Dinan Stage 1 Suspension - BMW Forum

SpeedInfusion · 10-01-2004, 12:29 PM

http://dinancars.com/Series.asp?Series=14&...is%20Tuning#806hey guys, is this dinan suspension worth $1200?

or is there any other setup i can do to maybe drop my car about a inch or so? thanks

thekid · 10-01-2004, 01:12 PM

I guess it depends on if you want it for the look or if you want it for tried and tested performance. Also keep in mind that for that price you could get the Bilstien Coil overs. It really is compleletly a personal choice. The ride of the Dinan would be better than the Coil overs, but you could potentially get better performance out of the coil overs if you ever took the time to get them tuned in just right. Also you get adjustable ride height with the coil overs, so if you scrape you can raise your car, or if you don't you can lower it a little more. Also with the Dinan you get the Koni adjustable struts, which also allows you to with in reason customize the handling characteristics of your car.

wulley1 · 10-01-2004, 06:47 PM

For $1200, you're only getting a set of koni shocks/struts and springs. That seems really over priced. Wouldn't it be cheaper to buy the koni adj. shocks/struts and springs yourself?

I love dinan, and anything you get from them will be of the highest quality. If money isn't an issue for you, go for it. If you want to get more bang for your buck, go with UUC's stage three for about the same price.

SpeedInfusion · 10-01-2004, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wulley1@Oct 1 2004, 05:47 PM
For $1200, you're only getting a set of koni shocks/struts and springs. That seems really over priced. Wouldn't it be cheaper to buy the koni adj. shocks/struts and springs yourself?

I love dinan, and anything you get from them will be of the highest quality. If money isn't an issue for you, go for it. If you want to get more bang for your buck, go with UUC's stage three for about the same price.

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really?hmm how much are the adjustable konis? and i head about h&r and blistin too, where would be a good site to check out what i need?

theogill · 10-02-2004, 12:02 AM

I'm pretty sure you also get larger sway bars with the Dinan stage 1 setup. I've contemplated it and will probably do it when I need new struts/shocks. One of the dealers in my area installs it for another 6-7 hundred.

wulley1 · 10-02-2004, 09:01 AM

no sway bars until stage two, stage three adds camber plates. Oddly enough, the sway bars only cost about $600 more. Which actually isn't that bad of a price for both front and rear sway bars.

SpeedInfusion · 10-02-2004, 10:28 AM

wtf! the UUC Site says that there stage 4 is only like 1050!! thanks for the input guys, but can anyone tell me about the Blistin + H&R deal? im kinda a new to suspensions, thanks!

thekid · 10-04-2004, 01:32 PM

Bilstein and H&R is a good combo, from peoples sigs it looks like a lot of people are running that setup. It won't be as tuned as the UUC or Dinan, or the Bilstein coil-overs, but it is still a good setup and is cheaper.

Dinan 95 · 10-05-2004, 07:14 AM

Hey
I love my stage 2 suspension setup.
It rides nice, well nicer then you sould expect, and it turns like its on rails.
I have no camber plates, and I have raced on a track before and can keep up with some pretty sweet cars in the turns.
Its funny when you can keep up with a Vette in a Convertible 3 series beemer.
Given he destroys me down the straight away.
I absolutly love it, was it worth the price....YES!

325isBaby · 10-07-2004, 05:37 PM

Dinan puts ALOT of reserch and ALOT of time into their products to ensure that what they are selling you will ACTUALLY work to your advantage and produce a performance increase. Personally I think they are one of the best BMW aftermarket options on the market. AND unlike other salesmen Steve Dinan is very straight foreward and deffinatly tells you how it is (met him, was VERY impressed).

SpeedInfusion · 10-08-2004, 04:06 PM

what about the UUC stage 3 or 4? any good?
and should i get the rims, strut bar, and sound system before dropping it?

thekid · 10-09-2004, 12:45 AM

depends on where your priorities are. If you want some show first, then go with some rim and a sound system. Until you upgrade suspension, the strut bar will also basically only be for show. IF you want performance, upgrade suspension first, sway-bars, strut bars, strut mounts, and then what ever else you want to do with the car go for it.

Autotechnica · 10-09-2004, 09:55 AM

Dinan stuff is really good. I know because I've owned the sways and suspension. However, a total rip off! For half the price you could get something of the same quality and performance.

Best buy, get Bilstein front and rear dampers, H&R sport springs and H&R front and rear sway bars.

CDN $$$ priced seperately

Bilstein dampers - $800CDN a set
H&R sport springs - $350CDN a set
H&R front and rear sways - $450CDN a set

total $1600 CDN = $1230. However, because of the current exchange rate, I'm sure you could find all these goodies for about $1000USD or less! Shop around.

triggrhaapi · 10-09-2004, 07:53 PM

I just looked at what comes in the set for the Dinan Stage 1, and I'm fairly sure that's what I have on my car, except I'm sure that the springs are Eibach and so are my sways. I have no idea what springs and sways the Dinan stage 1 uses. I know for a fact that the Eibach sways are the beefiest made for the E36. I have the same struts as the stage 1 for sure tho, and I have to say the car handles like a champ. I dunno if it's worth the money, but it sure kicks ass on my car.

So now that I've seen the $1400 price tag on the suspension, I estimate that I paid $6200 out the door for a car with $2500 in mods on it, making my effective cost for the car only $3700. Not fucking bad at all.

Nunzio · 10-10-2004, 11:38 AM

I have the UUC stage 3 setup, I had really good strut tower braces front and rear to start with. So in essence it's a stage 4. For the $ this thing handles so well and the ride on the highway is not too harsh. It runs on rails. Look at my signature for all the othet stuff I put on.
I think for the $ it's well worth it. I looked into coilovers, The Bilstiens PSS9's were my choice. Coil overs are great if you Track your car alot, at alot of different tracks.Reason being you will need the adjustability. For street and an occasional track day it's overkill and expensive. Plus on coilovers once you get the suspension set to where you like it you don't usually change it. If you start with a great setup suspension with the correct springs and dampers that have been engineered to give the ride you like then adjustability become a non-issue.
Just my opinion. I have setup and modified alot of Motorcycle suspensions and raced alot , all that adjustability is really for when you get it like you want it, then it's left alone.