[ktrvn]

I’m looking for an obvious increase in power, but nothing crazy. Smooth and consistent power increase. Also would be nice if it’s on the more affordable side.

Looking for some recommendations backed with info or personal experience. Probably won’t ever be going up to a Stage 2. Thanks in advance!

[DaleHeinz]

Originally Posted by Kyletrann

I'm looking for an obvious increase in power, but nothing crazy. Smooth and consistent power increase. Also would be nice if it's on the more affordable side.

Looking for some recommendations backed with info or personal experience. Probably won't ever be going up to a Stage 2. Thanks in advance!

This should be interesting. Haha.

I have the DINAN Stage 1. The tune is not noticeable except for the fact that the car just has more power. It's smooth and everywhere in the power band. No sudden burst of power. Comfort mode became a little more responsive off the line, but other than that, it's just more everywhere. My M240Xi drives with quite a bit more fury in sport/sport+, but that can all depend on how close your right foot is to the floor.

I had a few issues with the tune, which caused a few weeks of loaner time for me. It was frustrating, but ultimately everything was covered by DINAN and my Dealership. They even gave me brand new X6 and X5's for the two vacations I couldn't take my car on. The warranties took care of replacing a few sensors, the tune Ecu, and the wiring harness for the tuner. I've put 20k miles in it since then without one single hiccup.

I also have added the Dinan mid pipe, which made the car a touch louder and really brought out the crackle and pops on overrun. Tuesday I will have the Carbon Fiber intake installed.

Rough estimates will have it around 370-380hp and 420-425tq.

When the Stage 2 drops, it will be hard not to pull the trigger on that.

I'm all honesty, it's much faster a car than I need, but for the cost and quality of the upgrades, there hasn't been a day I didn't smile from ear to ear getting on the highway.

A couple grand to make a $50K car faster than most $80K cars was a no brainer for me.

[ktrvn]

I guess I should rephrase haha. I won't be going Stage 2 anytime soon as I'm a student in college so mods come slowly and aren't top priority right now.

I mainly want the best bang for the buck Stage 1 tune for now, and much later I'll worry about going Stage 2. I will be upgrading the CP and possibly get a DP as well to help with the tune. As bad as I want to blow all my money over my love for cars, I'm going to stay strong and avoid that. Doesn't mean I won't have my fun though

I don't even own a 2er yet, but I'm just planning for the future. I'm that excited for one! Excuse my lack of knowledge with tuning and engine/performance mods, etc. Doing my best and reading through the forum to try and learn!

Edit: Can't tell if you're happy with the Dinan stage 1 tune or unhappy lol. Can you clear it up for me?

[tiwahu]

I'd probably go with ZZ Top's La Grange. Always seems to get a little more power out of my cars, but nothing too crazy. Kinda affordable, too...Amazon's got it for only $1.29!

[USA-RET]

I have the Dinan Stage 1 on my M240i. Mine threw a CEL the other day, but was cleared at the dealership w/o charge. May be a one time deal, but should it recur, a new harness from Dinan seems to be the long term fix.

You did not mention if you plan to buy a 2'er new or used (w/ a factory warranty or not). With a factory warranty, I'd recommend a Dinan Stage 1. Turns the car into a beast should you choose to drive it that way. Definitely as fast or faster than cars costing thousand$ more, but drives like a regular should you choose. The Dinan warranty covers your car for the 4 years the factory does as a piggyback. So no out of pocket for any repairs should something fail.

On thing the Dinan did for mine was eliminate the slight stutter when starting from a dead stop I felt when the car was stock. I noticed it immediately. Also find that you do not need to be in "Sport" to get plenty of performance. Car is extremely fast in "Comfort", even w/ the AC blowing.

If the 2'er you plan to buy doesn't have a warranty, I'd look at other options that may provide better performance for less money. Plenty of piggyback and flash tune options out there.

[ktrvn]

Originally Posted by USA-RET

I have the Dinan Stage 1 on my M240i. Mine threw a CEL the other day, but was cleared at the dealership w/o charge. May be a one time deal, but should it recur, a new harness from Dinan seems to be the long term fix.

You did not mention if you plan to buy a 2'er new or used (w/ a factory warranty or not). With a factory warranty, I'd recommend a Dinan Stage 1. Turns the car into a beast should you choose to drive it that way. Definitely as fast or faster than cars costing thousand$ more, but drives like a regular should you choose. The Dinan warranty covers your car for the 4 years the factory does as a piggyback. So no out of pocket for any repairs should something fail.

On thing the Dinan did for mine was eliminate the slight stutter when starting from a dead stop I felt when the car was stock. I noticed it immediately. Also find that you do not need to be in "Sport" to get plenty of performance. Car is extremely fast in "Comfort", even w/ the AC blowing.

