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Logging Dinan S2 - 2013 550ix

2K views 17 replies 6 participants last post by  M4XBMW7 
#1 ·
Hi,

I've had Dinan S2 on my 2013 550ix since it was new. I now have 2500 miles. I got a Bavarian Technic cable so I could do some logging and confirm it was performing to spec. My reflash was done at BMW Gallery in Norwood, MA, same place as Alextremo, so I figured I would get similar results.

I've had modified cars for over a decade, but this is the first time I've logged with a PC, so I'm still figuring it out. This is also my first auto, and the kickdown is pissing me off, esp when I want it to stay in 3rd or 4th at 3000 RPM while mashing the throttle.

The cliff notes are that I'm making less boost, 12.5 or so PSI, compared to 14+ for Alextremo. I seem to have more timing, about 15+ degrees vs 11. Not sure if the tune is a little different on the 2013 model? I've seen other users post that they are seeing ~10-11psi vs 8-9 stock. I think this was CTSoxFan? He dynoed 400+ WHP on a Mustang dyno. So, it's good that it appears to be more boost than stock, but why isn't it as much as Alextremo? Throttle is showing ~80%, since I have to avoid the kickdown to get a longer pull in one gear.

I have no dyno yet, but I may do this at the shop that tuned my Evo. They also have a Mustang "heartbreaker". My only perf measurement has been the PocketDyno iphone app. I run consistent 4.4x seconds 0-60 in Sport+, manual mode, with brake torquing and letting the car shift near redline.

Images are below. Regarding the BT software, I'm logging Ambient Pressure, Intake pressure, RPM, Throttle, timing, and speed. I dump the data to Excel and calculate boost as (intake pressure (in hPA) - ambient pressure (in hPA)) * 0.014503773773022. With refresh set to "fast", I'm getting 4 - 5 reading per second. There are two sets of intake manifold pressures, I guess for each bank? Not sure if it matters which one I use, I haven't experimented too much yet.

Any thoughts or tips/feedback regarding the numbers or BT software?

2 of my pulls





pull from another Dinan S2, I believe it is 550i with 6speed.

 
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#2 ·
That was me, and my readings are using a p3 gauge which is plugged into the OBD port. Unfortunately, I was not able to get readings during the dyno run. I have not done a lot of extensive testing to try to see how high it will read, I am going off of what I see while driving.
 
#3 ·
Hi,

I sent Dinan a note to ask if there are any changes between 2013 software and earlier versions, or if perhaps it could be related to 6speed vs auto, or perhaps the software isn't loaded at all. :)

I noticed on the Dinan site that 2012 and earlier Stage 2 software is CARB exempt, but the software for 2013 is pending CARB approval. Not sure if it's just administrative, or if the software is different and therefore needs to go through approval again.

The perf in my car is "pretty good", but if I got 2 more PSI of boost and a more aggressive power curve, that would be sweet. :D

I saw a post where a guy had Dinan Stage 2 and ran 12.4 in the quarter, which would make sense. After adding more hardware and bumping up to higher stage software, his car ran slower. Of course there are different ambient conditions etc., but maybe something changed in the software installation process or in the vehicles themselves that is affecting how the Dinan software gets installed... For example, does it affect newer model year cars, or does it affect anyone with software installed after xxxx date...

If anyone has logs of a bone stock or modded car, please share for comparison.

Thanks.
 
#4 · (Edited)
0-60 log

Hi,

No reply from Dinan yet....

Tried something different, logged while doing a 0-60 run. Interesting, now my boost hit 13.1/13.2 PSI boost, and this is in a lower gear with less load. I was definitely WOT, but throttle still shows 80. I thought it was a percent, but if so, I don't know how to get 100, lol.

Interestingly, since it tracks the time I was able to calc my 0-100 KM/H at 4.64 seconds, which I think would be just about spot on with the iPhone app time of 4.45 seconds 0-60 MPH....

I'm closer to the boost I would expect, but the delivery is more gradual. Alextremo's dyno shows a more powerful initial hit. My car ramps up the power with RPM. Not sure if something isn't right with the tune, the tune changed for 2013, or maybe I have a boost leak or something...

Any feedback or thoughts appreciated.

