Okay, trying to stay in that post-Thanksgiving Zen grateful place. You know, happy with all that I have, not needing more, etc.....

Then I'm reading about fellow Motorers stepping "up" from single input sport tuning boxes to higher-level tunes. And I'm starting to think, well, maybe...

So, staying within the Dinan world, for those who have had experience running the Dinan Sport in their cars and have upgraded to the Dinan Elite, please report the specific differences/improvements/issues you have thus far experienced. 'Splain why, exactly, you shelled out the extra bucks for the Elite, after having run the Sport.

Tryin' to separate hype from trustworthy real world experiences of reliable MINIacs.

Here's what Dinan is posting, showing the differing performance graphs for, first, the Dinan Sport and then the Elite.

 

Well, the reason I bought it (about five minutes ago) was because it was less expensive than the coil overs I was looking at. And by gosh I wasn't going to spend all that money on the kids and not get myself a Christmas present! Have no idea how it'll compare to my NM, but you can bet you'll hear about it if it's not a considerable step up in performance. It won't be here for a couple weeks so I'll have plenty of time to obsess about it and spending money I could have put to better use. Time will tell. Y'all have a good weekend.

 

Remember, vetsvette, Dinan offers a 3 day satisfaction trial. Not a lot of time to decide, but if you ain't lovin' it within 3 days of installation, you get your Christmas money back.

Be of good cheer -- you can't take it with you. Hope to hear from you in a while.

 

Hi, my name is vetsvette and I'm a horsepower junky.
It has been 260 days since I bought a HP multiplier. Oops! make that 0 days.

 

You can quit anytime you want to.

 

while i won't have all the answers for you, and probably leave you with more questions, i'm going to put down my thoughts. plug-in units are good. and for the regular joe that wants to go around town zipping through traffic, it's not that bad. it's great...it's affordable...and it's easy to install.
comparing a tune to a NM/Dinan/JB4 is apples to oranges though. a plug-in tune only does ONE thing. it tricks the car into pushing more boost. the downside to that is that the car is designed to variably adjust itself based on certain variables, so faking the boost when it reality it's doing a lot more could cause some issues. thankfully, dinan/NM/JB4 is doing what they can to get to the edge of "tricking" w/out causing too many off readings. eventually though, there is a limit. to think that a dinan will outperform a tune doesn't make sense simply because a dinan has a limit. a tune does as well, but i would venture it's limit is higher given that it is actually changing many variables to to get boost to increase.

personally, the issues i'm had with my piggyback were that i would take off off the line but then lose steam real quickly. the pull wasn't all the way to redline. pull was there, but not like it was in the lower RPM. i went with a tune because IMO tricking the car can only get you so far.

also, if there's one thing i've learned going down this path, it's to have your own monitors to make sure everything is behaving properly. for me, i monitor AFR and Boost. Boost is mechanical while AFR is via OBD...i have an AFR that will go on soon. if you dont' know how much boost you're pushing, then it's hard to say that one is better than the other. if the NM peaks @ 15psi and the Dinan peaks @ 18psi, the dinan should obviously be faster. does that make the dinan better? not really, because if you can change the NM to "high" and it peaks @18psi, it should really be the same as the dinan.

from what i have understood, the piggyback tunes mess up AFR's....is it still safe...i guess because so far noone has blown an engine....but if you think you can just keep on increasing boost (via tricking) and increasing, that engine is going to blow one day.

FWIW, i also track my car, so i can see how it performs with every mod. i had a JB4 and could not top out more than 123MPH on the front straight at my local track. with the tune, i peaked at 129MPH...was the JB4 good on the street? yes, but i drive more than just the street so for me a tune that adjusted all the variables accordingly better suited me.

 

I had the Sport and uograded to the elite - i will say that i really enjoyed the sport as it did what they said it would and the price was great . That said l have several years left on my warranty and decided to pull the trigger on the elite and I’m glad i did ! The sport is power quick off the line and then It mellows out . The elite seems very linear throughout the entire RPM band and pulls to redline quite nicely ! The graphs show a bit more power and I’m sure there is a bit more there , but i like the powerband much better now than before and the warranty aspect was worth it IMO . Would recommend it !!