If the 2'er you plan to buy doesn't have a warranty, I'd look at other options that may provide better performance for less money. Plenty of piggyback and flash tune options out there.

Seems like the Dinan Stage 1 has thrown a CEL for you and previous poster. I will be doing a few bolt on mods and plan to get a catted DP (might go catless).

It will be highly likely that the 2er I get will NOT have factory warranty and be used.

Currently I'm looking at the BMS Stage 1 or JB4 and running on Map 1/2 for daily driving. I'm quite a noob at this, so I'm not 100% sure the difference between the BMS Stage 1 and JB4. If anyone could please inform me on the differences, that'd be great.

Edit: Idk if this would effect anything but I always fill up on 93 octane

[Dj_Quik]

Jb stage 1 just raises your boost levels without changing anything else in the car. I think the highest it goes is 3.5 lbs more of boost. I run jb4 and it allows for more control of ither stuff like fuel trims monitors a few more sensors to ensure your car is safe. It is also fully customizable and you can really dial in your tune or you can just go map 1 or map 2 and call it the day. One of the biggest differences between dinan and jb4 is that you can monitor engine parameters on the jb4 app so you can tell if the car is happy with the tune or not. You can mitigate problems before they happen. And the support on n54tech is phenomenal. Something you cannot do with dinan.

[ktrvn]

Originally Posted by Dj_Quik

Jb stage 1 just raises your boost levels without changing anything else in the car. I think the highest it goes is 3.5 lbs more of boost. I run jb4 and it allows for more control of ither stuff like fuel trims monitors a few more sensors to ensure your car is safe. It is also fully customizable and you can really dial in your tune or you can just go map 1 or map 2 and call it the day. One of the biggest differences between dinan and jb4 is that you can monitor engine parameters on the jb4 app so you can tell if the car is happy with the tune or not. You can mitigate problems before they happen. And the support on n54tech is phenomenal. Something you cannot do with dinan.

Thanks for the reply and the info! The plus of being able to monitor engine parameters is nice. Especially to see if something might be wrong or if the car is happy with the tune. That's good to hear the support is so great for the tune and also on these forums for the car. It makes me that much more confident in buying my first BMW!

I think I'll pay a little more and go with the JB4. It's quite popular and I guess it is for a reason. Has there been any problematic issues with JB4? (Not counting those who over boost without the right engine mods) Also, the JB4 can clear the CEL for catless DP if I choose that route right?

[XutvJet]

If you're buying an out of warranty M235, I wound't bother with the JB4. I'd do one of the many flash tunes out there and run the most conservative 91 octane flash with 93 octane in the tank.

With my M235 6MT, I'm running the very basic Dinantronics Sport in the Sport setting (~2 to 2.5 psi) over stock. Assuming near sea level elevation/baro pressure conditions, the M235 comes with the M Performance Power Pack (MMPK) as stock and makes around 10psi stock. The N55 335/435 of the same years make around 8psi stock or they can buy the $1,500 MPPK from BMW and make the same power as the M235. The M2 makes around 14psi stock.

With the JB4, it disregards the MPPK tune on your car thus when BMS says it adds up to 6psi, it's talking about a non-MPPK equipped N55 335/435. So that 6psi on your M235 would mean around 14psi, NOT 16psi. Same goes for the flash tuners.

The Dinantronics Sport lets you adjust between stock up to 4psi (i.e., 14psi) via a BT app. Sport is 2-2.5psi, Sport+ 3psi, and Race 4psi and also valet (-3psi). I've noticed a bit more lag in the Sport+ and Race settings especially in temps above 75 degrees. I will save you the technical detail, but since the Dinantronics Sport uses only one sensor, it's power delivery can be wonky in the higher settings thus the reason I run Sport. I find the additional power in Sport to be quite linear. I too run 93 octane exclusively. I will be running a catted DP (the HJS Euro 6 300 cell DP) in the spring. With those two mods and the tune in the Sport setting, my M235 will have fractionally more HP/tq than a slightly heavier stock N55 M2. I already find the power in my M235 in gears 1 and 2 to be a bit too much for the rear MPSS tires, especially if I'm driving mode Sport or Sport+ with the quick throttle. I can easily spin them in 2nd from a roll 20 to 50mph roll on most street surfaces. I find that rather annoying.

The flash tunes will give you the most power and the best driveablity followed by the JB4 (assuming you use Map 1) and then the Dinantronics Sport and JB+.

