Suspension Question - Dinan Stage II - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

Jimmy Hill · 13th January 2003, 16:11

Good Morning All

Well, as some of you crazies already know - the time is drawing near for me to make my final decision on the S2 package - without repeating myself too much from other threads on the subject

the deal is that my beast is 3 years old and since i
1) dont know when the E60 M5 will be arround
2) dont know if i will be able to afford it then
3) dont know if i will be in the coutry when the E60 is available to me
4) can role the S2 package into my monthly payment

I am realy having trouble not justyfing the purchase to give me a new car, if u know what i mean - since there is no other car out there that will continue to bring me this level of enjoyment for what i will be paying

I have been reading the various Dinan threads regarding the Pros Vs. the Cons of the S2 and must have missed the answer to my question

The Stage 2 suspension......

The car will be tracked, gradually, as i get used to her, but i will commute, do my daily stuff and generally take her out when ever i get the chance

The roads in DC just straight suck - the constant roadworks - the potholes and various other hazards -and there will be substatial highway miles - which is all i seem to do unless i am stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.

So - how does the Stage 2 change the feel of the car when not being used for performance purposes?

What major ride differences are there in day to day driving. I find the beast almost telapathic - when i am calm - she is calm, when i endulge myslef, she never looses her tollerance of my stupid mistakes

So what is it like when u take your mates to the movies - how about highway driving - what about dodgy roads - will i loose a tooth

And finally - does the Stage II change the clearence of the car in any way - i am not to sure on this one - so i figured i would ask the experts!!!! - i would be very sensative to any rid eheight changes of the car since i already have clearence issues in some situations arround town

Thanks chaps - any and all ideas are greatfully accepted

See u out there

M5Mark

RAREM5 · 14th January 2003, 18:12

I have stage II Suspension and I tell you what, Go get them!

You will love it.

The car handles great and ride is not harsh. Steering feel bit harder but great feed back from the road.

My passangers can't not tell the difference and no one question or complain about the ride comfort.

14th January 2003, 18:47

Jimmy Hill, I am going to recommend against any of the Dinan suspensions. You should either get the KW Coilovers (variant 2) or the upcoming H&R Coilovers. I drove my car with the Dinan Stage 3 suspension and it was just all over the place. The rear end was moving out, and the car seemed to bounce around, and be relatively uncomfortable to control when making sharp turns. I am not the only one who was disappointed after driving with the Stage 3 Dinan suspension. The stage 2 that you are referring to uses the same components as the stage 3, with just one or 2 items less. The Dinan suspensions don't really lower the car more than 1/4 inch.

If you drive a Dinan suspension beast and a KW coilover beast, you will understand what I mean. I still think that the coilovers, and one of the best bangs for the bucks when upgrading the M5.

Cheers.

Jimmy Hill · 14th January 2003, 19:19

Good Morning Gents

Many thanks for your insights

Here we go again - i am loosing track of how many Go Vs. No Go on any of teh Dinan gear i have read on the baord

This case is different but we are tied again - i seem to be tied right now - i am starting to see Dinan in my sleap (not good) i make a decision and about 3 hours later i change my mind for a tiny reason

So - as for the suspension

Rare - thanks for the info - am happy to hear that u see no downsides - esipcally under normal driving conditions

DDM5 - What is the difference between the Stage II and III? - i am intrested to hear why the car behaved as it did - what steps were taken to correct the problems - were dinan unresponsive and as such u switched to another company?? - Its good that u raised this point -

I have not really investigated the after sales support of Dinan - i am sure i will see a good spread of positive and negatice feedback - what happens the local Dinan folks cant fix the problem - did that happen in your case?

One other guestion for u - U have the S2 - but not the suspension - how did u manage that - did u just swap it out after the package was installed - are Dinan flexible with what they call the S2 - or did u just go for the S2 pacakge and request a suspension upgrade at the time - i figured they would be really tight about such things -

Well thanks chaps -

i will loose speal tonight over this - whoopdidooooo

all the best

see u out there

M5 Mark

14th January 2003, 20:34

Jimmy Hill,

The Dinan stage 2 suspension includes:

- Performance Spring Set
- Custom Koni Adjustable Front Struts
- Koni Adjustable Rear Shocks
- 17 mm Adjustable Rear Antiroll Bar

The Dinan stage 3 suspension includes:

- Performance Spring Set
- Custom Koni Adjustable Front Struts
- Koni Adjustable Rear Shocks
- 17 mm Adjustable Rear Antiroll Bar
- Front Camber Plates

