EDIT- Nevermind- I got it. Now that I see how it operates, I'm even more embarrassed. :-)

Off to motor!


I got my Dinan box today- father's day. :-)

I cannot for the life of me figure out the damn clip for the sensor. Can anyone help out? Terribly frustrating looking at the FedEx box for a week on the kitchen counter, and now I'm embarrassingly defeated by an automotive clip. I hate these things. :-(

 

The grey clip on mine was lost forever. There's a video, I think NM did it. Shows how to do it. Watch the knuckles!

 

Here's the link for the sport tuning box installation video. More steps than you need to do, but good detail that applies to most brands.

IT SHOWS HOW TO RELEASE THAT TROUBLESOME GREY LATCH ON THE PLUG.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/searc...4&action=click

 

^^ that's the good video for all the boxes.

 

It's been hot. The other day we were crawling home in SoCal freeway traffic and it was over 100 outside -- can't imagine what the under-bonnet temp was as we sat, stop-and-go, for over an hour on the freeway.

I've had my Dinan set to "Race" for a couple of thousand miles without a hiccup. Running 91 top tier pump gas. For the first time, in the stop-and-go heat, when I pressed on the gas rolling at about 5MPH, I got a little knock/preignition rattle sound that wasn't happy. Never had it before. Happened a few times on this run only.

Might just be the heat, or the car's need for a little blowing out of the tubes. Issue has not recurred since that day.

We're getting ready to take a run up to the Yosemite area next week and will be taking the Clubman over the hill and up Route 99 through the California Central Valley heat. Hopefully we'll fly right along, but I turned the Dinan down a notch to Sport+ and plan to leave it there for the round trip. Almost all highway so I think 3 lbs of extra boost will be plenty.

I'm thinking about adding a little Redline gas treatment when I fill up for the trip. Any thoughts?

I'll report back after the trip.

 

I would think you'd be OK as long as you're moving alone. I drove my new ECU tune (MiniManiac) out of Phoenix at 115 degrees on Sunday pretty fast with no problems. I realize our tuners are different, but the guy who did mine said he used put a switch on the ECU with 2-3 different levels, and totally off, but it cost like $200 and there wasn't hardly any difference between them so nobody hardly ever messed with it so he quit putting it on there. Do you notice much difference when you change it to a lower setting?

 

2017ALL4 - you'll be happy to know I've now got my wife in a 2017 Countryman ALL4. She wanted the Justa (which is quite impressive BTW) and I then threw a Dinan on it.

The difference the Dinan makes on the B38 is remarkable. My wife likes the car stock but loves it with the tuning box installed.

 

 

Ran the Clubman 650 miles from Southern California up over the Grapevine hill on I 5, into the hot Central Valley, up Route 99 then East into the mountains to Yosemite and then back. Dinan in Sport+ the entire trip. Not a knock or hesitation. Ripped along with lots of nice boost no matter how hot or how hilly. Temps were in the 90's and over 100 for one stretch around Bakersfield. 91 pump gas.

And, start to finish, the Clubman was a joy.

I think I'll remain in Sport+ as the default. Smoother than Race, and overall the car just seems happier, with plenty of zip, and then some.

 

I read your post the other day about bumping down from race mode, and when temperatures hit 100 on the highway I did the same. I forgot that I could just change it on the fly. Mine seems happier off race mode.

100+ in Oregon just seems wrong.

 

Just an update,

D440-0012 DINANTRONICS Sport Performance Tuner is back in stock.

 

Still lovin' ours. Thanks ECS.

 

Awesome. Thanks for the support. This is why I like the MINI community.

 

How's it holding up now? So is there just a button on the unit that just lets you switch into different modes?

I wish there were other people on here that have the JB or NM module on their clubmans. I'd like to see how they feel about their upgrades.

 

There are a number of people who have used the various boxes with comments sprinkled around NAM. Try JCW Garage section in 3rd Gen. Maybe Power Up thread might offer some info for you. Not specific to Clubman, but the same engine.

My Sport Tuner continues to perform as promised. Much happier in Sport+ than in Race. Easily toggled among settings from the free smart phone app, which is a little funky in the Bluetooth connectivity but otherwise appears to work as advertised.

At the low price point, these simple plug in boxes are a good value, IMHO. HOWEVER, no doubt they are not as refined or as powerful a performance upgrade as a real ECU tune.

