Dinan vs ESS tune

[biglare]

Now back on topic.


I had the Dinan stage 1 and stage 2 tunes on my M3 before getting the ESS Supercharger. I really liked both Dinan tunes and they definitely provided more power. I never had an error code from either of their tunes. They drove smooth and had some added power when I wanted it. I was wanting more power so that is why I went with the ESS Supercharger.

Now that being said, ESS did dyno my M3 before putting the supercharger on and for fun they put their own tune on my M3 and dyno'd. They made about 15hp-18hp more than the Dinan tune. Keep in mind that this was only for fun as they were installing the Supercharger on my M3 later that same day.

In summary, Dinan has always been a little more conservative with their products, but their power increase numbers are accurate. Keep in mind that Dinan has to warranty all their products so that factors into the cost and into the level of power increase that they feel comfortable with. Of the two tunes Dinan vs. ESS, the ESS will make more power for sure. Their support has been second to none for me, even with my 1M.

I hope this helps you out with your decision.

[Jason]

TO ALL TUNERS:

Please stick to talking about your own company, products, or services only.

And please keep the discussions technical in nature.

Violations of these rules will result in deletion and/or infraction.

[Team Plutonium]

Originally Posted by Jason

TO ALL TUNERS:

Please stick to talking about your own company, products, or services only.

And please keep the discussions technical in nature.

Violations of these rules will result in deletion and/or infraction.

Thank you!

[uplusd]

[Jason]

Originally Posted by Team Plutonium

Thank you!

I encourage members to report any posts violating these rules.

[img]

Originally Posted by Jason

I encourage members to report any posts violating these rules.

[NikB316]

One important thing to consider IMO is the history of the tuner. Dinan has been around for so long and is top notch no doubt. I know their warranty stuff with BMW is a bit different now but the fact that BMW did warranty their parts speaks volumes about their products. Even their warranty now is still outstanding. The history and quality of Dinan is unsurpassed. They are BMW's "go to" tuner! They have always been ranked number one in my book and many others. It's not only about the power or numbers a product puts out. As a company, it is VERY hard to put anyone ahead of them!

[Nati Beastcat]

Originally Posted by NikB316

One important thing to consider IMO is the history of the tuner. Dinan has been around for so long and is top notch no doubt. I know their warranty stuff with BMW is a bit different now but the fact that BMW did warranty their parts speaks volumes about their products. Even their warranty now is still outstanding. The history and quality of Dinan is unsurpassed. They are BMW's "go to" tuner! They have always been ranked number one in my book and many others. It's not only about the power or numbers a product puts out. As a company, it is VERY hard to put anyone ahead of them!

Never impressed by Dinan maybe its the $1000 price tags they put on $300-$400 dollar items?

The stroker motor they make is pretty sick, but not at $26,000? I mean really?

[NikB316]

It's expensive but its like OEM quality. In some cases you pay for what you get. I would trust Dinan more than any tuner with my car. They definitely aren't for the value minded consumer but it is Dinan after all!

[mhabs]

Love my ESS, especially the flashloader where I can switch between tunes or back to stock. But would totally be comfortable with Dinan...most dealers (if not all) will honor the mods/warranty, if not Dinan will back up with their own warranty, and don't forget that Dinan regularly tunes and modifies BMWs/M cars, Ferraris, and other brand engines (e.g Toyota) for racing and is one of the few guys in North America that can successfully bore out blocks on M engines without using sleeves. If you ever see some videos from Steve Dinan on youtube talking about the errors he found on the M5 intake (and that BMW corrected on the M3), you know this guy knows exactly what he's talking about. They are also highly professional and don't play tuner tit-for-tat, he said/she said games. Only criticism is that I've been less than impressed with the service advisor guys at the Dinan company owned service centers and those at the Morgan Hill HQ responsible for dealing with customer questions about performance part specifics. But engineering wise, they are really impressive.

[M3takesNYC]

I get that Dinan is very skilled and probably builds some really amazing race products but some of their other stuff is just ridiculous. Why bother with a tune that gives no perceptable difference in driving? Been there with a Dinan tune. For 1k nonetheless. Or an intake elbow for 1k that does nothing. Or bored throttle bodies which any car I have seen dynoed with them (non-m3's) lost power.

Why even bother with a tune if you are going to have customers not get anything out of it. Tuning is not rocket science. Building engines is a different story and if I needed a one-off custom race engine than yes I would go to Dinan but aside from that its just not at all worth it

[biglare]

Originally Posted by NikB316

One important thing to consider IMO is the history of the tuner. Dinan has been around for so long and is top notch no doubt. I know their warranty stuff with BMW is a bit different now but the fact that BMW did warranty their parts speaks volumes about their products. Even their warranty now is still outstanding. The history and quality of Dinan is unsurpassed. They are BMW's "go to" tuner! They have always been ranked number one in my book and many others. It's not only about the power or numbers a product puts out. As a company, it is VERY hard to put anyone ahead of them!

ESS Tuning also offers a warranty on all their hardware and software components for 2 years/unlimited miles.
See this link for more details -->http://www.esstuning.com/pages/Warranty-Info.html

I wanted to make everyone aware as some may not know about the warranty that ESS Tuning offers, which is very similar to the warranty Dinan offers.

Hope this helps.

[Nati Beastcat]

Originally Posted by M3takesNYC

I get that Dinan is very skilled and probably builds some really amazing race products but some of their other stuff is just ridiculous. Why bother with a tune that gives no perceptable difference in driving? Been there with a Dinan tune. For 1k nonetheless. Or an intake elbow for 1k that does nothing. Or bored throttle bodies which any car I have seen dynoed with them (non-m3's) lost power.

Why even bother with a tune if you are going to have customers not get anything out of it. Tuning is not rocket science. Building engines is a different story and if I needed a one-off custom race engine than yes I would go to Dinan but aside from that its just not at all worth it

+1 prices are just dumb.. I can't get past that to look at anything else Dinan has to offer. There are quality manufactures ESS being one of them that I'd rather look into.

[sycd]

Originally Posted by biglare

ESS Tuning also offers a warranty on all their hardware and software components for 2 years/unlimited miles.
See this link for more details -->http://www.esstuning.com/pages/Warranty-Info.html

I wanted to make everyone aware as some may not know about the warranty that ESS Tuning offers, which is very similar to the warranty Dinan offers.

Hope this helps.

It's very common for manufacturers to warranty their own parts. What is different with dinan is that they cover the rest of the car for issues caused by their parts.

" The Authorized Dinan Dealer will, without charge for parts or labor, repair or replace the defective Dinan component(s), as well as any original vehicle manufacturer’s component(s) that may have been directly affected by a Dinan component, using new or authorized remanufactured parts."

[NikB316]

Exactly...every one backs up their stuff with a 2 year warranty, from ESS to Active to Evolve to probably every decent tuner out there. Any one that doesn't have a two year warranty shouldn't be in the game. Active has been on point with any of my warranty issues above and beyond their responsibility.

However, Dinan takes it to another level! As the above post mentions, they will cover much more than the others and of course free labor too! I don't think other tuners will reimburse you labor costs.

There are many quality tuners out there but if you know the history and what Dinan has done...they are just on another level.

[NikB316]

Biglare,
How are you enjoying the 1M? Not sure if you remember but I was just a few grand away from buying your M back in like September! I made you an offer that you couldn't refuse but you refused it