[OzMosis]

Hello everyone,

It gives me great pleasure to join this board as a new owner of a magnificent 2006 M5. Now that I have had a few months to get used to her, I can honestly say that I am still absolutely LOVE this car!!! :M5thumbs: Every time I drive her, it puts me in a happy place.

Of course, she is not without her quirks. I have seen on the Dinan website that they are having a software sale.

I tried to search the forum to see if this has been discussed before, but I am a forums newbie so my apologies in advance...

Does the Dinan Stage 1 software smooth out the 1st to 2nd gear shifting that seems to plague this generation of SMG?

The sale ends in March and I was thinking of having it installed.

Many thanks in advance!

 

[gniruoT]

the reason you cannot find anything on this board might be because there are other tuners with better tunes at half the price of dinan

 

[Curt2000]

the reason you cannot find anything on this board might be because there are other tuners with better tunes at half the price of dinan

There are $400 tunes out there? I'm not trying to be a smart ***, I've just been looking for a tune too and haven't found anything less than $800 yet, please share.

 

[gniruoT]

There are $400 tunes out there? I'm not trying to be a smart ***, I've just been looking for a tune too and haven't found anything less than $800 yet, please share.

im sorry and i take that back. if anyone can find one just as good or better please let me know also

http://www.eurocharged.com/index.ph...tegory_id=97&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=121

 

[carolina]

Search for Eurocharged. They have some great deals right now with some great power increases being reported.

 

[trbo930]

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e6...85-ess-direct-flash-tuning-now-available.html

Here's one i found , there are other posts in the archives. Search key word ecu /upgrade / ecm upgrade. Hope this helps.

 

[Curt2000]

Search for Eurocharged. They have some great deals right now with some great power increases being reported.

I second that $1200 for a tune, hand-held flash module, and pulley...not too shabby

 

[carolina]

I second that $1200 for a tune, hand-held flash module, and pulley...not too shabby

I have that on order now. Looking forward to the install. :biggrinbounce:

 

[OzMosis]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Since my M5 is now out of warranty, I think I will give the Dinan software a try. I might be the first guy foolish enough to pay $800 for what should cost $400, but I'll have some peace of mind in that my local BMW dealership will install the software for me, so I can at least try to plead my case with them if something doesn't quite work out.

I've also heard that Dinan only charges the difference between stages when upgrading from 1 to 2 on most of their components. Is this true?

 

[bsze]

dont bother with the Dinan tune, u wont feel any difference as the gains are only like +5hp for their stage 1 tune. I am waiting out for the eurocharged tune.

 

[V10PWR]

I am also trying to figure out what is a reasonable tune, so I will be following this thread.
and on your question about upgrading Dinan software, Yes, it is true. You only pay the difference in price between your current stage and the higher stage if you upgrade in the future.

 

[ykjones]

I can attest to the Dinan Stage 1 software having it recently installed. I am really enjoying the improved throttle response and it was immediately noticeable as soon as I pulled out of my Dinan mechanic's shop. I'm sure there are plenty of other good tunes out there but I am impressed with Dinan and the quality and reputation they have. It's also nice to know that you only pay the difference between upgrades if/when you go to stage 2/3.

 

[OzMosis]

Well, I picked up my beast from my local BMW dealership this afternoon. She had the Dinan Stage 1 Software and the Dinan 13% pulley installed yesterday. I've only driven for about 10 minutes thus far, but there is a noticeable difference in the throttle response from 1st to 2nd gear. I took a quick spin around the Vancouver Airport before heading home and punched it to redline in second - SMOOTH!!!!

She can do well over 100km/h in second now without the choppy throttle back at the redline. I'm hoping to take her out for a nice drive tomorrow afternoon, weather (and kids) permissing. :wroom:

Almost forgot, I paid $1500 for the software and the pulley. Software was on sale (-20%) from Dinan, and the dealer gave me about (-15%) off the pulley so it was only $300 more than the ESS kit. Labor was 3 hrs at $130 per hr - ugh! Oh well, at least Dinan gives a warranty on everything!

I'll post some more feedback once I take my newly tuned beast out for a spin.

 

[OzMosis]

I didn't have a chance to drive to Squamish from Vancouver on Sunday, but I did go for a drive around UBC these past two days.

Driving around the city in P400 mode is pretty much the same. I don't think the Stage 1 Software adjusts P400 all that much.

For P500s mode however, the tune by Dinan has been very impressive. There is a significant increase in torque and power on each shift into second, third, and fourth gears, enough to snap my head back into the seat with authority.

For rolling starts, I've noticed a more aggressive acceleration curve starting around 3000 rpm, and I'm definitely seeing at least a 10 km/hr top speed increase per gear from the factory tune. I'm hoping the weather is nice this weekend so that I can try out the Sea to Sky highway out of N.Van. I'll run some more tests and post after the weekend. So far, I am very happy with the tune!

 

[Dexter Morgan]

I second that $1200 for a tune, hand-held flash module, and pulley...not too shabby

Ehhh...still alot, but that's what a BMW does to you right? I mean, section 3 exhausts START at $1500 - that is one step below an al rape.

 

[ykjones]

I had the Dinan Stage 1 software installed about a month ago and I am very pleased with it. I immediately noticed more power and improved throttle expense. I also like that fact that Dinan is recognized by BMW in terms of warranty and that when you want to upgrade to their Stage 2 and Stage 3 you only pay the difference between the price of the upgrades.

 

[t.cov]

So is there a noticeable difference in lower end torque with the stage I? I hate the bunny hoping..

 

[FTB]

The Dinan tune in one of the moderator's cars here (a Frozen Gray M5) actually produced less HP & TQ. So think about this before going Dinan all the way.

 

[SciFi2000]

Here is my two cents... I have both the Dinan stage 1 and 3 and a Eurocharged tune. The Dinan stage 1 WILL change the throttle response, which makes it feel faster, but only adds minimal HP and torque. It will also raise the rev limiter and get rid of the electronically limited max speed. The Dinan stage 3 tune takes into account the increased airflow from their air mass meters. Again the HP and torque gains are minimal. Custom tunes will add the most HP and torque because it should be optimized to your mods. The Eurocharged tune added about ~30 HP and ~30 ftlbs of torque over Dinan. Note that this was all done on the same day. The dealer had to reinstall the BMW software because of an electrical issue I had. The Dinan reinstall was a nominal charge since I orignally had that done a couple of years ago. I went straight from the dealer to Motorwerks of Houston where Eurocharged did the custom dyno tune.

If you can get a tune which changes the throttle response, raises the rev limiter, removes the max speed limit, and is optimized for your mods then go for it!

 

[OzMosis]

So is there a noticeable difference in lower end torque with the stage I? I hate the bunny hoping..

So far I have only bunny hopped my beast once - just a few days ago. I was rolling up to a stop sign in second gear around 20kph in S3 and I applied some moderate throttle, which caused the hopping. I'm pretty sure I induced the hopping myself with bad gear choice. I probably should have downshifted to first as I came up to the stop sign and applied more aggressive throttle. I read in a previous thread to consciously downshift to first rather than allow the SMG to downshift itself to second.

Regarding the low end torque, I have spun out the tires twice this week in S4. Both times were unintentional, so the car is certainly feeling more torquey.