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      02-08-2010, 01:26 PM   #1
Chuck76
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Dinan

I am in line with DINAN for them to reprogram my ECU and they want the car for 2 weeks to test.

Here is what I'm afraid of...

This is one of the very few e89's they will test with their code before release. So my car will be a test bench. They told me I would get the DINAN badge when I asked for it...which is odd because I know it takes 10 points and now they are willing to give it to me for a ecu update.

Second, i have a very good friend who is the dealer told me not to do it. BMW will void the warranty, which I already knew. But he stated that BMW and DINAN relationship is done. I don't think they had a relationship in the first place with BMW, but only with dealers. But it sounds like I can see trouble ahead if anything does go wrong. I have heard of the middle man in these problem warranty claims and I don't want any part of it.

So would anyone else get the upgrade from DINAN and have them take over the warranty, or is burger tuning the best bet.
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      02-08-2010, 01:39 PM   #2
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Look - I just think Dinan is being nice and offering you an incentive with the badge for the hassle of giving up your car for two weeks. As for the warranty, you just have to risk whether this will damage your car or not - I doubt it will harm your car because in my way of thinking, if it did, Dinan would have gone out of business 20 years ago. Finally, just because the ECU is flashed, it does not necessarily void the warranty. The flash/upgrade would have to actually be responsible for the damage you wanted repaired under warranty. You seem nervous, so be safe and do not do it, but I would.
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      02-08-2010, 03:29 PM   #3
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Tie-breaker: Dinan warranty.

Dinan picks up where BMW would drop you for damage caused by an existing Dinan tune. Same 48 mo/50K miles. If Dinan gives you this same warranty for the experimentation they do with your car (assume leaving the gold-master version in the car), then I think you're safe as a test mule. No warranty: no deal.

(BMW cannot 'void' their new-car warranty. They can only deny claims for damage caused by unauthorized mods. And the Dinan warranty has nothing to do with Dinan/BMW relationship. I had Dinan tune in E93 335i and was very comfortable with it. While never an experimental subject, Dinan had some trouble with the tune and I ended up twice getting updates through the vendor I worked with. The N54 has so much headroom in boost that it is very tunable.)
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      02-08-2010, 03:32 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VintageBMW View Post
Look - I just think Dinan is being nice and offering you an incentive with the badge for the hassle of giving up your car for two weeks. As for the warranty, you just have to risk whether this will damage your car or not - I doubt it will harm your car because in my way of thinking, if it did, Dinan would have gone out of business 20 years ago. Finally, just because the ECU is flashed, it does not necessarily void the warranty. The flash/upgrade would have to actually be responsible for the damage you wanted repaired under warranty. You seem nervous, so be safe and do not do it, but I would.
Most likely, BMW, like any manufacturer, will figure out a way to place the blame on the aftermarket item. They'll say this was caused by that which was caused by the other thing, which was caused by your aftermarket product. Then you have the hassle of arguing against them in a no win situation.
It's a businees, so they will figure out any way possible to avoid having to pay for something under warranty.
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      02-08-2010, 03:40 PM   #5
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A lot of people misunderstand the relationship between Dinan and BMW NA. Any damages caused directly by a Dinan upgrade can be dealt with at BMW but its not part of their warranty coverage. Dinan will be notified and BMW will deal with them for the charges incurred on the repair. That's how much Dinan stand by their products and R&D involved.

You shouldn't have to worry about it at all...
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      02-08-2010, 03:43 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueZ4AZ View Post
Most likely, BMW, like any manufacturer, will figure out a way to place the blame on the aftermarket item. They'll say this was caused by that which was caused by the other thing, which was caused by your aftermarket product. Then you have the hassle of arguing against them in a no win situation.
It's a businees, so they will figure out any way possible to avoid having to pay for something under warranty.
Maybe, but it's still subject to law and arbitration. If a wheel falls off or the windshield implodes, I doubt BMW would get off the hook.

But there are worries. With a firmware tune to the ECu, I think there are two areas of genuine concern. One is the turbos and all the stuff (waste gates, blow-outs, etc.) associated with them. I've yet to hear of an N54 turbo going bad, but if one did with a Dinan software tune, would have to guess that BMW wins that one. The second area of concern is torque limits in the drivetrain most especially the gearbox. Dinan's N54 Stage II tune in the E9X produced over 420 lb-ft of torque. The 7-speed DCT in the Z4 35i is only rated to 375 lb-ft. Dunno the rest of the drivetrain or what the MT is rated to, but if a drivetrain component blows with Dinan firmware installed, again I think BMW wins it.
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      02-08-2010, 05:59 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rubber Ducky View Post
Maybe, but it's still subject to law and arbitration. If a wheel falls off or the windshield implodes, I doubt BMW would get off the hook.

But there are worries. With a firmware tune to the ECu, I think there are two areas of genuine concern. One is the turbos and all the stuff (waste gates, blow-outs, etc.) associated with them. I've yet to hear of an N54 turbo going bad, but if one did with a Dinan software tune, would have to guess that BMW wins that one. The second area of concern is torque limits in the drivetrain most especially the gearbox. Dinan's N54 Stage II tune in the E9X produced over 420 lb-ft of torque. The 7-speed DCT in the Z4 35i is only rated to 375 lb-ft. Dunno the rest of the drivetrain or what the MT is rated to, but if a drivetrain component blows with Dinan firmware installed, again I think BMW wins it.
So, RD, you aren't going to "tune" your Z as you did your 335?
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      02-08-2010, 06:40 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rmorin49 View Post
So, RD, you aren't going to "tune" your Z as you did your 335?
No. IMHO, doesn't need it. May be a sign of impending maturity. Plus ... nothing yet from Dinan.
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      02-08-2010, 08:34 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rubber Ducky View Post
No. IMHO, doesn't need it. May be a sign of impending maturity. Plus ... nothing yet from Dinan.
Understand, "steady as she goes" is a good approach.
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      02-09-2010, 10:53 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck76 View Post
I am in line with DINAN for them to reprogram my ECU and they want the car for 2 weeks to test.

So my car will be a test bench. They told me I would get the DINAN badge when I asked for it...which is odd because I know it takes 10 points and now they are willing to give it to me for a ecu update.

I have a little different take on what Dinan may have been doing.

I talked with Steve back in Oct or Nov of '09. It was the first time I met him and he seemed like a very down to earth guy No hype no pretense. Basically what he said (in my words) was that any day of the week he could put the word out and have 3 series guys lined up around the block to have their cars used as test mules for his mods. That was not the case for Z's and X6/X5. For some reason there wasn't as much interest.

The problem is that he needs 4 cars in his area to run his flash for testing purposes before he could release it. That was the problem because he put the word out some time back and only a few people responded and even fewer in his area. My guess is he's willing to offer you the badge as an incentive because he really wants to put out a product that he said would be every bit the same as he's offering for the 335i, including the various stages.

Just my 2 cents. FWIW
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