winter tires firmed up the ride a bit, but it really isolated the softness of the springs when under full power, so I needed new springs.

So why am I sharing all of this history, which is already known my many here at Bimmerfest? Because these mods exist working together on my car and I cannot predict how this set of springs will feel on a car with a different set-up.

So first I will start with Mrs Dunderhi's comments:

1) Well that was undramatic!

This occurred just after I told her to brace herself right before I did a high speed emergency lane change maneuver.

2) I'm not sure what's it's going to take to brake the back end loose.

This was said after exiting a section of very sharp twisties (15 mph bends at ~45mph)

3) I'm going to need more places to hold on to!

This was said while on my favorite road with a number of sweeping bends and a chicane or two. Yes, we took the long way home tonight.

Hmm, need I say anything more? I think Mrs. Dunderhi has said it all. :D

Okay, maybe some qualitative observations. As side note, my car is equipped with DDC and ARS.

Dive - Reduced in all modes, but to be honest I really didn't make a big effort to get a feel for dive this evening.
Squat - One of my biggest annoyances after getting Dinan software. The back-end hunkered down and the front end lifted up. It's still there to some extent in Comfort mode, but pretty much disappears by the time you get into Sport mode.
Roll - Decreased in all modes, Sport mode is incredibly flat in the turns.
Stability - Well, this means different things to different people, but I can say with confidence, I took some turns faster than I ever have and the car behaved as predicted.
Responsiveness - My lighter wheels really upped my steering responsiveness, but the new springs decreased the plow that I experienced in hard turns.
Emergency Maneuvers - (Professional driver on a closed course. Do not attempt.) ;) I did do some sharp S-turns (think slalom testing) at highway speeds and this is one place the car's mass cannot be overcome and the momentum of the rear end of the car could be felt lagging behind the maneuvers. It was still under control and surpassed the previous setup.
Turning - Since there are several turning questions, I did take on a couple clover leafs at speed, and the level of control is much improved, to the point I felt comfortable accelerating while in the cloverleaf.
Ride Height Reduction - I can't see it or feel it. The gaps in the wheel arches are about two fingers.
Compliance - I lost a good bit of pothole absorption capability, so my car feels more like it did when is was equipped with RFTs.

So how does this affect the driving modes of the car?

I originally had five modes for my suspension:

1) DSC Inactive (Pogo stick mode) - Absolutely horrible! Each corner of the car moved independently in the vertical plane.
2) Comfort (Lincoln mode) - Unacceptable! The front and the back of the car moved independently in the vertical plane.
3) Normal (Large Sedan mode) - Acceptable for cruising. The car was okay under non-performance circumstances.
4) Sport (My Normal mode) - Good for a sport sedan. Has what it takes, unless pushing it hard under full power.
5) Sport+ (Hold on mode) - Good for relieving stress. Didn't seem to make anything much better, just faster!

I now have five new modes for my suspension:

3.5) DSC Inactive (Old Normal mode) - Wow! If this was to only mode, I'd think most people would be okay with it. Some lean in the turns, but not that bad for normal use.
4) Comfort (Old Sport Mode) - Double Wow! This feels like a sport sedan! It doesn't cushion the blow as well, but it's no longer a Buick!
5) Normal (New Sport mode) - Just how I like it - most of the time. This might be my new default for the commute.
5+) Sport (Super Sport mode) - Just how I like it when I want to make the tires sing and that's what they did on tight cloverleaf today.
5++) Sport+ (I'm must be afraid to try it mode) - I didn't even think to try this evening, the other modes had what I was looking for.

My perceived differences between the modes are much smaller now, hence my numbering scheme.

On the negative side, I think I have paid the most for labor thus far @1,250 + $180 for an alignment, so maybe I'll buy one less $400 flashlight or something like that. Also, unlike what my pseudo SA originally claimed, BMWSS doesn't offer a BMWCCA discount on non-BMW parts. At least when I would take my Benz's in for service next door, they would say it was $500 or something like that and then take 10% off to make me feel good about them fleecing me. :rolleyes:

Finally, in my opinion, if you get Dinan or any other performance software for your 550, you should really consider having a firmer suspension setup to deal with the additional power. Tell your wives it's a safety issue. :thumbup:

P.S. I hit a thousand words in a single post! I must really like these springs. :roundel:
 
#141 ·
Pure and simple a great help thank you!!!

thanks for the comments so far...;)

View attachment 308539

okay, before i get into my review i need to supply some background:

my car is not stock!

1) i swapped out my 19" msport 351m wheels and goodyear ls tires for 19" bbs rgr wheels and michelin pilot super sport non-rft tires.

