[BMWtight2me]

Since OPs review is also a tuning comparison, and so far no one has shared their real world experience with both Dinan and JB4, I felt I should share my own experience.

Bought both Dinan and JB4. Drove both extensively. Loved both... but here are some reasons why the jb4 exceeds the Dinan.

-jb4 is more popular. Dinan can't sell the kind of numbers as burger. Just look at their social media engagement. Burger gets way more love. Dinan seems to be playing catchup, copying the burger approach and products.

-Dinan has no datalogging capabilities. This is just lame. You can't switch maps either. Jb4 has 7 maps to chose from and I can monitor its performance and make tweaks to ensure the car is running tip top.

-Warrenty wise, Dinan's warranty maxes out at 2yrs/50k miles. I'm two thirds of the way there with the jb4, and less worried because I know that once I'm passed the 50k mark I'll still be doing logs and have full awareness of the cars behavior. I can even make tweaks myself, like controlling peak boost, adjusting the amount of boost on shift, etc. It feels more like blind faith with the Dinan, and how are you supposed to monitor it once the warranty is up?

-Cost is obviously another issue. Jb4 costs 3x as much. Their harness does look more sturdy, but it doesn't matter because you stash the jb4 under the weather cover. If you're really paranoid, jb4 sells a weather protection case as well. Furthermore, pushing beyond 20psi is going to require a new intercooler and getting more parts from dinan makes the whole project increasingly more expensive.

-More low end power and better shift points. The Dinan really does, as OP stated, feel like the more you gas it the faster it climbs. Sounds nice, but in reality I found myself constantly chasing high rpms searching for the power. Jb4 kicks lower down, the power surges faster, and I shift after only a couple thousand rpms.

-Dinan didn't seem to get 2nd and 3rd gear as well as the jb4. Second gear felt less smooth with the Dinan and I tended to spemd less time in it during real world driving. Not an issue with the jb4.

-As for support, I knew Dinan had the warranty, main reason I bought it. However it is not a BMW warranty, it is a Dinan one, and if you look up real world examples of people with serious issues, it turns into a tug of war between dinan and BMW trying to figure out who is to blame, while the customer is left waiting.

-On top of which, calling and emailing Dinan is difficult. Jb4 has a whole website dedicated to supporting its community, and a helpful squad of employees who promptly answer emails. Besides, how can you get real support without being able to even share logs? besides the guys at the BMW dealerships no very little about the Dinan products.

-Don't have BMW install it. Takes them forever and they charge you half the price of a jb4 to do it. Both Dinan and jb4 can be installed yourself in about 30 min.

I wish Dinan was more popular. That part really bugs me. jb4 is the one with with more piggyback tuning experience, a giant satisfied customer base, and a website with a community that is constantly testing and providing support and feedback. How many times have you heard about someone leaving Dinan for jb4. Never heard of anyone switching to Dinan. My buddies with m3s, m4s, and m6s are the ones who talked me into the jb4. Those cars are in a whole other price bracket, with far more money put into them, and they unanimously go for jb4 or ECU tunes.

The jb4 is the gold standard of piggyback tuning. Get better performance and save your money -- Jb4 / DP / FMIC -- end of story!

[madmortar]

Originally Posted by BMWtight2me

Since OPs review is also a tuning comparison, and so far no one has shared their real world experience with both Dinan and JB4, I felt I should share my own experience.

Bought both Dinan and JB4. Drove both extensively. Loved both... but here are some reasons why the jb4 exceeds the Dinan.

-jb4 is more popular. Dinan can't sell the kind of numbers as burger. Just look at their social media engagement. Burger gets way more love. Dinan seems to be playing catchup, copying the burger approach and products.

-Dinan has no datalogging capabilities. This is just lame. You can't switch maps either. Jb4 has 7 maps to chose from and I can monitor its performance and make tweaks to ensure the car is running tip top.

-Warrenty wise, Dinan's warranty maxes out at 2yrs/50k miles. I'm two thirds of the way there with the jb4, and less worried because I know that once I'm passed the 50k mark I'll still be doing logs and have full awareness of the cars behavior. I can even make tweaks myself, like controlling peak boost, adjusting the amount of boost on shift, etc. It feels more like blind faith with the Dinan, and how are you supposed to monitor it once the warranty is up?

-Cost is obviously another issue. Jb4 costs 3x as much. Their harness does look more sturdy, but it doesn't matter because you stash the jb4 under the weather cover. If you're really paranoid, jb4 sells a weather protection case as well. Furthermore, pushing beyond 20psi is going to require a new intercooler and getting more parts from dinan makes the whole project increasingly more expensive.