It was 80+ degrees F, IAT climbed slightly during the run. There is a spike in the boost for a split second during the shift, but you can see the throttle is closed, not sure if that's bad or what... Added raw data below.

RPM Boost IAT Throttle Timing Speed
2157 -0.2 42 40.37 17.25 0
2396 1.1 42 43.37 16.5 5
2394 2.5 42 48.6 15.75 13
2665 5.0 42 73.66 10.88 20
3240 9.2 42 70.38 10.13 28
4069 9.3 41.3 77.85 12.75 37
4912 9.8 41.3 80.64 14.63 45
5760 11.0 41.3 80.97 14.25 52
6382 11.8 41.3 80.85 16.13 57
6118 13.2 42 77.37 -0.75 61
5098 18.2 42 26.34 16.13 67
5343 6.6 42.8 76.07 16.13 72
5717 8.7 42.8 80.85 15.38 77
6117 11.1 42.8 80.95 15.38 82
6465 12.0 43.5 80.94 16.88 87
6444 13.1 43.5 79.35 -15.37 89
4857 19.2 44.3 20.96 14.25 92
4835 8.2 44.3 65.6 13.88 96
5046 7.4 44.3 79.85 13.5 100
5254 10.0 44.3 81.05 13.5 104
5451 11.7 45 18.77 13.5 106
5421 9.7 45 10.06 27.38 106

 
#7 ·
I'm in MA and roughly at sea level.

Have you reset your gas pedal recently? Not sure if it effects full throttle, but does appear to help the responsiveness.

Throttle Reset
I have done this a few times. I posted this on a few other forums and the throttle reading of ~80 appears to be correct for our cars. Alextremo's throttle reading was also ~80.

Per some advice I'm going to try logging requested and actual load to see how that looks, since the tuning is "load" based, so boost may vary.

I'd love to send these logs to someone at Dinan for feedback. Does anyone have an email contact over there? Following some of the "phantom Dinan" tune threads, it seems like a few guys have had the software reinstalled and the car felt better.

I will definitely follow up with my dealer, for example when I get some springs installed in the near future. I seem to be making a little more boost than stock, but my gut feeling is that something isn't quite right, since I would expect more initial "oomph" in the lower RPM and better overall performance. My other theory is that I have stage 1 vs stage 2 software.

Thanks.
 
#6 ·
Have you reset your gas pedal recently? Not sure if it effects full throttle, but does appear to help the responsiveness.

Throttle Reset
 
#11 ·
I'm making 13psi stock boost on my N63, 15psi with BMS stage 1 , have logged many times with same results. Is Too bad that stage 1 logging perimeters only allows us to log and tweak boost, at least for now Terry says .
It would be interesting to see how closely this matches to a mechanical boost reading. Do you have the ability to log timing and throttle position? I would like to see if other tunes are seeing the throttle closure at 3k rpm that is seen in my and berkel's logs.
 
#9 ·
Hi,

Thanks for the info. My boost looks like your stock boost (doh!), but that looks high for a stock curve. Course, I haven't seen too much data, with people reporting as little as 8-9 PSI stock per their gauges... Maybe you got a Wednesday car. :D

What is the green line at ~5? I thought timing, but that would be low, and it is labeled as MAF I think?
 
#12 ·
More logs would be awesome. I was going to mention the throttle closure @ ~3K rpm as well, but I already put so much info and questions out there, lol. I looked back and I seem to have it in all the logs so far, except the 0-60 run. That is the one run where I turned DTC on (Sport+mode). I don't think I'm about to spin the tires at 3K rpm in 3rd or 4th, so it's odd that it would matter, but I will try again this weekend in Sport +.

Alextremo, couple quick BT software questions:

Does the BT software decode your VIN? It doesn't on mine, so I wonder if I'm getting all the available parameters. I even tried to enter the last 7 digits in my garage with WiFI since it says it can decode via the Internet but no luck.

Are you logging Ambient Pressure and the Intake Charge before Throttle in hPA to calc boost in Excel? You don't have boost directly avail as a parameter, right?

Finally, does it matter if you use Intake Charge 1 or 2? I've tried both, but not at the same time, which I guess would be a good test. I try to keep the number of parms down, but maybe I can check this as well.

