[Hingle Mccringleberry]

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So I went to try to get my car tuned today, and of course with my 1200 mile break-in service in July I got the locked-out DME software update...

I was at the shop to get the Dinan tune, but now that I have to send the DME to someone for the backdate, and I'm not sure what to do.

As I've searched more, CarBahn may be a good option as well given the factory matching warranty, but I can't find a single review of the BMW tune or actual experience with dealing with the company. There's only multiple large publication reviews of an MB C63s tune.

Dinan started performing their flash tuning on the S55 in mid-October at the "Haus Party" event, but I haven't seen anyone post about actually having it done on an M2 comp.

Anybody have any thoughts?

I know a lot of people have bad things to say about Dinan as a company and/or performance, but wondering about actual experiences. I'm not interested in a volatile, impractical, 600hp E85 tune... This is a semi-daily driver. I'm looking for the advertised 80-100 more hp than stock, and was planning to do the larger heat exchanger as well.

Definitely want to maintain a decent warranty, so I'm probably pretty limited.

[aldenaldenalden]

I got the Carbahn stage 1 for my S55 a couple months ago. When I spoke with them around that time, they mentioned they were expecting to get a new M2C in the shop with the latest DME update so they could start looking into it. So it's worth following up with them to see if they've made any progress on that front.

As for the tune itself, it's pretty amazing for a stage 1. The power increase is impressive, and the difference is very obvious.

If you have a 6MT, you'll probably have to recalibrate the way you manage the clutch in 1st gear for smooth takeoffs on daily drives, at least at first. But otherwise power delivery is very smooth. Instead of hitting a wall around 4.5k rpm, it just keeps pulling (very quickly) until redline.

The only "downside" IMO is our cars definitely need more tire to make full use of all that power. My traction light blinks even at the top of 3rd gear when I push it! It's satisfying and hilarious.

[lfcorrea]

What about the Noelle Performance tune?

https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1671121

Just saw it today and am pretty interested in it. It sounds like they offer some sort of warranty as well. Let me know if you find out any details...

[waldrops]

Originally Posted by lfcorrea

What about the Noelle Performance tune?

https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1671121

Just saw it today and am pretty interested in it. It sounds like they offer some sort of warranty as well. Let me know if you find out any details...

Overpriced

[ssabripo]

interesting that Carbahn has a "factory matching warranty" for $750.

anyone know what this means? is it similar to Dinan's? since they are not done at BMW dealerships like Dinan, I am assuming in the event of an issue, they would try to cover it?

[waldrops]

Originally Posted by ssabripo

interesting that Carbahn has a "factory matching warranty" for $750.

anyone know what this means? is it similar to Dinan's? since they are not done at BMW dealerships like Dinan, I am assuming in the event of an issue, they would try to cover it?

Same as Dinan

Talked to the performance specialist on the phone. All work done through dealer paid by Carbahn. No cost for repairs out of pocket.

[DriverDaily]

If Carbahn had a better dealer network I would go with them. They don't handicap your tune until you buy their heat exchanger. I live near Turner Motorsports, so I am going to them for the Dinan tune.

Since I hate that the Dinan heat exchanger screams "Dinan" in big bold letters from behind your bumper, I will be stuck at 440 whp for the foreseeable future.

[Hingle Mccringleberry]

Originally Posted by waldrops

Overpriced

This doesn't look overpriced for what it seems like you get in addition to the warranty. Of the 3 warrantied tuning option I've seen (Noelle, Dinan, Carbahn), Noelle adds the most power and torque without requiring hardware upgrades. The guys in the video really seem to be impressed. Problem with Noelle is that their dealer network is extremely limited, with the nearest dealer to me being 3.5 hours away. If you read the fine print in the warranties with the different companies, Noelle and Dinan require that you take your broken car to a Noelle or Dinan dealer for repair. This isn't such a big deal for Dinan with their extensive dealer network, but would be a real pain with Noelle. The warranty for Carbahn as written on their website does not state that the vehicle has to specifically be taken to one of their dealers, but I would be interested if that is stated more explicitly in the formal warranty paperwork. I have an e-mail sent to them with this question and will report when I hear back.

[Hingle Mccringleberry]

Originally Posted by ssabripo

interesting that Carbahn has a "factory matching warranty" for $750.

anyone know what this means? is it similar to Dinan's? since they are not done at BMW dealerships like Dinan, I am assuming in the event of an issue, they would try to cover it?

Originally Posted by waldrops

Same as Dinan

Talked to the performance specialist on the phone. All work done through dealer paid by Carbahn. No cost for repairs out of pocket.

The Carbahn stage 1 tune with a warranty is a total of $1500 and $750 without a warranty (not sure if that was clear)

Originally Posted by DriverDaily

If Carbahn had a better dealer network I would go with them. They don't handicap your tune until you buy their heat exchanger. I live near Turner Motorsports, so I am going to them for the Dinan tune.

Since I hate that the Dinan heat exchanger screams "Dinan" in big bold letters from behind your bumper, I will be stuck at 440 whp for the foreseeable future.