-More low end power and better shift points. The Dinan really does, as OP stated, feel like the more you gas it the faster it climbs. Sounds nice, but in reality I found myself constantly chasing high rpms searching for the power. Jb4 kicks lower down, the power surges faster, and I shift after only a couple thousand rpms.

-Dinan didn't seem to get 2nd and 3rd gear as well as the jb4. Second gear felt less smooth with the Dinan and I tended to spemd less time in it during real world driving. Not an issue with the jb4.

-As for support, I knew Dinan had the warranty, main reason I bought it. However it is not a BMW warranty, it is a Dinan one, and if you look up real world examples of people with serious issues, it turns into a tug of war between dinan and BMW trying to figure out who is to blame, while the customer is left waiting.

-On top of which, calling and emailing Dinan is difficult. Jb4 has a whole website dedicated to supporting its community, and a helpful squad of employees who promptly answer emails. Besides, how can you get real support without being able to even share logs? besides the guys at the BMW dealerships no very little about the Dinan products.

-Don't have BMW install it. Takes them forever and they charge you half the price of a jb4 to do it. Both Dinan and jb4 can be installed yourself in about 30 min.

I wish Dinan was more popular. That part really bugs me. jb4 is the one with with more piggyback tuning experience, a giant satisfied customer base, and a website with a community that is constantly testing and providing support and feedback. How many times have you heard about someone leaving Dinan for jb4. Never heard of anyone switching to Dinan. My buddies with m3s, m4s, and m6s are the ones who talked me into the jb4. Those cars are in a whole other price bracket, with far more money put into them, and they unanimously go for jb4 or ECU tunes.

The jb4 is the gold standard of piggyback tuning. Get better performance and save your money -- Jb4 / DP / FMIC -- end of story!

Is this review piggy back vs piggy back?

[BMWtight2me]

Originally Posted by madmortar

Is this review piggy back vs piggy back?

Jb4 vs any plug-in Dinan tune -- not comparing any of the ECU options (which I believe Dinan does not offer).

[vietboy1st]

You are right. I have two BMWs . both 2014 Xdrive version because i live in New England. Both cars have after market intake, intercooler and exhaust as well as aluminum charge pipe
my 335iX has active8 tune. That thing is an animal. Once you step your foot on the gas. The torque is kicking in a half second later and pull you into the driver seat . Suck that my 335ix got speed limiter at 135-136mph..

My 435iX has Dinan tune stage 3 . it is a a bit faster than stock . But the Torque in this car is so slower than the active8 tune. but it does have good pick up than stock and can hit 100+mph with no problem. i drove it up to 143mph but i know i can hit over 160mph and i am not able to hit it speed limit yet.. So i am going to have my local mechanic who is a master BMW tech to change it to active8 tune soon...

I am thinking to sell my Dinan tune stage 3. ( 2 months old ) also you can install the app into your smartphone to able to change the stage 1-3 or change it back to stock, how you wanted. Asking for $1,999 ....

[madmortar]

Originally Posted by vietboy1st

You are right. I have two BMWs . both 2014 Xdrive version because i live in New England. Both cars have after market intake, intercooler and exhaust as well as aluminum charge pipe
my 335iX has active8 tune. That thing is an animal. Once you step your foot on the gas. The torque is kicking in a half second later and pull you into the driver seat . Suck that my 335ix got speed limiter at 135-136mph..

My 435iX has Dinan tune stage 3 . it is a a bit faster than stock . But the Torque in this car is so slower than the active8 tune. but it does have good pick up than stock and can hit 100+mph with no problem. i drove it up to 143mph but i know i can hit over 160mph and i am not able to hit it speed limit yet.. So i am going to have my local mechanic who is a master BMW tech to change it to active8 tune soon...

I am thinking to sell my Dinan tune stage 3. ( 2 months old ) also you can install the app into your smartphone to able to change the stage 1-3 or change it back to stock, how you wanted. Asking for $1,999 ....

So...
Are you comparing dinan vs. active piggy back or flash?
Weird to hear that the Dinan stage 3 is only a "bit" faster than stock, it's suppose to add nearly 100hp?

Also, someone sold a DINAN stage 1 tune for 335i on here for $400 btw... believe you can't transfer the warranty so selling used you will take a hit for sure.

[Gen13 F36]

Its 2018 already, why is Dinan not developing a flash at all. Asking price too much for this piggy back with all the competition they have on the market.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by Gen13 F36

Its 2018 already, why is Dinan not developing a flash at all. Asking price too much for this piggy back with all the competition they have on the market.

Im sure they will release a flash now that OBD flashing is available

[madmortar]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Im sure they will release a flash now that OBD flashing is available

That would be awesome. More competition the better.

Though the just releasd their stage 1 piggyback for 330i. Looks less complicated and costs $500 cheaper than 328i version. Which is driving me crazy