Sorry for all the questions all, just trying to learn and share knowledge. :thumbup:
 
#15 ·
More logs would be awesome. I was going to mention the throttle closure @ ~3K rpm as well, but I already put so much info and questions out there, lol. I looked back and I seem to have it in all the logs so far, except the 0-60 run. That is the one run where I turned DTC on (Sport+mode). I don't think I'm about to spin the tires at 3K rpm in 3rd or 4th, so it's odd that it would matter, but I will try again this weekend in Sport +.

Alextremo, couple quick BT software questions:

Does the BT software decode your VIN? It doesn't on mine, so I wonder if I'm getting all the available parameters. I even tried to enter the last 7 digits in my garage with WiFI since it says it can decode via the Internet but no luck.

Are you logging Ambient Pressure and the Intake Charge before Throttle in hPA to calc boost in Excel? You don't have boost directly avail as a parameter, right?

Finally, does it matter if you use Intake Charge 1 or 2? I've tried both, but not at the same time, which I guess would be a good test. I try to keep the number of parms down, but maybe I can check this as well.

Sorry for all the questions all, just trying to learn and share knowledge. :thumbup:
It should, but if it doesn't I don't think it changes the number of parameters you can log. There are far fewer for the n63 than for the n54, but most if the important ones are there.

Yes, I'm calculating boost the same way you are.

It shouldn't matter which one, it's not a bad idea to see both but if it slows down the refresh rate I'd just pick one.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Logging is extremely limited with the BMS stage 1. BOOST only , but my AFR on the dyno was spot on and by what Terry told me AFR is left alone (stock settings ) with the stage 1 which tells me we might be running on the richer side stock .

BMS stage 1 is basically 1.5 degrees of timing less than stock with the 2psi increase , and again AFR is left alone .
 
#16 · (Edited)
Updates with Stage 3

Hi,

After my research and seeing posts on other forums about the "phantom" tune effect, I reached out directly to Dinan. After email exchanges with Dinan, here is what I found:

Originally, the tune bumped boost upto ~14PSI, even for Stage 1.

At some point, they found they could make the same power/TQ with less boost (and presumably more timing et al.).

This exactly backs up what I see between Alextremo and my car, when both had Dinan Stage 2. I had about 15 degrees of timing with 12.5 PSI boost while he has 14+ PSI with ~10 degrees of timing. I don't have a quarter mile time or dyno, but I'm guessing that the tune delivers approx the same or less power/TQ than before.

Per the Dinan source, each stage now makes incrementally more boost. In another forum, a user with Stage 4 was told to expect 15 PSI. This made me decide to upgrade my tune from Stage 2 to Stage 3, even though I had seen posts where a member (Alextremo again) switched to Stage 3, but downgraded back to Stage 2 after he didn't like the results (this was with no exhaust installed). I don't have an exhaust, but may add one later, which is suggested with Stage 3.

Sooooooo, I just got my car back today along with Dinan springs. On a side note, after one drive I like them a lot. Definitely improve the handling. floatiness, dive, and squat. The car is lowered a minimal amount, about one finger difference, but car may settle more over time. I wasn't looking for a big drop, I drove a lowered Evo for a decade and didn't want to deal with scraping or being a snow plow again. Next up is sway bars, which I plan to install myself.

Back to the topic, car felt faster as well right away, and I was able to do a few quick logs. I didn't get a good 3rd or 4th gear pull, but I did get to run through the gears at WOT from a stoplight. I am now seeing 14+ PSI peak, but timing did drop back down to about 12 degrees, which of course makes sense. I probably won't try bumping the software up again unless I at least get an exhaust. Maybe Stage 4 will get me close to 15 PSI, but without more improved breathing, it may not help. Just sharing my experience in case it helps someone. I will try to get some hard numbers, dyno and or ET soon or next year.

<edit>
Here is a quick log - Boost is hitting 14.4 @ 5800 RPM. Timing ranges from 10-13.

</edit>
 
#18 · (Edited)
Were you able to log timing to make sure it is what they are claiming ? Makes sense to me what they are saying as each two degrees of timing added is good for 20-30 rwhp 15psi and 10 degrees of timing is actually running safe IMO, but curious what the AFR is ?

Never Mind the timing question, just saw the log and looks like they are spot on :)
 
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