Well at the very least this should get thew forums warmed up with debate... Today I read a letter in Roundel to fellow and king tech guru Mike Miller's column. It disturbed me as it claimed that there was a large internet based mean spirited bias against some of the aftermarket high performance BMW suppliers most notably Dinan but I have seen the same sentiments expressed on-line against many of the BMW CCA advertisers and supporters. So in an effort to clear the air and tell the truth about what is, and what just isn't, I have a what I feel is some good experience for much of the BMW aftermarket business since I am involved in such on a daily basis. And I should say before we get started that I sell or wish I sold most of the products I endorse but I can assure the readers here that it is for the very same reason I choose to offer these lines, that is they offer the best in performance and or a combination of performance and customer service for my personal cars or customers needs.Yes, all of this is just opinion, but it is also derived from many years of amateur and professional fun with cars. So, In the land of general BMW high performance parts I have semi-recently decided to go with Dinan for so many reasons that at one point it just became a no-brainer. I and my customers couldn't be happier. All of their parts work, fit properly, perform at least as well if not better than advertised, are warrantied to match BMW, and are available and in stock. Yes, Dinan is expensive but when you consider the performance, quality, and total value I don't think there is anything that compares. No one ever remembers the few dollars they save but only if the products work. I have sold many of the other companies products over the years and they also have some of the same qualities but all and all and for a broad range of products and complete BMW coverage Steve has really engineered something special and it is worth every red cent in my opinion. Before you spend your hard earned dollars on anything in the way of BMW high performance parts I invite you to go to the Dinan website to just look around and read some of the interesting philosophy's and extra miles these people go to in engineering BMW performance. The rest of the BMW aftermarket world it seems is more subjective, or at least more specialized. Suspensions parts for instance. I am a big believer in the quality of Lemforder for BMW replacement steering joints but frankly if I can save my budget minded street driving customer who has a multi 100k mile 3 series on it's last legs $100 by using Meyle I don't have a problem with that. I think that Bilstein shocks are of superior quality and have seen very few ever fail, yet for serious high performance driving the Koni's just work better. On the other hand when I think about brake friction materials there is even more to consider. For the serious track work I have used, sell, or have sold most all and I keep coming back to Hawk. Their pads offer extreme performance and seem to really work very well. On the street however it is hard to beat a BMW OEM or OEM replacement pad for the combination of stopping power, quietness, and cost if you can live with some dust. If however you go dustless, and I sell a bunch of these pads, you will lose overall braking performance, not a doubt in my mind. While we are talking about brakes it seems like ever Tom, Dick and Harry has bought himself a machining mill and has decided to get into the Big Brake Kit business, then there is Brembo who has been engineering and winning races as well as equipping some of the most high performance cars in the world (and some very recent BMW models) for several decades so I'll let you figure that one out on your own. And here is my favorite, Synthetic oil. Many of us that have been around since the beginning of this product know it more to be somewhat like snake-oil. That is to say there are some real chemical differences in synthetic oils and how they ultimately perform. Probably none of them will actually hurt your engine if you follow a reasonable oil change schedule more frequent than BMW recommends. However I am a fan of the original Mobil 1 and all of it's synthetic products, along with the super premiums like Red line as well as some of the European oils like ELF ( now renamed Total) I am not however a fan of BMW's factory fill Castrol products, and I am not alone believe me. In closing I want to urge all of the BMW CCA er's to also really consider whom, where, how you are buying your products. I'm sure you can save a few cents a quart on oil at one of the big warehouse stores, or a couple hundred dollars if you buy your high performance cold air intake pipe from eBay but price is only one factor in the equation. There are a long list of supporters of your car club that would like to earn your business. Life is too short to drink cheap wine, eat poorly, or drive lousy cars. Let's take care of each other and Enjoy!
