Dr. Anthony Iacobucci I had the software upgrade installed on my 335i coupe about a month ago. Although the car definitely had a lot more get up and go I noticed a delayed throttle response. I had a valid means of comparison since my wife has a 335Xi of the same year and her car was now a litlle "peppier" than mine, even though I had just spent $2300 upgrading my engine management system to the Dinan upgrade! It took a lot more peddle travel before I could get the desired response. When I called Dinan about the problem, they stated that they had received other complaints about the same problem and that they would be sending a revision to the software after May10,2008. The upgrade arrived at the dealer and when they tried to load it, it would not communicate with the DME. When the dealer finally was able to communicate with Dinan about the problem they stated that my car must have an old program in it and they never received an error message such as the one they encountered in troubleshooting except when another version of someone else's performance software had been previously loaded on the car! Dinan therefore concluded that I must have loaded some other type of program on the DME. Well I can emphatically state that I have owned the car since new and have never loaded any other program in this car. The dealer had to reprogram the DME at their cost since Dinan would not cover it under warranty. The DME was reprogrammed, and the upgrade was loaded. The car seems to run just fine. The throttle response is a lot better and the increase in power seems to be quite substantial.However, not having ever dealt with Dinan before, since my last car was a 911 and have owned Porsche's most of my life, I have lost a lot of confidence in this company .It took them over a year to come up with this performance update to the 335 and nobody noticed that the throttle response was not adequate!!! Then when the follow- up revision would not load, they concluded that I must have had some bogus program loaded on the car! It makes me wonder how they would respond if I had a warranty claim later that might be related to the increased strain placed on the engine due to their upgrade. Would they come up with some other ridiculous excuse not to cover it! Needless to say, the dealer is not real happy with them either since they chose not to reimburse them for their time. To the dealer's credit, they were more honorable than Dinan and did not charge me for any of the extra work.: Dr. I
That's nice of your dealer. This is my first experience with Dinan too. Not impressed. Hope that I won't have any warranty issues. How does the car compare to stock after the upgrade? I'm wondering if I should just ask my dealer to reprogram the car back to stock...
reply to your concerns Actually I am happy with the results. I just wish the car had a limited slip differential since I light up the tires when I step on it.I have the automatic with paddles. I have always owned a manual shift car and this is my first automatic. It shifts very rapidly. Prior to the upgrade I smoked an M5 with a V8 engine. After this upgrade the difference would be even more dramatic.
Do you find that it is the right rear tire that lights up the most often? just curious... (how well the DSC reigns in the tendencies of the open diff.)
Which tire lights up Can't really tell. Everything is happening so fast. I do feel that after the software correction has been installed, it,s a lot more fun to drive. I,m just hesitant to floor it in first since wheel spin comes on. I have noticed, however, that the traction light kicks on but the car doesn't flat out retard the ignition and slow down abruptly like it did in the stock form. The flashing light indicating wheel spin seems to be more a point of information rather than an instance of brake application and retardation of acceleration as in stock form.
I just bought a 335i and ordered the Dinan Upgrade II with the car. The dealer and Dinan tells me BMW changed the computer interface in March 08, perhaps with the introduction of the 135, and that a re-write is necessary. The dealer and Dinan say it will be available in "a few months." Anyone had a similar experience? Know any details?
Software rewrite Read my reply of 5-20-08. The rewrite you are talking about is probably the one I had installed due to lethargic throttle response with the original version. Perhaps they should have allowed another year for product development!
Do it or not? Hi there folks, Pretty new to this but not to BMW. Had a 2002 Touring (sometime ago...!!), a 330i, have a 330CIC and added a 335i Convertible last year. LOVE the car 100%. Shall I or shall I not add the DINAN upgrade (I love power) or replace this one with the new M3??? Anyone out there to give me a really good advice?? H.
