I've been mulling the idea of a tune, and I like the Dinan Elite out of all the options. I can have it installed at my local bmw/mini dealer as they are a dinan dealer. It will keep me under my warranty for another 2 years and 28k miles, and I like that from some of the reviews I've read (mostly on cooper S models) the power is smooth and basically drives like stock except quite a bit more power.

But, I did notice a couple of forum members that had installed it on their jcw within the last year had a few issues. One of them got a unit with no software loaded, then got another unit that didn't increase the boost, and they didn't even try the third. The other forum member was dealing with a constant check engine light.

So, for those that have it on a JCW 2014+, would you do it again? How does the car drive? Have you had any issues with the system?

Also, this will be installed on a 2016 jcw 6 speed auto. Any ideas on the durability of the auto trans with the extra power?

Thanks.

 

Worth It! Gave the car an extra kick that was not there before. Saw all the same issue posts you saw and installed anyway. No problems here. Make sure you get the JCW version as they have one for the S and one for the JCW. You said "It will keep me under my warranty for another 2 years and 28k miles", your Mini warranty does not cover the Dinan or issues the Dinan may cause. Dinan will cover those. I did not get mine at the dealer but I think Mini dealers that are also Dinan dealers just work directly with Dinan to cover any issues.

 

Thanks. Yeah I know how the warranty situation works with dinan. I'm sure it helps that my dealer is also a dinan dealer and at least my service advisor has a dinan unit on his car currently hah.

Does it drive like stock with just more power? Kinda looking for something that still feels oem.

 

I'm not up on all the "it does this at certain torque" or any of that stuff the smart folks on this site know about. Best I can describe it is you know when your driving and you switch from mid to sport mode you get that acceleration bump that pushes you back into the seat. That to me is what the Dinan feels like, it gives an extra kick in the pants when you accelerate.

 

Very happy with mine. Only install glitch was a stuck connector that had nothing to do with Dinan. It's nice to have some assurance from Dinan but IMO any time you mod your car you need to put on the big boy pants and be ready to pay for any repairs out of pocket.

 

Works great on my JCW as well; no muss, no fuss, no CEL’s.

 

I had two Dinans on my car (2016 F55 manual S/JCW Tuned), the Sport then I upgraded to the Elite once it was released. The Elite is better than the Sport for overall performance. I would use the Elite again if I were in your situation with being under warranty. The challenge with any plug in piggyback is that the systems are more reactionary and have some delay. Once I was out of warranty and enjoying the Elite power, of course I wanted more. So now I am running a true tune, that is not a reactionary piece. I am thrilled with my Mario Mquebed tune.

 

if you're reading some of the other topics you may know how sensitive bmw is to modifications and loss of warranty coverage. some are suing under Magnuson-Moss, and they are justified in so doing. with a tune, you can kiss everything goodbye. but there is no question that is the only way to really fly.....just can't beat erasing the "everyman" oem tune with one customized to the car, the driver and the environment.

 

Thanks. The only tune I am considering is the Dinan Elite and that is because of Dinan picking up the powertrain warranty. Being that my local bmw/mini dealer is also a premier dinan dealer, I am sure they can figure it out if there is an issue.

 

Glad to see this thread. I have a 2019 JCW and plan to add the Elite. Hoping they have a decent sale around Black Friday!

 

I'm going to be testing out the Evolve tune later this week. It's done through the OBDII, and you can swap between the stock map and tuned map as needed.http://www.evolvetuning.us/

 

 

It does, in a way. If you have a problem with your car, and have add on performance parts, the dealer has to prove that the aftermarket parts were the cause of the failure or issue to deny a warranty claim. Even if you have a bolt on supercharger, or intercooler upgrade, but come in for a problem with your exhaust, then they would not be able to deny you based on the aftermarket parts installed, unless they can prove they caused the exhaust issue.

 

Interested. Please let us know what you experience. (Vendor, ease of use, and any gains). Thanks!

 

So far, it's been good. The OBDII package and instructions arrived from the UK in just a few days. I downloaded the program to my laptop, and the next steps are for me to download my ECU config from the vehicle, and send them the file. In the email, I need to let them know what mods I have, and if I want the rev limit increased, if I want the top speed increased, and I can also choose some other stuff, like defaulting to sport mode when starting the car (mine does this due to the BimmerCode app I used), and a few other things. They will then send the tune file within 48 hours, and I will then be able to swap back and forth with my laptop whenever I need.


I'll be sending them the file tonight, so hopefully I will get the tune back by Friday for a road test, and then a dyno run will likely happen next week if the shop has time/space for it.

 

 

Well, that's about the worse post I have seen reference the Elite. CEL and little to no gain. Perhaps it is a bad unit. Hate to say I hope so....but I hope so. Are you certain they installed the "JCW" version of the Elite?

I was hoping this was a sure thing. Doesn't seem so now.

 

 

I loaded the Evolve flash yesterday, and went on a few short drives to set the tune and give it a little shakedown. The loading process took about 40 minutes, and their instructions were pretty clear, and easy to follow. I did have some trouble with my laptop not showing the files I downloaded, but their suggestion to save them to a different place, rather than the C drive worked, and they responded quickly. Now I have both my stock tune and stage 1 tune on a flash drive, along with my diagnostic coding data, so it will be easy to swap back and forth as needed.

I have a dyno scheduled for next week on Wednesday, and I am also going to Thunderhill on Sunday to give the new tune and upgraded front and rear sway bars a real test. So far the butt dyno is loving it. Cruising around with a small amount of throttle input feels like stock, it's very comlpliant and smooth. But when I step on it, it really comes alive, and pulls much harder. I am loving it!

 

 

Glad you are getting to the bottom of the CEL issue. But still no real gains from the Dinan Elite.....? To me that's another issue as well. Hope it all works out in the end!

 

I figured he meant no difference between his previous tune and the dinan.

 

 

I am really interested in giving my F54 JCW more power but I think I will wait until the warranty is up. The Elite is supposed to address that (as it voids Mini warranty) but putting a tune of any sort on a brand new (and pricey) car just seems a bit crazy to me. Maybe Mini will release a more powerful F54 as they will be doing with the Countryman in the future.

 

Dunnit.

Good, no problems.

Cheers,

Charlie