[mikekilpatrick]

Ok, so I did the research, I read the reviews, I went through the forums and then I was still confused on what exhaust to put on my 85k 2013 BMW 550xi F10.

More HP? Less Drone? What will it look like on the car? How much do I want to spend?

So, I ended up buying an NON Dinan exhaust which was highly rated by other people, looked good and was about 800 less that a Dinan setup. I was excited, I spent 5 hours carefully cutting the OEM exhaust with a special exhaust pipe cutter, I used a dremel to buff the edges smooth so their was no flow issues of the exhaust gases, I bought longer Grounding straps to ensure the car was grounded to the mufflers and then I purchased vacuum caps to cap off the factory rear exhaust valve vacuum pump. Then I mounted the mufflers, adjusted the front and rear hangers till the tailpipes sat just right, and I installed the rear polished tail pipe covers, everything LOOKED almost perfect! Lots and Lots of adjustments to get it right, but your effort should pay off right?

I put on the exhaust, and I turned on the key...

VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOM... My god, the car sounded like it had no mufflers almost! I took it out on the highway and the car literally vibrated with the deep base of the exhaust! I pulled up next to a Dodge charge SRT one night and HIS exhaust was quieter than my BMW exhaust!

Mind you, I spent 2 grand on this exhaust system which retailed for $2500.00. In my opinion, the exhaust system RUINED what a German car is supposed to be... I finely tuned machine with a distinctive German V8 sound. I took videos of it, I used a DB app and measured 83 DB inside the cabin of the car! So, I contacted the company and they eventually agreed to accept the return of the mufflers as this was their "quietest" system made.

So, I said "screw it, I should have bought a Dinan in the first place". And I went to www.getbmwparts.com and ordered a Dinan exhaust for $2800.00 shipped with their Dinan5, 5% discount coupon and no tax.

This is what I purchased:
http://www.dinancars.com/product/d66...ries&mid=1124/

This is where I purchased it from:
http://www.getbmwparts.com/partlocat...catalogid=4462

My Dinan exhaust arrived 2 days later as Jason at getbmwparts had it in stock...

So, this past Friday (2 Days ago), I finished up duties at my job, and took the Dinan system out of the box to install it..

WOW... I mean WOOOOW! The attention to detail by Dinan BLEW ME AWAY!

First, I had to cut the tailpipes about 10 inches further back than the "other" exhaust I had installed on the car. Just cut on the pre punched Marks.

Then, you have to modify the rear electronic parking brake cable holder. Dinan shows you exactly where to cut, and then provide 2 layers of heat shield material to cover the cable for heat protection from the exhaust.

I then installed the BMW stamped muffler clamps and test fit the exhaust pipes. I noticed that if you have a Msport car, you need to take off the lower rear diffuser support panel. (3 screws and 5 plug in plastic retainers), no big deal of course. Dinan suggests removing the front and rear OEM rubber support brackets, but I found if you remove the rear support bolts only and leave the front ones on the car, that you can use the front support brackets to hold the Muffler assembly in place and allow a one person installation. I ensured I tightened the front of the 2 bolts where the Dinan exhaust connects to the OEM exhaust pipe (The muffler clamps), balanced the Dinan exhaust on the front rubber support bracket (takes little manipulation to insert, but only about 3 minutes of time), and I slid the Dinan exhaust pipe into the exhaust clamp. Make sure that the Dinan exhaust is slid all the way into the clamp and then install the rear muffler support bracket and install the vacuum lines.

POOF! Your DONE! No constant manipulation of universal muffler hangers, No playing with the right position of muffler exhaust pipe extensions, just tighten up the bolts on the clamps to 45NM, install the cross brace and your DONE!

Then.... I turned on the key...

PURRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.... THERE was the sound I was looking for! NOW the car sounds like a German car SHOULD SOUND! I took it out on the road of the highway... Again... PURRRRRRRRRRR.... NO DRONE! I could actually hear my radio without cranking it! I could hear a passenger without yelling. Then... I stepped on the gas for WOT. ROOOOOOOOOAR! The car sounded like an M5 at that point! I LITERALLY SMILED at the sound of the exhaust as the Dinan was doing its job of keeping the car quiet when I was cruising and letting it Roar when I got on it.

THIS exhaust system makes the 550 sound like it is SUPPOSED to sound! Aggressive, but not overwhelming, Powerful, but subtle and the look of it on the car is AMAZING!

When you install a Dinan product, you SEE where that money is going! The engineering is TOP NOTCH. The attention to detail is freaking unbelievable and the quality is great.

So many people bitch and complain that Dinan is over rated. That Dinan only charges a lot because it keeps the warranty on the car. That Dinan does not perform. My observations of both the install and performance of their exhaust is that the money you pay is FOR ENGINEERING of Mods that Don't RUIN the German feel of your 550!

