I just intalled Dinan S1 on my 'S' last Saturday morning and wanted to share my thoughts. I am very pleased with the improved acceleration and sound to say the least. I'm not pushing 200hp yet but going from stock to 182 is a noticable jump. I do think for a couple grand it's well worth it (especially for you that want to stay in warranty). The kit comes with exhaust,cold air,software,strut tower brace,floor mats(good for 10 HP lol), and badge.

 

Will your dealership still service your car - i.e. voided warranty?

"a few grand" for gains that can be had with simply a UNIchip for $735 (on a stock MCS, it has gains of about 20HP), I certainly hope the red-carpet treatment is rolled out at the dealership.

I'm not trying to bash Dinan, I just want to know what the selling points are (show-only strut brace, floor mats and look-at-me badging does not apply, sorry)

 

I wouldn't have done it if the dealership wouldn't service it. If you opt for the "unichip" and spend $1200 on an exhaust you are at about the same cost, and you still have no cold air intake. I don't think it's a bad deal. Plus no worries about warranty. Also you can get the Dinan stuff seperate exaple: exhaust around $700, cold air around $250. You will probably pay more than that for after market stuff.

 

But John, you are the vendor and dealership (MINI of Nashville). Of course you will service what you sell (including your own car). The question is, will all other MINI dealers service the Dinan equipped cars? Not all MINI dealers will be Dinan dealers as well...

 

Quite a few of the dealerships are Dinan dealerships. If you have a Dinan based dealership near you, I think this is a great choice. I even think the price is pretty good. A lot of people like to rip on Dinan because of hp numbers, but hp is not the only reason for this kit. For the parts along, the Dinan kit is cheaper than most aftermarket parts pieced together. The Unichip is $735, the Miltek is $800, a cold air intake is about $170 on average, a strut tower brace is about $150 or more, floor mats are $100. That right there is about $1955 which is about $250 more than the Dinan kit. Throw in the value of a warranty along with the better resale value and the cost is not so bad. The Unichip and Miltek at best will give you about 18-20hp, which is right where the Dinan is at. No way does the Unichip give you 20hp. I would love to see the graph on this one. I have only seen a 10hp graph from Randy.


Not sure why a lot of people are ragging on this kit. Everybody wants to rip on the price, but I would like to see someone get cheaper with decent aftermarket parts. You may not like the floor mats, or car for the tower brace, but that is a different story. I still think at the price you are getting they are really just freebies, that add some look value to the car.

 

As long as the MINI dealership is a Dinan dealership you are probably ok. BMW of Mountain view is not a Dinan dealership and they refused to even touch my BMW with the Dinan supercharger. So if your dealership is not Dinan watch out.

Also, if Dinan claims the MINI part that failed was MINI's fault and responsibility not theirs and MINI points the finger right back at Dinan then there have been people who have either waited a LONG time for that to be sorted out or they just had to pay to fix the problems. Note this is AT Dinan authorized BMW dealerships as well.

As good as Dinan is... when you get a second party involved the above two problems can spring up, and have in the past.

Given that there is a better warranty than a mix and match system. Resale value with Dinan mods (especially simple N/A ones like software, intake, exhaust) is actually not that great. Higher end upgraded forced induction cars tend to fair well enough that it is worth leaving the mods in place versus selling them for < 1/2 price or less on the used market like the items mentioned above.

So in response to Bisch's question, if MINI dealers follow their BMW cousins, then let my experience as a Dinan supercharged car owner help guide.

Patrick

 

I think the Dinan stuff would be a good fit for me. Since I already have a good exhaust, I could install the intake myself and only pay a minimal labor charge for flashing the ECU. If it gives 18 hp for my $600 without changing boost, that seems like a very nice and reasonable improvement for a mild mannered somewhat warranteed modded MINI.

I can do without the floor mats and strut brace

 

I'm really curious about the Dinan exhaust. I want to hear it and then compare with the magnaflow and then I'll choose which one will go on my car. Anybody has a video of the Dinan exhaust yet?

 

http://pictures.sprintpcs.com/guest/...hareName=Photo




Not a great example but it's all I got.

 

All of the independent dyno tests I've seen have been considerably lower than that.

 

A Unichip ECU reprogram on a stock MCS gives 20hp? Because I would do that tomorrow. There is a place right down the street...

 

Please get it done and have before and after dynos done. :smile:

 

Sounds cool.
What was the price on installation? assuming they must install it to stay within warranty.

the price of the kit really isnt that bad 1700 for 19hp. Its not the bang for your buck the pulley is. but considering some people are paying $800+ for an exhaust that makes less then 8hp.

As far as the unichip, has there been any graphs posted? i only came across one that showed no gains at all, couldve been mapped incorrectly. but i am really interested in seeing the data that supports the unichip claims.
The latest i saw was 10-12hp increase, does dastek/unichip provide a plot?

 

I've ridden in his car and seriously, it's fantastic. The exhaust sounds great and the car just explodes with power when you punch it.

I'm considering the benefits of the Dinan software upgrade over my Works software actually... don't know what it would do for me, but it's worth asking about.