The Carbahn warranty at least as written on the website does not explicitly state that warranty repairs have to be done at a Carbahn dealer, but don't know if the real warranty paperwork would state differently. Obviously, you may have to travel a distance for the initial install regardless, due to the sparse dealer network. Luckily I have one of the few east coast dealers about 15 miles away from me here in Charlotte

From reading the other thread with the technician from Dinan doing Q&A about their new S55 flash tunes, I don't think they require you to purchase their heat exchanger to get the 2nd stage of the flash tune, they just require that you purchase an increased capacity heat exchanger. From what I understand, they would still cover the factory equivalent warranty if you purchased and installed the CSF heat exchanger for instance. But, I'm not really sure the CSF version (makes me think of cerebrospinal fluid) is really any more attractive than the Dinan version...

[Moflow]

Originally Posted by Hingle Mccringleberry

makes me think of cerebrospinal fluid

I am reasonably sure that this is the first time that combination of words has ever been uttered on a car forum in the history of car forums.

Congrats.

[Hingle Mccringleberry]

= But, I'm not really sure the CSF version (makes me think of cerebrospinal fluid) is really any more attractive than the Dinan version...

Originally Posted by Moflow

I am reasonably sure that this is the first time that combination of words has ever been uttered on a car forum in the history of car forums.

Congrats.

My profession requires an excessive use of acronyms to regularly confuse people and make me sound smarter than I really am. It also messes up those commercials for Universal Technical Institute - UTI - Urinary tract infection

[DriverDaily]

Originally Posted by Hingle Mccringleberry

From reading the other thread with the technician from Dinan doing Q&A about their new S55 flash tunes, I don't think they require you to purchase their heat exchanger to get the 2nd stage of the flash tune, they just require that you purchase an increased capacity heat exchanger. From what I understand, they would still cover the factory equivalent warranty if you purchased and installed the CSF heat exchanger for instance.

Brass tacks: If I install a CSF heat exchanger and the water pump dies three years later, who will be paying for it?

[beMtroubleYou]

Just read the fineprint. Warrenty has plenty of loopholes. They always try to weasel out. Be it tuners or BMW.

If they see a sign of missconduct they will void it.

Be careful and be prepared for costs in case you are left alone.

[beMtroubleYou]

Originally Posted by DriverDaily

Brass tacks: If I install a CSF heat exchanger and the water pump dies three years later, who will be paying for it?

That would be you ofc.

CSF will calim the water pump was faulty and BMW will calim you installed a 3rd party part that caused the failure. Its buisness.

Edit: I am not trying to shit all over peoples decisions, I am just saying be sceptical and ask questions before its too late. These promises tend to run out as soon companys have their money.

[Malakas]

I always thought CSF was a funny name for the same reason!

I'm in the same locked DME boat, but will likely buy an unwarrantied tune because as mentioned, those warranties have SO many loop holes... I'm not sure how much piece of mind I'm buying.

That said, I think the tuners/tunes that have a warranty option are probably keeping a fair amount of safety tolerances in mind... So may be better options in general.

[M2COMP]

Originally Posted by Hingle Mccringleberry

The Carbahn stage 1 tune with a warranty is a total of $1500 and $750 without a warranty (not sure if that was clear)

The Carbahn warranty at least as written on the website does not explicitly state that warranty repairs have to be done at a Carbahn dealer, but don't know if the real warranty paperwork would state differently. Obviously, you may have to travel a distance for the initial install regardless, due to the sparse dealer network. Luckily I have one of the few east coast dealers about 15 miles away from me here in Charlotte

From reading the other thread with the technician from Dinan doing Q&A about their new S55 flash tunes, I don't think they require you to purchase their heat exchanger to get the 2nd stage of the flash tune, they just require that you purchase an increased capacity heat exchanger. From what I understand, they would still cover the factory equivalent warranty if you purchased and installed the CSF heat exchanger for instance. But, I'm not really sure the CSF version (makes me think of cerebrospinal fluid) is really any more attractive than the Dinan version...

Hi, who is the carbahn dealer in Charlotte. Thank you.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by Hingle Mccringleberry

Definitely want to maintain a decent warranty, so I'm probably pretty limited.

Just my two cents here, but I would not rely on any tuner warranty coming through if you spin your crank hub. Maybe they will live up to it, maybe they won't, but I've seen and heard so many shady things about that side of the business. I would only make the decision to tune if you are okay with the possibility that you might have to pay for a remanufactured engine out-of-pocket.

[Thescout13]

Originally Posted by chris719

Just my two cents here, but I would not rely on any tuner warranty coming through if you spin your crank hub. Maybe they will live up to it, maybe they won't, but I've seen and heard so many shady things about that side of the business. I would only make the decision to tune if you are okay with the possibility that you might have to pay for a remanufactured engine out-of-pocket.

Agree with this. While I think someone like Carbahn would stand behind their tune (as Steve Dinan has for years and assuming you don't modify anything on the engine beyond just the tune), at the end of the day, companies shutter, people can be shady, and people can decide not to follow through on the contractual warranty.

That said, if they do without any real justifiable reason, they would be pretty much done as a company in this world. I highly doubt Carbahn or Dinan are rolling the dice like that. Now Noelle....

[Hingle Mccringleberry]

Originally Posted by M2COMP

Hi, who is the carbahn dealer in Charlotte. Thank you.

EuroMpire. They have been awesome and the owner Matt is a great guy! Very knowledgeable! I plan to use them for pretty much anything that isn't covered for free by BMW on this car going forward.