 

That's why I can't talk myself into the Elite. Quick off the line and mellow, otherwise I'm going to be crashing and burning - too old to party.

Thanks, best description I've heard to date.

 

Thanks for the perspective. For those of us who will never go as fast as you have because those days are well behind us, we will still do well to take note of your observations regarding air/fuel ratio issues.

In past communications with both Dinan and NM, the bottom line on the single input boxes seemed to be that the car's anti-knock feedback system was fast enough to adjust fueling and timing quickly enough to prevent adverse effects. Also, only the more sensitive of us will notice the lack of seamlessness that results from the engine management system scrambling to get out of over-lean or timing issues during daily driving.

Supposedly the Dinan Elite, and I supposed the JB4, by monitoring and tweaking the other inputs, do a bit more magic, resulting in smoother, greater, more linear power all the way to redline.

The question you raise is, even with messing with multiple inputs into the car's DME, is this enough when compared to a full-on remap/tune? Or is the Elite just a little better than a simple tune box, plus a little better warranty?

As folks that have moved from single input boxes to the Elite continue to weigh in, we shall see. And, of course, if there are premature engine failures as folks lay on the miles, that will tell as well. But the limited added boost of 2~4 psi should keep things well within bounds. Depends on what else people are doing to mod their cars engine/intake/exhaust and how well everything plays together.

Thanks, MarcoPolo

 

I keep telling myself exactly this, but then...

So I am with you on too old to party. And the Sport at +3psi is definitely quicker off the line than stock, but then... there is that little stumble/hesitation just below 2,000 RPM, sort of an exaggeration, very slight exaggeration, of turbo lag that happens just a quick tick before the car really starts to pull. If the Elite fixes that, well maybe it's worth... too old to party, too old to party, must... be....satisfied with what I have...

 

That is the reason I want to try the Elite.
Once I remove the Sport to return it (car wouldn't start) car felt slower, of course, but smoother.
So I decided to not use the replacement, and just buy an Elite.

Ill report back.

 

I'll have a NM Module for sale in a couple weeks if you want to try that.

 

have you captured peak boost on any of the dinan's? NM? JB4 peaks @ 18PSI. on my tune, i'm at around 21-22.

 

I remained steadfast in my decision until 7pm PST and then I said WTF I can't take it with me. Spent a few hours on the wet golf course today and realized I suck at that so spend more on car less on golf.

 

I have a Dinan Sport for sale now!!
Edit: Sold my Dinan Sport.

 

Well, I have no idea how reliable the boost gauge is that is part of the Dinan bluetooth app. But, pedal to the metal which, I believe, triggered the car's overboost function, I hit 21.

Easily peg 15~18 all the time without seriously hot-rodding it.

I assume that the Dinan app is adding the "tricked" boost to what the DME "thinks" it's seeing to come up with the number displayed on the smart phone app.

One thing for sure, there's more boost and it starts coming on in a noticeable way at 2,000RPM and then really starts pulling after 2,500. Auto tranny, 8-speed. 91 top tier pump gas. California funky blend.

 

So, did WTF turn into an order for an Elite, or are you still ruminating??

 

Yeah I paid the $$$ and await the next bloody knuckle session. Group think here has caused a hiccup in the bank balance.

 

Well Minnie, I wager you will really enjoy it. I have had my Elite for just a few weeks, but I am very pleased with it. Dinan gives you a OBD plug with the kit that blocks the tune. It is cool to compare stock with Elite. Really, BIG s**t eating grin!!

 

I hope not, never did get that phrase. Why would anyone want to grin whilst eating sh!!!T?

 

Are you a dog owner?? You would have then seen that grin!!

 

True, true. Let’s just call it a big wide grin! Take a selfie with your first drive and tell me it ain’t so!

 

For the Turbo plug, here is a great video by NM, look at 2:30 for the way to remove the plug:

 

Well... the stock market has had a pretty good run so far this quarter........

I'm gonna wait until I get more reports from you guys. Y'all might have to start a photo thread of .... Elite grins. And you're gonna need to have a secret hand shake. Maybe patches to sew onto your jackets.

Like this:

 

The secret Dinan Elite handshake - my friend you will not be allowed to know it unless you send them $809.10 - sorry, so very sorry