[Dj_Quik]

Lol people mostly post on the forums to complain that something blew up or a cel came on. On that measure, i havent seen anyone post engine failures on a b58 running a jb4. Although sometimes a cel does pop up but its easily resolved and i havent seen them lead to any engine failures. Check out n54tech and read about it. The cel clear feature depends on where you are. Its illegal in Some places in the US like california. Im in canada so the feature works for me

[Dj_Quik]

With the JB4, it disregards the MPPK tune on your car thus when BMS says it adds up to 6psi, it's talking about a non-MPPK equipped N55 335/435. So that 6psi on your M235 would mean around 14psi, NOT 16psi. Same goes for the flash tuners.


No the jb4 will add to whatever psi your ecu is requesting. It does not matter if you have mppk or not. For example, my m240 will request 10-11 psi stock. So depending on the map, jb4 will add to that. F30 340 has the exact same b58 WITHOUT the mppk and will start at 8 psi. Jb4 will add on top of that. So if you have an mppk equipped car like the m235, expect to boost a lot higher than a regular 335. In addition, mppk equipped cars like the m235 and m240 have an advantage in fueling than non equipped mppk cars because bmw raised the fuel cap in factory to accomodate the higher boost of the mppk

Overall though, if yiu dont care bout warranty, get a dyno tune just coz they safely adjust fueling according to your mods and be a bit more aggressive with the boost and tuning. Jb4 if you like to be able to change settings on the fly.

[ktrvn]

Thanks Xutvjet and Dj_quik!

Regarding the dyno tune, I think that would be out of my price range. Trying to stay under $1k (I don't know everything needed for a dyno tune, but I figured it would be more costly). I do want linear power as much as possible though. If it says "controls boost by RPM", does that mean it will be more linear/consistent?

Now as to how much boost I'll be running for DD, I was thinking +3 and occasionally +4. Take in mind I don't really know how much power +3 is, but from what I've read through the forums that seems to be a good amount for DD. (Maybe even a little too good for DD, but I don't mind that power)

I am confused by this statement..

The flash tunes will give you the most power and the best driveablity followed by the JB4 (assuming you use Map 1) and then the Dinantronics Sport and JB+.

Do you mean stack two tunes? JB4 with Dinantronics sport or JB+? Sorry in advance if this is a stupid question

[DaleHeinz]

Originally Posted by Kyletrann

I guess I should rephrase haha. I won't be going Stage 2 anytime soon as I'm a student in college so mods come slowly and aren't top priority right now.

I mainly want the best bang for the buck Stage 1 tune for now, and much later I'll worry about going Stage 2. I will be upgrading the CP and possibly get a DP as well to help with the tune. As bad as I want to blow all my money over my love for cars, I'm going to stay strong and avoid that. Doesn't mean I won't have my fun though

I don't even own a 2er yet, but I'm just planning for the future. I'm that excited for one! Excuse my lack of knowledge with tuning and engine/performance mods, etc. Doing my best and reading through the forum to try and learn!

Edit: Can't tell if you're happy with the Dinan stage 1 tune or unhappy lol. Can you clear it up for me?

My apologies. Maybe I wasn't completely spelling it out. I'm quite happy with DINAN products. No company is without their issues, but this has been one of the best companies I've worked with on warranty issues. The fact that they are partnered with my dealer, and the dealer did the installs, was a great safety net. I could increase then performance of my new car without the worry of voiding the factory warranty.

The Stage 1 tune is much more than just fooling the car into thinking it's short on boost. Many more parameters are accounted for and adjusted. Consequently, you don't notice the car is "tuned," it just drives like the same car with a lot more power. I'll admit, it was quite frustrating and depressing to have the issues I did with a new car and a dealer installed tune, but they made good on their warranty, provided me nice loaner, fixed the issues, and continue to follow up with me throughout the life of the car. Like I said before, it's been 20K miles since the issue was fixed, and the car has run like a champ, even with all that I've thrown at her.

The way I looked at it was simple. I'm spending $50K+ on a sports car. That's not cheap. Why would I try to save money on small improvements? It's not a Honda Civic. It's a well made German performance coupe. Shouldn't I spend an appropriate amount of money and do it right?

****My disclaimer on the above post is that I plan on owning the car for 150-180k miles. It's my daily driver. I'm not concerned with the "highest" performance numbers, but rather good numbers with a solid backing. I'm sure it makes me sound like a Dinan fan boy, but in all honesty, I guess I kind of am, after how well they and BMW handled my 5 weeks of out of service time. Not once was I treated like I did something wrong. It was all apologies and fancy loaners. I'm curious to hear if any JB4 issues have been handled this well.

[ktrvn]

I'm not concerned with the "highest" performance numbers, but rather good numbers with a solid backing.

Exactly what I'm going for! That's great to hear that your dealership treated you well and everything was under warranty. Sadly I won't have warranty as stated above, so if something goes wrong, it's up to me to fix it myself or pay for it.