Dinan upgrade I also have enjoyed my car-a 2007 335i coupe. I replaced the wheels with 19'', placed a Supersprint exhaust, Racing dynamics strut brace and racing pedals and just had the Dinan upgrade. You can read my comments about my experience getting that installed. The fun factor has gone up considerably. Should you buy an M3 instead? That's a tough one. My car would give an M3 a good run in a straight line, but I don't think it would beat it on a road course. No limited slip differential and a suspension system that is not it's equal would leave me behind. I could have a differential installed and have the suspension changed. The end result would be close along with a definite advantage on my part when it comes to fuel economy. I have been getting 21mpg in the city with an automatic tranny that I shift manually all the time. Of course by that time I would have spent close to the value of an M3. If the fuel economy were not an issue, the M3 would be a very attractive option. Would l buy an M3? If gas hits $5 per gallon the difference between 14mpg and 21mpg could be substantial. I am going to hang on to my car a couple more years and wait for the next edition 335 which hopefully should have a dual clutch available and a limited slip from the factory.
Hum, not sure I understand. Can you explain what you mean by that. I don't really understand what you are saying.
... or Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, a psychelic drug. I have to agree about the diff... I don't think they'll be including limited-slip diffs in non-M cars in the future, unless they find a way to rake in more money by making it a multi-thousand dollar option.
Stage 1, 2 or 3? I see Dinan now has a stage 1 with a little less boost but, says it was designed for cars with the sport package and factory oil cooler. Anyone want to comment on 1 vs 2 without any additional Dinan mods?
135 Dinan I cannot see why the 135 Upgrade would be any different from the 335 upgrade. I assume that in both cases, the sport package must be present due to the Oil Cooler requirement. I just had my 335 with sport package upgraded last Thursday and the results are amazing. The torque and ponies launch my vehicle! It is truly a pleasure driving the car.
Hbosch, I have the new M3 coupe, and I absolutely love it. This is my second M3, it is an entirely different animal than the previous one. Personally I would choose the M3 over the 335 anyday. I have driven a 335 regularly as I have one in the family (2007 335i cabrio), and while I am very impressed with it (I would put it on par with my old E46 M3 in terms of Highway/Straight line performance) the lack of the LSD really is a HUGE disadvantage once the road gets twisty. I have also had a friendly competition with an owner of a Dinan 335i coupe; no matter what I did on the straights I always had a rear-view full of his white coupe, BUT once we hit the turns my brakes/suspension/lsd allowed me to pull away. That being said, I am really impressed that anyone is getting 21mpg in their 335. We are getting 16.5 in ours, while I am getting 16mpg in my M3 (7mpg during rallies). I have heard that the new BMW Performance division will be selling LSD's as one of their products. They will also offer intakes, exhausts. race seats, aero-products, carbon fiber stuff, etc, etc. They would then have to offer ECU flashes as well in order to make sure everything is in order. I am curious to see how BMW's in-house aftermarket stuff with compete with Vishnu's Stage 2 kit for the 335/535. I would love to replace my Yukon with a 430hp 535xi wagon!!!
Performance Engine Software for 335i Coupe Hi everyone. I am a new member here. But I just wanted to share with you all that how happy and pleased I am with Stage 2 Performance Engine Software that I got for my 2008 335i Coupe today. My god, what a difference. The car performs absolutely fantastic. You can't even tell if there is any software upgrade on it. Lower rpms comes very powerful and continues all the way up to higher rpms. Power delivery is very smooth and linear. The engine in the stock form had a lot of torque but now after the software installation it has 121 more which brings it up to 421 lb-ft torque at 4300 rpm. The horsepower increase is 384 hp at 5700 rpm. I actually hit 130 mph at 4th shift after I left the Dinan dealer. I could have gone a little bit more I think but I had to slow down due to slow traffic ahead (Jersey to New York). I am now debating over whether to get the stage 3 suspension upgrade or not. I guess we'll see what happens. But to be honest I am not sure if it's worth it because the roads here in New York (tri-state area) are notorious. It feels like wasting money. But then again, I just might. I was wondering if there is anybodyn here who got the Dinan suspension upgrade installed.
I think thsi might have as much to do with Progman 29.2 as it does with Dinan. Before I got 29.2 the throttle was crisp and repsonsive, now with 29.2 there is definite lag. It goes in for 31 tomorrow and I'll report back on whether this solves the problem or not. I wouldn't be too hard on Dinan, they are the only guys that stand behind their products witha warranty. There are horror stories about other tuners.