Good Evening,

I am thinking of getting either the Elite or Sport tuner from DINAN. There is a significant price difference between the two tuners.

Any advice from people who are using these two tuners?

Thank you,
Bob

 

I have run the Dinan Elite for a bit more than forty thousand miles. Mini of Peabody did the installation, as a Dinan supplier.

During this time I had one occasion where the car threw an engine related code. MoP put the bypass plug in, ran diagnostics, and determined the Dinan system was the issue.

Dinan replaced it, and the new unit was in the car in 24 hours, at no charge.

Bren Tuning put the car on their Mustang dynamometer which indicated 255 whp but more importantly over 250 wtq from 2,500 to 5,500 rpm, with peak torque of 286.

Chart here...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

The Elite carries a warranty that piggybacks the Mini mfg warranty. If installed by the dealership, any issues you have will be transparent to you. Dealership will deal directly with Dinan and/or Mini should an issue arise. Sport tuner, Dinan support only for a shorter time frame. Problems with the Sport or you car, it up to you and Dinan to resolve. It may affect you mfg warranty should something breaks that can be traced back to the sport tuner.

If it were me, and I had a new car, I'd buy the Elite (if you want warranty coverage). Out a warranty car, get the sport or another brand tuner ( with good reviews).

Quick Story - Ordered a new 2107 M240i and went with the Dinan Elite, Car was a beast, then started getting codes. Car still ran great and code would clear after a few restarts. Dinan pulled alt the original Elites tunes off the market and replaced with a milder Elite tune (many believe it is their sport tune w/ a warranty). I decided to tell my dealership to just replace my original Elite with the milder elite tune as my car was getting to the end of it it factory warranty. Done and done. No issue. Dinan provided the new tune, old one removed and new one installed w/o charge.

The only issue I'd have with the Dinan is there have been Mini's reporting CEL's. Knowing that, I'd be wary about spending the money for a product that may or may not throw codes. There are other options like the NM that guys have been using on the Mini w/o any issues.. Do a forum search on the NM tune module and see what you think. Easy to install and remove and most guys are very happy with it.

 

Elite - cost more, but warranty and more power
Sport - less cost and lower budget friendly, less power then elite

 

To add to ECS Tuning and others, the Elite is by far a superior product that has a very solid track record that’s backed by an amazing warranty. Dinan takes pride in their products and I clearly recommend them for BMW/Mini use. I’m sure there are other products out there that may have a better edge but will they back you up if the crap hits the fan? Think about it but clearly look at all options and read the excellent feedback you receive from these guys and gals on the forums. Enjoy! Jose

 

Plugged in a Sport in my 2017 Clubman S when the car had less that 2,000 miles and drove it without a code or hiccup until the lease was up. Took it out of my 2017 and plugged it into my 2020 Clubman S and it's been running fine for a year now, with no codes or issues.

The Elite has the so-called warranty, which runs concurrent with the MINI factory warranty, whereas with the Sport you're on your own.

The Sport isn't quite as refined in terms of anticipating fueling requirements but the engine management adjusts so quickly that I've never experienced anything close to an over-lean issue.

I run it it Sport+ mode. I tried Race mode on my 2017 and found it less refined and in hot weather, after an hour in Southern California stop-and-go, there was a little knock, so I stepped back down to Sport+ and never looked back. I use top tier 91 octane pump gas.

Easy installation, except it's easy to lose the clip on the plug that goes into the intake and it's tight in there so a little blood is usually drawn on the hands. I think blood sacrifice makes the car go faster.

I would buy the Sport again, great value from ECS when I purchased in fall of 2016.

 

Neither. Dinan burned me when they refused to honor their warranty after going through two Dinan Elites and admitting that the Elites were faulty. When I opted to return the second Elite to Dinan for a refund rather than get another replacement they stopped responding to emails and only give the runaround when I would call.

 

I had a Sport in my F56. The product was woefully short on instructions on how to use it. It would only connect if location services was active on my S21. Then there was no information as to whether or not you had to re-connect to it every time you shut of the engine or the phone was out of BT range. Sometimes the boost gage would read only negative numbers. It did not use android's BT service which is probably why you were forever having to re-connect to as opposed to it connecting on its own. The app could not be set to autostart. I started to kick low boost pressure codes. If someone out there has a complete understanding of how it is supposed to operate and is having success with it I would like to hear from them.

 

The Blue Tooth on the Dinan Sport is notoriously bad. The tuner itself is solid on Sport+ but can be a bit on the edge in Race mode.
Placement of the box under the bonnet can impact connectivity. Also, the plug needs to be well-connected and the wiring needs to be placed and secured carefully to avoid damage. There are installation videos floating around.
FWIW, I've had a unit on a 2017 F54 and then transferred to a 2020 f54 and have had no issues. I don't even try to use the BT boost gauge. I just leave the unit set on Sport+, use 91 top tier gas, and motor.

 

But you still have to use location services to connect and reconnect when ever you shut off or get out of range correct?

 

Their new thing is actual ECU flash which is newest thing from them.
Price reasonable and performance seems solid. And if you still have some warranty left, you can pay more to match with your factory warranty.

 

Yep its here: https://www.ecstuning.com/b-dinan-parts/v-mini/2

Under stage 1 flash.

 

At nearly $5 a gallon, Ive minimized driving mine!!

 

Has anyone done the ECS and had a dyno done after that they will share the results?

 

I paid $4.29 last week.... but then I was driving in a 'hood where it would probably be wise to carry a piece like you keep in your secret compartment.

Getting over 32MPG on freeway runs if it's not stop and go and about 23~25 around town. Don't do too much hot rodding... spouse frequently on board.

0 - 60 in about 6 seconds flat with my dusty, trusty five year old Dinan Sport. I'm happy.