Dinan suspension?

[Rob]

I am being slowly swayed to try the Dinan suspension set up. Anybody have any opinions about it or experience with it? (Opinions? Here? :lol: )

Leaving it stock is still an option. Going with another setup is a more likely option. But a lot of people around me are raving about it and the repetitive advertising is getting to me. Plus, I got a ride from the mechanic in a '95 M3 that had it today (didn't get to drive it). Body roll was non-existent (personal pet peeve) and ride quality was not harsh.

[undefined]

dinan=overpriced

[Lartymarf]

dinan=overpriced

That, and on top of it, you can't tell how well a suspension performs or reacts until you drive it at speed like for example at a race track or autox course, or marginally acceptable twisty roads.

Btw, Aty, don't forget though that Dinan charges more because they offer a warranty that BMW accepts. Still overpriced though.

[Nick M3]

Buy koni shocks and Eibach springs if that's what you want. That's the exact same thing for half the price.

[Doug]

What do your plan to do with you car? Street, street-track? This will factor in the selection.

Dinan makes a great suspension but it does tend to run a bit higher than you can get a comprable one.

Koni and H&R or Eibach is a good alternative. KW makes great stuff too though they are not as well known in the States.

[ayn]

wut about GC? I like the name of that company, GroundControl, sounds so cool!

[RoyE46]

I didn't see what car you have, but if it's a 328 or 330 I'd put the OEM ZHP suspension under it. Cheaper than Dinan, and so good that improvement is not a meaningful concept.

[Nick M3]

I didn't see what car you have, but if it's a 328 or 330 I'd put the OEM Performance Package suspension under it. Cheaper than Dinan, and so good that improvement is not a meaningful concept.

I guess it depends on your perpective. IMHO, the ZHP suspension is disappointingly soft. More to the point, the ZHP suspension uses the crap BMW shocks that lose most of their damping capacity within 10-20,000 miles.

[Masskrug]

the crap BMW shocks that lose most of their damping capacity within 10-20,000 miles.


Is this why my E46 feels somewhat floaty and vague now? (at 20K)

[ayn]

damn, i'm at 22k, time to get a new car or some coilovers... :)

[Rob]

The car is an e36 M3. It's retired to weekend use now and was always intended to evolve into a dedicated track car. Not that I have made the track recently, but that will change soon.

Over priced how? I am not certain of the mechanics, but the stage 3 suspension is something like $1600 - for springs, shocks, camber plates, tower braces and sway bars. Installed with shock mount and rtab replacement and an alignment is still somewhere around $2100 (and yes, I think this job might be beyond what I am willing to tackle on my own). It's possible I am missing something, but the price and warranty is what started the line of thought. How much less are other options?

A quick check at tirerack for koni shocks and Eibach springs and the Eibach sway bars comes out at around $1200. I don't know if Tirerack has good prices, but that seems to be relatively comparable (granted, the price people charge for camber plates and tower braces is ridiculous).

I am not in any particular hurry and I probably don't know enough to make a good decision at this point. For example, ground control is out of the question for this version b/c I wouldn't know where to begin. Five years down the road with more track time might be a different story. But the shocks have 50k on them and are bound to start leaking any day now, so I am thinking about it.

Doug, what do I need to do to get a KW price? I kept waiting for the website, but it says "call." My very pro Dinan mechanic claims KW is "clunky." Any truth to that? Oh yeah, any idea when you will get VDO stuff?

Side note:
Roy, your definition of "improvement is not a meaningful concept" is different than mine. The suspension is one of the reasons I got rid of the 330 sp - way too much body roll.

[Roadstergal]

Shox.com has the best spring/shock prices I've found.

[Nick M3]

the crap BMW shocks that lose most of their damping capacity within 10-20,000 miles.


Is this why my E46 feels somewhat floaty and vague now? (at 20K)


It's probably a combination of that and failing control arm bushings. :banghead:

[lemming]

um, i know you might pay a price premium, but Dinan these days seems to be only good at suspension stuff.

and it's well done. and everything fits. by this, i mean the swaybars. there's no funny business with weirdly shaped mandrel bends or strange bushings.

they do claim that they have koni use proprietary tuning calibration for their packages, but as others have pointed out, you can buy koni from other afterOEM vendors.

i think what's more important than fixating on dinan is how comfortable whoever is going to do the work is with what parts. ultimately, that makes a big difference down the road.

[Masskrug]

the crap BMW shocks that lose most of their damping capacity within 10-20,000 miles.


Is this why my E46 feels somewhat floaty and vague now? (at 20K)


It's probably a combination of that and failing control arm bushings. :banghead:

If I brought this up with my dealer, what would you rate the chances of BMW addressing the issue to be? (ie, has you or anyone had success with BMW initiating corrective action?)

[Roadstergal]

the crap BMW shocks that lose most of their damping capacity within 10-20,000 miles.


Is this why my E46 feels somewhat floaty and vague now? (at 20K)

It's because you drive such a dang heavy car. ;)

[Nick M3]

the crap BMW shocks that lose most of their damping capacity within 10-20,000 miles.


Is this why my E46 feels somewhat floaty and vague now? (at 20K)


It's probably a combination of that and failing control arm bushings. :banghead:

If I brought this up with my dealer, what would you rate the chances of BMW addressing the issue to be? (ie, has you or anyone had success with BMW initiating corrective action?)

Nate got his OEM shocks replaced like sixteen times. :p

[Lartymarf]

the crap BMW shocks that lose most of their damping capacity within 10-20,000 miles.


Is this why my E46 feels somewhat floaty and vague now? (at 20K)

It's because you drive such a dang heavy car. ;)

He needs stiffer springs... like around 500lbs to match the weight of the car.

[Lartymarf]

wut about GC? I like the name of that company, GroundControl, sounds so cool!

Groudn Control puts together EXCELLENT stuff and the quality of products they make are awesome. I have a set of camber plates from GC, top top top notch.

[Nick M3]

Complete loss of damping in both rear shocks by 27K miles is inexcusable no matter how heavy the car is. :p By that point, the shocks were so far gone that Clyde could see "an impressive amount of vertical ass wagging" whill he watched the car run from a distance.

That's just no good.

[Masskrug]

the crap BMW shocks that lose most of their damping capacity within 10-20,000 miles.


Is this why my E46 feels somewhat floaty and vague now? (at 20K)

It's because you drive such a dang heavy car. ;)

Yeah, well, my ass is getting kinda fat too. That's why I'm getting a mountain bike here shortly. With front shocks, no less! I hope I don't wear those out too fast...

[Plaz]

Clyde could see "an impressive amount of vertical ass wagging"

Mmmmm... vertical ass wagging. :lol:

[Masskrug]

Clyde could see "an impressive amount of vertical ass wagging"

Mmmmm... vertical ass wagging. :lol:


I'm a little more selective than you.

Nick/Clyde = blech!

Beyonce = yum!

[Nick M3]

Clyde could see "an impressive amount of vertical ass wagging"

Mmmmm... vertical ass wagging. :lol:


I'm a little more selective than you.

Nick/Clyde = blech!

Beyonce = yum!

Damn perverts. :twisted:

[Doug]

I'm with Mass on the vertical wagging issue