 

If you had to choose again, would you stick with the Dinan? Or go for one of the other boxes? Or would you even just save $$ up for the real tune?

I have a Clubman S and am tired of waiting for the JCW upgrade kit to arrive. I've been asking my dealership since March 2016 if they were going to release it soon. But sadly the answer is always no. I got excited late last year when reports were saying that Mini was going to release the kit in January, but to this day, my dealer says there isn't anything yet.

 

My Clubman is leased so I have not done mods other than plugging in the Dinan box. Had the Dinan Elite been available at the time I ordered the Sport, I might have popped for the Elite, as it does more with fueling and, according to the data, delivers more, and smoother power.

There have been concerns expressed recently that Dinan support ain't what it once was due to their consolidation and geographic move, but Dinan has been on NAM recently explaining that they are working hard to get things together. Time will tell.

There are third party exhaust systems that are impressive, and there is now a lower-cost exhaust option involving changing out the muffler to a Magnaflow, which maybe can be fitted to a Clubman.

The "factory" JCW tune has been popular when it was offered in the past because there are no warranty issues -- and this is always a consideration for aftermarket mods.

Those who have gone with a full flash generally are pleased with the results and seem to be unconcerned regarding any warranty conflicts.

Quick cheap and easy -- Dinan or NM -- proven and historically well-supported. JB also has a strong following and they generally also offer excellent factory support. Some people like the way the JB interacts with the gauge cluster, whereas the NM needs to be manually switched at the box itself and the Dinan Sport is switched through Bluetooth via the smartphone app. The Dinan Elite is plug in and forget, without further user adjustment.

You pays your money and you takes your chances -- just depends on what you are seeking. A little more grunt than stock -- grunt you can definitely feel in the butt dyno -- go with a plug in Dinan Sport or NM, or maybe the JB. Want more still; the Dinan Elite reportedly delivers. Want more and full integration, flash it.

 

Hi was wondering if you know if dinan tuner voids warranty? Where did you order yours from? Thanks

 

All tuning devices and ECU tunes will void warranty for those issues proven to be caused by the tune. The Dinan Elite tuning device will cover you for the factory portion of your warranty in the event that MINI won't cover you.

 

I got the special from ECS around this time of year in 2016.

Lots written on different threads regarding warranty worries. I think Moocher summarized it well. Basically it's buyer beware.
After over 12,000 miles and almost 2 years I've had no issues at all and I kept the box attached to the car and plugged in when I took it in for the 10,000 mile service and the shop techs at my MINI dealer enjoyed driving it with the Dinan Sport operating. They liked it a lot.

As Moocher points out, if you're still under warranty and you buy the Elite (as opposed to the cheaper Sport), if something bad happens, the concept is the dealer figures out if it's a warranty issue or a Dinan issue and if it can be show to be a problem caused by the Dinan Elite, during the MINI standard warranty period only, Dinan is supposed to work with MINI to make sure any issue shown to be caused by the Dinan Elite and not otherwise covered by the MINI warranty will be fixed on Dinan's dime. That's a lot of ifs.

Buyer Beware.

But yeah, I'm a satisfied customer -- 3 extra psi makes a nice difference and I'm confident that the car will hold together through the final year of my 3 year lease. I don't flog the car hard.

 

New owner of a six speed 2017 All4 Clubman S here. Will definitely get one of these based on your excellent review, thanks!

 

After 3 years and 20,000 happy, trouble-free miles in my 2017, I removed the Dinan Sport when I turned the car in at lease end and plugged it into my 2020 Clubman S All4. Works like a champ.
Congratulations on your new-to-you Clubman. Best of luck.

 

Hey everyone, just wanted to toss in my two cents on this. Purchased a Dinan Elite at the dealership (Mini of Peabody) when I bought my Clubman. Ran it for almost 8 months (a mix of "normal" and "sport" depending on driving conditions) until one day in normal driving around town it thew an engine code. Dropped it to the dealer and they couldn't get the code to clear. They held it for a few days to contact Dinan and resolve the issue. They ended up replacing the unit and I haven't had any issues since. Not once did I have to get on the phone and beg/plead/scream - both Dinan and the dealer were great in my experience. So, to sum up - one issue, quickly resolved, and back to enjoying what that tune does for this car (unleashes that hidden potential).

 

This is the unit I'm wanting to install on my 2021 once it finally arrives (end of September/first week of October). How does the Elite feel? Going to add cai and exhaust from Dinan as well...