I cant imagine ANY OTHER exhaust on this car now. Ok, if you want to have a track car, and make it sound like you have open pipes, go with something else. Sure, You might get more HP, You might be able to let someone know 3 blocks away you are revving you motor and you might even shave a tenth of second off of your quarter mile. BUT... If you want something that is going to make your car a sleeper, ensure a German "sound" and KNOW the mod you put on your car was created by highly talented engineers who are on the same level of skill as the guys who BUILT your BMW for design specs, You go with DINAN!

I plan on proceeding with Intercoolers, Dinan intake and yes, eventually even the Dinan performance chip. Will it be a bit pricy? Well, sure, you get what you pay for. If you shop around, if you look for sales and you have the ability to put parts on yourself the RIGHT way, the costs can be kept down.

But, I can honestly say, I have never been so impressed with an aftermarket mod for a car in my 30 years of building and modifying the 10 cars I have owned.

Simply the best items you can mount on your BMW, end of story.

[lsturbointeg]

Wait...$2500 for just axle backs? I would have gone Eismann or meischeister for that much. Also...what's a NoN-Dinan exhaust ? Never heard of that? glad tho u got the sound you were looking for! Appreciate the write up and your impressions!

[mikekilpatrick]

It is an exhaust system that I don't want to leave a negative statement about publicly as it could have been a defective product. They advertise as "no drone" and their "quietest" system, so it was perplexing to the owner of the company why I was hitting 83db in the cabin with their exhaust.

The thing with Eismann and Meischeister is that I found their systems too much of a roar over the growl I wanted to hear. Maybe down the road, when the car goes out of warranty, I might investigate such a system. But, for now, this is my daily driver and wanted a subtle, but improved sound. Maybe I will have a set of custom pipes designed from the down pipes back to the Dinan exhaust.

All I can say is that Dinan spent a crap load of money covering every piece of engineering in their system.

I plan to call them and find out a bit more information now that I am happy with my install. Guess my main point was Dinan was the only product I found that continues on the level of detail to Engineering that BMW provides in their cars. I don't know if any other company incorporates themselves so flawlessly into the car. And I am quite sure they spent a crapload of money engineering their products, which probably accounts for their high cost of purchase.

This system makes me smile, and that is what matters... lol It isnt a roar you get, it is more of Growl. And to me, it fits perfectly with the design of the car.

...Mike

[AutoTalent]

This review is right on point! We have installed many Dinan systems and everyone is satisfied with it. Not too loud but the perfect amount. I have one installed on my E63 M6 and love it!

[mikekilpatrick]

The "growl" it produces is just PERFECT for this car. As I said, if you want a noisy track car, go for the other exhausts. If you want a daily driver, that can still do 11's at the track and also retain the German exhaust note, you go with Dinan product. And either a piggy back or Dinan tune of course. Cant wait to find a Dinan intake to put onto the car.

[Dinan_Engineering]

Appreciate all the Dinan love in this thread. We are proud of the products we make and our glad some folk feel the same way we do about them. ?

[Surly73]

The dimples are actually where you cut to install a BMW M Performance set of mufflers, not a special dimple for Dinan. It only seems to make sense that everyone making a muffler set should also design to cut the factory system on the dimples - no idea why you'd do otherwise since they're already there.

Doesn't speak well of the first company IMO

[mikekilpatrick]

Originally Posted by Dinan_Engineering

Appreciate all the Dinan love in this thread. We are proud of the products we make and our glad some folk feel the same way we do about them. ?

And being an engineer myself, coming from three generations of engineers, it is nice owning your products and seeing how much thought goes into your performance improvements. All I kept saying as I was installing the dinan exhaust and taking off another 3rd party exhaust which had been on the car for only 2 days was , "this is how something is done RIGHT".

I have another thread on here where I am looking for a preowned dinan intake for my car and someone posted the dinan intake produces ZERO gains over the roughly 10 hp as advertised. This comment really irked me that there are people who would even think or suggest dinan is anything but excellent. There is a lot of barking of how expensive dinan is for there bmw performance line, but people need to realize the amount of time and testing that needs to be done to create a bolt on upgrade which is built to work and perform like the way a bmw Engineer would make something.

I am very tempted to buy a Dinan intake, when I can find a good price or a trade with someone doing a lease turn in, and doing a Dino before and after the intake upgrade just to prove the numbers.

Also, Dinan uses the existing muffler mount points with their brackets so there is no adjusting or playing around with the pipes, there is installation and that is it. They incorporate the factory grounding strap, the rear vacuum exhaust flap and even give you the proper torque values in instructions. Not to mention they have incorporated the OEM vacuum line into the mufflers so that you get the same optional exhaust valve that opens with WOT and stays closed and quiet when you are not.

I would suggest you have the customer remove the lower rear diffuser support panel when doing an install though as it only takes 5 minutes and allows more clearance to install the mufflers on an msport model.Just forked out quite a bit of money for dinan intake, dinan intercoolers, new rims and tires to replace horrible oem run flats, so budget will require I pay those items off before dinan tune and intake purchase.

Anyway, I wanted to let people know how much quality goes into your items and give a customer point point of view with experience not only with dinan, but a personal comparison with competiting exhausts.

...Mike