What did this do? It trimmed 71lbs of unsprung weight, improved my grip, improved my road feel, lightened the my steering, and softened the ride. This was a significant improvement in the overall handling nature of the car.

2) i added dinan s1 and then s2 software

what did this do? It knocked my 0-60 down to 4 seconds and my quarter mile down to 12.5 seconds. But there was a downside, my car would suffer from significant squat during hard acceleration, which if in a turn (like pulling into traffic) meant i had to actively manage my power to control the understeer.

3) i swapped out my summer wheels for even lighter winter wheels.

What did this do? It help me draw a much needed conclusion, the stiffer winter tires firmed up the ride a bit, but it really isolated the softness of the springs when under full power, so i needed new springs.

so why am i sharing all of this history, which is already known my many here at bimmerfest? Because these mods exist working together on my car and i cannot predict how this set of springs will feel on a car with a different set-up.

So first i will start with mrs dunderhi's comments:

1) well that was undramatic!

this occurred just after i told her to brace herself right before i did a high speed emergency lane change maneuver.

2) i'm not sure what's it's going to take to brake the back end loose.

this was said after exiting a section of very sharp twisties (15 mph bends at ~45mph)

3) i'm going to need more places to hold on to!

this was said while on my favorite road with a number of sweeping bends and a chicane or two. Yes, we took the long way home tonight.

hmm, need i say anything more? I think mrs. Dunderhi has said it all. :d

okay, maybe some qualitative observations. As side note, my car is equipped with ddc and ars.

dive - reduced in all modes, but to be honest i really didn't make a big effort to get a feel for dive this evening.
squat - one of my biggest annoyances after getting dinan software. The back-end hunkered down and the front end lifted up. It's still there to some extent in comfort mode, but pretty much disappears by the time you get into sport mode.
roll - decreased in all modes, sport mode is incredibly flat in the turns.
stability - well, this means different things to different people, but i can say with confidence, i took some turns faster than i ever have and the car behaved as predicted.
responsiveness - my lighter wheels really upped my steering responsiveness, but the new springs decreased the plow that i experienced in hard turns.
emergency maneuvers - (professional driver on a closed course. Do not attempt.) ;) i did do some sharp s-turns (think slalom testing) at highway speeds and this is one place the car's mass cannot be overcome and the momentum of the rear end of the car could be felt lagging behind the maneuvers. It was still under control and surpassed the previous setup.
turning - since there are several turning questions, i did take on a couple clover leafs at speed, and the level of control is much improved, to the point i felt comfortable accelerating while in the cloverleaf.
ride height reduction - i can't see it or feel it. The gaps in the wheel arches are about two fingers.
compliance - i lost a good bit of pothole absorption capability, so my car feels more like it did when is was equipped with rfts.

so how does this affect the driving modes of the car?

i originally had five modes for my suspension:

1) dsc inactive (pogo stick mode) - absolutely horrible! Each corner of the car moved independently in the vertical plane.
2) comfort (lincoln mode) - unacceptable! The front and the back of the car moved independently in the vertical plane.
3) normal (large sedan mode) - acceptable for cruising. The car was okay under non-performance circumstances.
4) sport (my normal mode) - good for a sport sedan. Has what it takes, unless pushing it hard under full power.
5) sport+ (hold on mode) - good for relieving stress. Didn't seem to make anything much better, just faster!

i now have five new modes for my suspension:

3.5) dsc inactive (old normal mode) - wow! If this was to only mode, i'd think most people would be okay with it. Some lean in the turns, but not that bad for normal use.
4) comfort (old sport mode) - double wow! This feels like a sport sedan! It doesn't cushion the blow as well, but it's no longer a buick!
5) normal (new sport mode) - just how i like it - most of the time. This might be my new default for the commute.
5+) sport (super sport mode) - just how i like it when i want to make the tires sing and that's what they did on tight cloverleaf today.
5++) sport+ (i'm must be afraid to try it mode) - i didn't even think to try this evening, the other modes had what i was looking for.

My perceived differences between the modes are much smaller now, hence my numbering scheme.

on the negative side, i think i have paid the most for labor thus far @1,250 + $180 for an alignment, so maybe i'll buy one less $400 flashlight or something like that. Also, unlike what my pseudo sa originally claimed, bmwss doesn't offer a bmwcca discount on non-bmw parts. At least when i would take my benz's in for service next door, they would say it was $500 or something like that and then take 10% off to make me feel good about them fleecing me. :rolleyes:

Finally, in my opinion, if you get dinan or any other performance software for your 550, you should really consider having a firmer suspension setup to deal with the additional power. Tell your wives it's a safety issue. :thumbup:

P.s. I hit a thousand words in a single post! I must really like these springs. :roundel:
 
#11 · (Edited)
Nah, I just write slowly. :typing:

Thanks for the concern. ;)

HEY! No backsies :rofl:
 
#12 ·
Congrats

- a great deal of effort with a good result - a very cool F10 :cool:

(hope you show it at Bimmerfest East again ....or perhaps at Cars and Coffee sooner....)
 
