[DrMike]

Full review: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...specialty_file


Dinan S3 BMW 335i - Specialty File
Crank up the boost! Dinan pumps up BMW's 335i to 408 hp.

BY DAVE VANDERWERP, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN ROE
May 2010


The car you see here was no doubt envisioned by a legion of Internet dreamers—breathlessly commenting, “Crank up the boost!”—mere seconds after BMW debuted the twin-turbo 335i for 2007. But it took five Dinan employees hacking away at BMW’s software for a year and a half to finally make it happen.

It was worth the wait. Steve Dinan has sold more than 2000 software upgrades for the 135i/335i, making it the most popular upgrade in his company’s 31-year history. And it’s easy to see why: For $2199, a simple download at one of Dinan’s 129 U.S. dealers immediately endows a 335i with as much as 384 horsepower and 421 pound-feet of torque (versus 300 and 300, respectively). Dinan notes that this is actually more like a 60-hp gain, as BMW’s twin-turbo inline-six comfortably makes more than the advertised 300 horsepower in stock form.

The car tested here goes a little further. Outfitted in “Stage 3” trim, the S3 335i has an oil cooler that is twice as large as standard, a bigger intercooler, a better-breathing carbon-fiber intake, and a freer-flowing exhaust that allows for 1 additional psi of boost versus the 384-hp setup (14 psi total versus 8.8 psi stock). The result is 408 horsepower and a bombastic 440 pound-feet of torque. But it doesn’t come cheap: The aforementioned mods total $8895.

[REST OF ARTICLE]

[bsamoul]

mmmm sweet

[usernumber421]

pretty impressive skidpad numbers.

[CubanJJ09]

they put 265s on the front?? wonder how they made that work

[Scimitar335i]

0-60 in 4.4?
1/4 Mile in 13?

Doesnt a Tune only JB3 and or Procede v4 do better?

For that price you can have a car that breaks into the 11's easy...

[ApexKing]

read that in the magazine. Great article. Dinan really does a great job with their products and tuning across the board. Wish it wasnt so damn expensive. Guess you pay for what you get.

[BoostedTerp]

Originally Posted by Scimitar335i

0-60 in 4.4?
1/4 Mile in 13?

Doesnt a Tune only JB3 and or Procede v4 do better?

For that price you can have a car that breaks into the 11's easy...

Obviously traction limited, people with stage 2 Dinan tunes are running 12's. But nobody was ever arguing that Dinan is the most cost effective way of modding your car. It's simply for those of us who don't want to hide from the dealer or sweat things out when the car is in for service, while still getting a decent performance boost.

There are those who play the piggyback game as well, and more power to them, I didn't have the fortitude to be nervous about my brand new car with BMW's ever-increasing push to catch and deny warranty work on these cars.

[HPIA4v2]

Not to say Dinan tune is not the right way to go, just to put in perspective, you need to blow transmission to rake in $9k worth of repair out of waranty. I haven't seen that here in the forum, have we?

[cotmfk]

Cool article!

[BoostedTerp]

Originally Posted by nirvanayoda

I read that article a couple of weeks ago. I'm puzzled as to how they could take a 408 HP / 440 TQ car and only push 4.4 / 13.0. People with Stage 2 alone are pulling high 12s, much less Stage 3 with the CAI. It almost seems like the Dinan tune strength varies from car to car.

Either that or the driver varies from car to car

[BoostedTerp]

Originally Posted by HPIA4v2

Not to say Dinan tune is not the right way to go, just to put in perspective, you need to blow transmission to rake in $9k worth of repair out of waranty. I haven't seen that here in the forum, have we?

With something smaller like just the Stage 2 tune, with 1700 invested those warranty claims make a lot more sense. Stage 3's performance/dollar ratio is much worse than 2 alone.

[GAaaAR]

265 on the front is a mistake right?

[Brey335i]

Originally Posted by GAaaAR

265 on the front is a mistake right?

Nope... they did some magic and fitted 265 front and 275 rear if I remember correctly.

You can watch all about it here:

[PiperD]

Looks like 265/30/19 in the picture gallery:

[CubanJJ09]

Nice video. Didn't know they had a diff. Still wonder how they got the 265 in there

[reprod]

Since the oil cooler is about double the size they probably changed the wheel well lining. which might have given them more play room to fit that 265 in there....

[Kevin Harney]

Am I reading wrong or does that $9K include all those mods ? If so is it really that bad of a deal ! Wheels, tires, exaust, tune, suspension, oil cooler, intercooler, etc... for that price aint so bad?!?!?!?!

[Bora20]

The wheels and suspension allow for the wider front tires. The car is lowered, but the spring perches are higher, creating room.

The offest of the wheels is 100% precise as well. Everything works as a complete system and fits properly the first time.

I know that there are faster cars out there, but this is the one I would take if it were my money.

[M3_WC]

Originally Posted by usernumber421

pretty impressive skidpad numbers.

Would have much rather seen some slalom numbers.

[Tulsadriven335]

400 to the flywheel, how much to the ground 350 give ot take?

for 9000 buckaroos plus labor? easily $10k, can u justify buying this or just getting a m3 start from there..

Id still take the m3 i think.. IMHO

But super cool either way

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by HPIA4v2

Not to say Dinan tune is not the right way to go, just to put in perspective, you need to blow transmission to rake in $9k worth of repair out of waranty. I haven't seen that here in the forum, have we?

...just fuelinjector replacement nears $3K at the dealer for 6.... tack on a fuel injector... waste gates... etc... I could see $9K over time easy

single incident I'm with you...$9k is steep ~Frost

[Vintage]

worth every penny and made for longevity with the bigger FMIC and Oil Cooler - I would pay this in a heartbeat for the quality, reputation, reliability, and POWER.