New BMW Owner

[AttorneyGuy]

I have recently purchased a 2005 330CI with the M performance package. I have been considering modifying the car. However, I do not know what to do. I have been reading about Dinan products. My concern is that I do not want to void the factory warranty, since I have 4 yrs of coverage. Will Dinan products make a significant improvement? I have also heard the warranty will not be cancelled. Anyone have any advice?

[OKCSuburban]

Welcome to BMW ownership, I have really enjoyed my car, I just love the way it drives. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine.
Several years ago I joined BMWCCA. I really like reading my Roundel magazine from the BMWCCA.
They have several advertisers that have performance parts for BMW. I normally do not pay much attention as my car is a 318, I do not worry about high performace/power much. (I have two teenage sons, one who drives now and I like having a lower powered car for him to drive every now and then.
I would suggest you find someone locally who can take care of what ever modifications you plan on doing. Service is the name of the game here. Your dealer should be of help there. As you increase the performace you might also increase the maintance and possible problems. At least this has been my luck. As far as I know the Dinan products do not change the warranty, I do not know if you have to have the dealer install them to keep the warranty in force....

Check with you local BMW Club and see what they are doing.

[AttorneyGuy]

Originally Posted by OKCSuburban

Welcome to BMW ownership, I have really enjoyed my car, I just love the way it drives. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine.
Several years ago I joined BMWCCA. I really like reading my Roundel magazine from the BMWCCA.
They have several advertisers that have performance parts for BMW. I normally do not pay much attention as my car is a 318, I do not worry about high performace/power much. (I have two teenage sons, one who drives now and I like having a lower powered car for him to drive every now and then.
I would suggest you find someone locally who can take care of what ever modifications you plan on doing. Service is the name of the game here. Your dealer should be of help there. As you increase the performace you might also increase the maintance and possible problems. At least this has been my luck. As far as I know the Dinan products do not change the warranty, I do not know if you have to have the dealer install them to keep the warranty in force....

Check with you local BMW Club and see what they are doing.

Thank you.

[DinanM3_S2]

Dinan is the only aftermarket supplier in the US that works with BMWs warranty. As I understand it, Dinan takes over the BMW warranty on the car in any fields where a Dinan component could cause damage, and on the Dinan parts themselves. For more information check out this link.
http://dinancars.com/Warranty.asp

I have Dinan parts installed on my car and I think that they are the way to go with newer BMWs. Dinan tends to put alot of research and development into their products so that the cars don't get that "modified feel" you get with many tuners. Dinan cars feel just like an origional BMW product, just with better handling and more power. Thier products also tend to be alot more reliable then the competition.

Dinan Pros- warranty, reliability, feel
Dinan Cons- initial cost, power gains

Another option that alot of people are turning to is a company called Active Autowerke. They offer a supercharger kit for the E46 that will get much better gains then Dinan for less. Where as Dinan will have you around 250hp (maybe), the AA S/C kit should have you around 330-340hp, which is M3 territory. The Dinan S2 330Ci ZHP kit costs around $8,000, while the AA kit costs around $6,500. The Dinan kit comes with suspension upgrades which AA doesn't, but the AA supercharger's power blows Dinan away. The downside is that many people think that AA rather unreliable.

Good luck with the car.