[Rosseau]

I'm new to the forums, but not to quick cars. I assume the OP has driven an M240i on 93 octane full-on. If you plan to track it, then stop reading here, as I understand.

It seems most people have had at least one issue with Dinan Stage 1, but was always resolved under warranty and rarely recurred. No warranty, and you may be looking at spending more than the $1.4k+ bargain that Dinan offers.

Also know the stock car makes more hp/tq than stated by BMW. Street-only, I am having trouble keeping the stock power in check. 30 mph over in OH is considered "reckless driving" and 4 points. I do it almost every day, but only when it's safe, officer

Also, can't register a catless car in OH, so assume you are planning to max out for track use. That said, I will probably go for it too after my first 20k is up. Just too darn tempting and affordable.

[ktrvn]

I have not driven a 2er, nor do I own one.. YET. I think I’ll stray away from Dinan for now since I won’t have warranty and it seems like Dinan will throw a CEL. I have read that BMW underrates their cars which is a plus for us

I’m in Texas, but plan on going catted DP to be safe on emissions. I believe 25mph over is reckless driving here, and you’ll be cuffed lol.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by Dj_Quik

With the JB4, it disregards the MPPK tune on your car thus when BMS says it adds up to 6psi, it's talking about a non-MPPK equipped N55 335/435. So that 6psi on your M235 would mean around 14psi, NOT 16psi. Same goes for the flash tuners.


No the jb4 will add to whatever psi your ecu is requesting. It does not matter if you have mppk or not. For example, my m240 will request 10-11 psi stock. So depending on the map, jb4 will add to that. F30 340 has the exact same b58 WITHOUT the mppk and will start at 8 psi. Jb4 will add on top of that. So if you have an mppk equipped car like the m235, expect to boost a lot higher than a regular 335. In addition, mppk equipped cars like the m235 and m240 have an advantage in fueling than non equipped mppk cars because bmw raised the fuel cap in factory to accomodate the higher boost of the mppk

Overall though, if yiu dont care bout warranty, get a dyno tune just coz they safely adjust fueling according to your mods and be a bit more aggressive with the boost and tuning. Jb4 if you like to be able to change settings on the fly.

JB4 does not stack. The JB+ and Dinantronics Sport do stack.

[Dj_Quik]

Yes it does. map 1,2,3 and 5 are additive maps. For example Map 1 adds 3 psi to ecu boost. Map 2 adds 4 psi. Map 3 adds 6 psi. Theres also absolute maps where you set your own limit and jb4 will add or decrease boost to reach that target.

[Rosseau]

Originally Posted by Kyletrann

I have not driven a 2er, nor do I own one.. YET. I think I’ll stray away from Dinan for now since I won’t have warranty and it seems like Dinan will throw a CEL. I have read that BMW underrates their cars which is a plus for us

I’m in Texas, but plan on going catted DP to be safe on emissions. I believe 25mph over is reckless driving here, and you’ll be cuffed lol.

Well, if you're keeping the Maxima, an M235i or M240 would put you in a nice spot performance-wise, as in 1.5 sec to 60 faster. You will notice the difference! As a newbie, I found the M240i interior/leather functional but sort of cheap. But in two years research, could not find a better performance bang for the buck in an AWD car. Every review I read was stellar.

Not to go OT, but with you being in TX (no snow), a Camaro SS 1LE could put you in the can for life - God forbid

[tennisfreak]

Affordable? JB4

But IMO I prefer having a warranty in case anything goes wrong; so I have, and recommend, the Dinan Stage 1.

Power and drive-ability is great.

I have had several issues but Dinan and BMW have both stood behind the warranty and at no point have I gone without a vehicle (free BMW loaners) or had to pay a dime out of pocket for anything.

Probably gonna pull the trigger on the new CAI and then a stage 2 if/when it comes out

[ktrvn]

XutvJet,
Is there any bonuses to stacking the JB+ and Dinan? Seems like it’s just better off getting the JB4 and having all, if not more, options then the other two. I think for the simplicity, I’ll just go with a JB4 and not have to deal with more than one tune/app/program.

Rosseau,
My personal opinion is that the interior is quite nice/luxurious, but I am ready to trade some of that quality for performance This will be my first RWD and being 1.5 sec faster 0-60 will be a blast I’m sure. That’s why I’m so excited to get a 2er, not to mention the great reviews 99% of people have for it! Aside from having fun, I’m definitely not trying to get canned in a Camaro SS or even the 2er

Tennis freak,
Since warranty is most likely out of the equation for me, I’ll go with the JB4 unless convinced otherwise. How does the Dinan warranty work?

[tennisfreak]

Kyletrann

As for Dinan, I just take the car to my BMW dealer like I would for a factory warranty item and the rest is handled for me.