The reay roll/sway bar and the front camber plates are nice Dinan items. The springs and shocks/struts they use are high-quality, but do not generate the type of handling that I would want. The coilovers generate less body roll when cornering, allow you to lower the car to lower the center of gravity (you can adjust this yourself), and they almost eliminate the tendency for the car to dive when braking. I really think that if you drive enthousiatically, you will be disappointed in the Dinan items, and they are tuned more towards maintaining the luxury/sport handling of the stock M5. I am used to driving sports cars, and the KW setup gives me similar handling. The coilovers do not in any way provide a jarring ride, and are actually great (they provide a ride similar to a Porsche). My gut feeling is that you will not notice a big difference from stock if you use the Dinan shocks/struct and springs.

The S2 package is just a list of the Dinan modifications. If you want to save money, you can get all the S2 engine modifications, and go elsewhere for the the other modifications. You can just add the coilovers now, and when you go for the S2 package, just don't get the shocks/struts and springs.

Cheers

mottati · 14th January 2003, 21:32

If you go with the dinan suspension, definately get stage 3 if you plan on tracking the car. THe main difference is the addition of camber plates, which really help reduce understeer.
Otherwise, on the street, I can feel the suspension is firmer, less body roll etc, but my wife would never notice...

It's still quite comfortable.
Mike

TriflowM5+M3 · 14th January 2003, 22:04

Rare,

I need to get some wheel time behind a dinan Suspension because that is going to be next project. To bad there its to hard to track down most florida members and ask them what suspension they have.....hmm i sense a Florida post.

triflow
rob

MIB · 14th January 2003, 23:18

The H & R do look very promising.

I think I'll combine them with the Dinan Strut Braces to keep the Dinan S2 Look.

JP Schnitzer · 15th January 2003, 00:23

Jimmy,

If you do go with the Dinan, go with stage 3. The Dinan is not really racetrack stuff, it is street performance stuff. They have done a compromise with this suspension between the stock suspension, and race track stiffness, somewhere in between. At really high speeds, and in in hard cornering situations on the street, the suspension can get a little unsettled and you can feel it's limitations. But, and this is a big but......a lot of owners want their M5's to be somewhat comfortable in everyday driving situations, if that's you, then you will be happy with the Dinan. It will still give you killer performance and you will notice a much sharper turn-in and road holding than the stock. Also, I set my rear sway bar on the middle hole and this really eliminates the body roll down to nill. For occasional fun track use I wouldn't hesitate to use this car, but if you really want a track beast, that can really take some hard and fast tossing, you might be al ittle dissapointed.

RRoberts · 15th January 2003, 01:08

I second the points made by JP Schnitzer. I have the Dinan Stage III suspension, F & R tower braces, and am running stock 9 1/2 inch rear wheels and tires in the front as well. The car still rides acceptably well, turns in with precision, does not "tramline" materially worse than when stock, and - with the rear bar set in the middle hole - the quite evil understeer of the stock setup is gone. I think the ride height is down more like 1/2 inch than the previously mentioned 1/4 in., particularly in the rear. I made these changes within 3 weeks of returning from the M5 driving experience in Spartanburg. I did not at all expect the amount of body roll and severe understeer experienced during the lane change and gymkhana exercises, and believe these aspects diminish the overall potential of the car. As others have observed, the Dinan parts are not inexpensive but not having to fiddle with the adjustments made it worth the price to me.

This car is principally driven on the street, and is my primary transportation. Chicago streets are right up there with those in DC; prevention of wheel damage is a higher priority than comfort when traversing cuts and potholes. The combination of handling and comfort is just right for me. The 3:45 diff and short-throw shifter were nice changes as well. The car is still too soft for anything other than recreational track use, but the M5 IMHO is not really a good starting point for a track car due to its weight, size and relatively high cg. If even occasional track use is the plan, the brakes must be attended to as well (see the excellent prior threads on this subject). I went with the StopTechs, and am happy.

Regards, Dick Roberts

RAREM5 · 15th January 2003, 03:34

Quote:

Originally posted by TriflowM5
Rare,

I need to get some wheel time behind a dinan Suspension because that is going to be next project. To bad there its to hard to track down most florida members and ask them what suspension they have.....hmm i sense a Florida post.

triflow
rob

Rob,

Anytime! Daytona would be a good place to meet up. Just let me know.. I'm pretty much