My new 2012 M-Sport DINAN 550i

mpriceii · 05-23-2012, 04:41 PM

As many have debated in this forum before, I was torn between my amazing '09 E92 M3 and something new. Almost went with another new E92. That car is just amazing. Would have bought a Sport X5d, but my wife has one of those already! It is as much fun to drive as an M3!

Anyway, after reading all the great posts on this forum, the bug got me so I went with a new 550i MSport. From the beginning I equipped it with Stage 3 software, Dinan springs, Dinan cat-back exhaust, and a few other mods. CF front lip, CF rear diffuser, and M5 painted spoiler are on the way. Here are my impressions after a week and 500 miles:

Car is big. Feels like a 7 series after driving a M3 for the last several years.
With the springs and sport mode engaged it's a decent feeling sports sedan. Much better than stock. Wouldn't want to track it, but for driving around Dallas it at least feels more connected than a stock one.

Stage 3 software: all I can say is if you own this car fork over the money and get it. With full matching factory warranty, it's a no brainer. yeah yeah, its $3,500..but you just spent ~$70k+/- for this car....whats a few thousand more?? It makes the car feel like a beast. Torque and pull is amazing and I haven't revved it past 5k yet or even gotten on it from a standing start due to the break-in period.

Dinan Exhaust: It's not as loud as others out there but it is a full cat back that has zero drone that I can tell. Nice throaty rumble at idle and good sound at 5k. Can't wait to hear it at redline. The quad pipes look better in my opinion than any of the others. Added it to the car and into the deal so was nice not to have to fork over $3k on the side....yes, too expensive for 'just mufflers', but they do fit the cars personality well. Its not a 60's BigBlock Chevy that you need to have flow masters on.....although I would love to hear Flowmasters on this car!!!

Final thoughts?? Best alternative until M5 comes out. Totally different car than an M3 so no need to try to compare. Torque and grunt of 580 ftlbs of torque more than make up for the loss of agility my M3 had. And now I have room for kids, clients and co-workers. Not to mention all of the other creature comforts of the F10 5 series. Maybe I'll be able to keep this car when the next gen of M3/4 comes out and can have the best of both!

On a side note, if you are in the north Texas area, I can't say enough good things about the folks at Classic BMW. Bill Lang and Randy Des Camp took awesome care of me and were great to deal with. I'm a car guy (nut) so they patiently put up with all my anal-retentive requests!!!! I highly recommend them.

dblock2151 · 05-23-2012, 05:10 PM

Congrats! And I thought the Dinan exhaust was an axle-back? If it was a cat-back, the 3.5k for it makes a tad more sense..just a tad though.

mpriceii · 05-23-2012, 05:15 PM

From the looks of it it looks to be cat back....now maybe not the cats up by the engine, but as far as I can see under the car it has nice new mandrel bend large (3"??) pipes....could possibly be just from the factory resonator, but not just saw off-bolt on mufflers.....I'll take some underneath pics tonight and post them as there doesn't seem to be much info on the Dinan exhaust on this thread.....

05-23-2012, 04:41 PM	#1
mpriceii New Member 4 Rep 22 Posts Drives: 2009 Black/Black E92 M3 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Dallas, TX iTrader: (0)	My new 2012 M-Sport DINAN 550i As many have debated in this forum before, I was torn between my amazing '09 E92 M3 and something new. Almost went with another new E92. That car is just amazing. Would have bought a Sport X5d, but my wife has one of those already! It is as much fun to drive as an M3! Anyway, after reading all the great posts on this forum, the bug got me so I went with a new 550i MSport. From the beginning I equipped it with Stage 3 software, Dinan springs, Dinan cat-back exhaust, and a few other mods. CF front lip, CF rear diffuser, and M5 painted spoiler are on the way. Here are my impressions after a week and 500 miles: Car is big. Feels like a 7 series after driving a M3 for the last several years. With the springs and sport mode engaged it's a decent feeling sports sedan. Much better than stock. Wouldn't want to track it, but for driving around Dallas it at least feels more connected than a stock one. Stage 3 software: all I can say is if you own this car fork over the money and get it. With full matching factory warranty, it's a no brainer. yeah yeah, its $3,500..but you just spent ~$70k+/- for this car....whats a few thousand more?? It makes the car feel like a beast. Torque and pull is amazing and I haven't revved it past 5k yet or even gotten on it from a standing start due to the break-in period. Dinan Exhaust: It's not as loud as others out there but it is a full cat back that has zero drone that I can tell. Nice throaty rumble at idle and good sound at 5k. Can't wait to hear it at redline. The quad pipes look better in my opinion than any of the others. Added it to the car and into the deal so was nice not to have to fork over $3k on the side....yes, too expensive for 'just mufflers', but they do fit the cars personality well. Its not a 60's BigBlock Chevy that you need to have flow masters on.....although I would love to hear Flowmasters on this car!!! Final thoughts?? Best alternative until M5 comes out. Totally different car than an M3 so no need to try to compare. Torque and grunt of 580 ftlbs of torque more than make up for the loss of agility my M3 had. And now I have room for kids, clients and co-workers. Not to mention all of the other creature comforts of the F10 5 series. Maybe I'll be able to keep this car when the next gen of M3/4 comes out and can have the best of both! On a side note, if you are in the north Texas area, I can't say enough good things about the folks at Classic BMW. Bill Lang and Randy Des Camp took awesome care of me and were great to deal with. I'm a car guy (nut) so they patiently put up with all my anal-retentive requests!!!! I highly recommend them. Attached Images
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

05-23-2012, 05:10 PM	#2
dblock2151 Lieutenant 22 Rep 472 Posts Drives: '11 550i Msport DG Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Newington, CT iTrader: (5)	Congrats! And I thought the Dinan exhaust was an axle-back? If it was a cat-back, the 3.5k for it makes a tad more sense..just a tad though.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

05-23-2012, 05:15 PM	#3
mpriceii New Member 4 Rep 22 Posts Drives: 2009 Black/Black E92 M3 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Dallas, TX iTrader: (0)	From the looks of it it looks to be cat back....now maybe not the cats up by the engine, but as far as I can see under the car it has nice new mandrel bend large (3"??) pipes....could possibly be just from the factory resonator, but not just saw off-bolt on mufflers.....I'll take some underneath pics tonight and post them as there doesn't seem to be much info on the Dinan exhaust on this thread.....
	Appreciate 0 Quote