#14 ·
Hmmm, I'm a bit nervous about the pothole absorbtion capability. When are you taking the ride down to NoVA? :eek:)
 
#15 ·
Me too.

This is why I was hoping someone would reprogram the suspension rather than just changing the springs. I would like a better sport plus mode, but not at the expense of the comfort+ mode (which I find useful on some really bad roads).
 
#17 ·
Tischer does good work, but they appear to be expensive relative to what everyone else has said. If I had to do it again, I would get a couple of labor quotes first.

BTW, after couple more drives, both spirited and not, I would say I am happy with this mod. The roads around here are fairly smooth, so the only test I haven't done yet is a drive down to DC. :eeps:
 
#22 ·
http://www.fairfaxservicecenter.com/

These guys are right up the street from my office. In fact ,they are about 1/2 block away from BMW FFX, lol.

They are a Dinan installer, and likely to be cheaper than a main dealer.

There is a guy with an E38 "Dinan" 7 that I see on the way to work in the morning a lot who parks at this place.
 
#24 ·
I just sent a note to Dinan saying WTF? :dunno:
 
#25 ·
Holy crap, did the price just HALF? Or am I misremembering? :p
 
#28 ·
Thats a far more realistic price as when you couple it with the installation cost you were paying almost 3x's more than you would with other springs on the market. I saw it only drops it .5" though and I don't know why I thought it was alot more? Why would you need shorter bump stops for just that drop? My RD's drop it just over 1" and in alot of hard driving it hasn't bottomed out. I wonder if they'll refund those who paid double the price just a few days ago?
 
#29 ·
Aren't RDS springs around a grand?
 
#30 ·
Dunder I am really excited to hear about your experience with the sling set up. The car is looking great. You made the story about the ride and the modes very very interesting. Your narration was great!! Looking forward to hearing more!!

Enjoy it brother , ill see you in 6 months!
 
#31 ·
Thanks, I'm enjoying every mile. :D
 
#36 ·
That's what I'm reading. Makes you wonder how much R&D goes into their products before release. Their track record with the F10 is pretty lousy so far:

  • Release Stage 1 software, then 6 months later release Stage 2 with no hardware requirements, just software improvements for power delivery and driveability "After many hours of further research, tuning and testing"
  • Release a $3,700 exhaust (mufflers and tips) that drones enough for people to remove and return it.
  • Release a suspension system with shock mount relocators, take it off the website for 2 weeks and re-release with shorter bumpstops at half the cost.
 
#38 ·
Tbh though regardless of what they would have done they were always gonna release the tune in stages for financial reasons even if they could have rung out every last hp at the beginning. As for the shock mounts frankly I think they realized it was superfluous even without the shortened bump stops. Every other kit out drops it more than double what they do and I don't think I've heard anyone report issues of it bottoming out. I think it's more of a way for it to seem more thoroughly engineered than an actual need.
 
#39 ·
Maybe - but it would have made more sense if the Stage 2 was bundled with (and optimized for) additional hardware (catback exhaust, intake, intercooler) that could get even bigger gains. Instead it feels a bit nickel and dime to charge $500 for what Stage 1 should have been from the start.

I totally agree on the shock mounts, but why think of that AFTER you've released the product?

I think I've posted this before, but when I spend that much money on a product from a company with their reputation I expect it to be their best effort with use of the facilities and engineering team they talk about in the marketing. From what I'm seeing, it doesn't appear we're getting that.
 
#41 ·
My independent non BMW dealer quoted me $970 for the suspension install. I am going to wait though, and will likely do it sometime after the Stage 2 ECU update.
 
#43 ·
I think I'm going to need to keep my eyes peeled for some pretty quick and agile F10s in the DC area. :D

BTW, after a couple days with the new springs, I'm finding that I'm putting the car in Sport mode most of the time. I'm also noticing this tank of gas isn't doing so well. ;)
 
#44 ·
Where in MD are you? I live in Rockville right now but we just bought a house in Silver Spring and are moving there the end of the month. I'd love to see your car up close while I'm (im)patiently waiting for mine.
 
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