The Dinan Signature Series S3-R BMW 1M coupe is like a short, stubby, fully enclosed four-seat go-kart.
The short wheelbase and relatively short suspension travel meant a stiff ride. Stiff, not jarring. While there is little room for the even the stock BMW suspension to move up and down, what movement there is here is tightly controlled. The car never bottomed out when I had it, despite heavy inputs, and never felt like it was transferring shock loads directly into the chassis. It never felt like it was reaching the bump stops, though with progressive bump stops, it might have been doing it and it was so smooth it didn't feel like it.
While more suspension travel would have been preferred, the size and shape of the car prohibited it. The Dinan springs were matched to the shocks perfectly. This was nothing at all like some other aftermarket setups that just cut the springs for that lowered boy-racer look without bothering to match the shocks and bushings to the new ride height, leaving the poor dope who has to drive it to bounce along on the bump stops.
Also, the wheels at full crank didn't ever scrape the wheel wells, another typical shortfall of aftermarket chop shops.
It had piles of power and torque. Dinan now has five guys who do nothing but dig through BMW chips to find where they can tweak them. Software tuning is where the extra boost comes from. They not only got the wastegate to clamp shut a little longer, but retuned the fuel mixture and ignition timing so it doesn't all go kablooie under load. Engine hardware includes larger compressor wheels for the turbos, a Dinan intercooler and Dinan intake and exhaust. A bigger oil cooler helps ensure engine longevity. The result is 444 hp at 6,350 rpm and 450 lb-ft of torque at 3,300 rpm. They're so confident in their work that Dinan matches BMW's four-year, 50,000-mile warranty.
To get that power to the ground and make it useable, Dinan also went through the suspension and changed almost everything except the links (most of the links, anyway). A complete, adjustable coilover kit can lower the car by as much as an inch without making it unpleasant in commutes. A front sway bar, spherical monoball front bearing kit and rear toe links round out the package.
On regular roads at regular speeds, it is entirely livable as a daily driver. It's even fun. Clutch pedal is typically BMW easy, with smooth engagement available to even the clumsiest left foot. Likewise throttle feel was linear. Los Angeles freeway hop was not a problem in this car, either, despite the relatively short wheelbase of the stock BMW.
Ideally you'd want to take this to a racetrack, one with a lot of short, tight turns. Unfortunately, the Autoweek West Coast private test facility is still in construction … in my mind. So I did the next best thing and took it to a deserted mountain road. Said road has a lot of second- and third-gear turns, so many in fact that I wished for a shorter third or taller second gear. If I was setting the car up for a hill climb here, I'd have asked for a ratio change. That's not Dinan's problem, though.
On heavy acceleration, torque steer from the rear wheels reminded me of the Beach Boys line about getting pushed out of shape and being hard to steer. This one swayed a little from side to side under full launch and you did have to correct that with some steering input, but it wasn't what you could call “hard to steer.” You just have to pay attention.
The tires are massive-wide for a car this small. Only a couple times did the rears break loose exiting tight corners, and then the stability control grabbed them.
Most of the time I complain about sporty GT cars being too long to really fit around tight corners, while this one might be a little too short for these conditions. Maybe 6 inches of wheelbase would even the car out. Or maybe more seat time would do it. Regardless, the car is a blast on a mountain road. You can enter any corner with confidence and power out of it with glee.
Surely this is the most performance anybody's ever going to get out of a BMW 1-series and still be able to drive to the grocery store without being arrested. The four real seats and trunk make this a fully practical, useable daily driver. The clutch was BMW-easy to operate, the shifter was precise and smooth, and the throttle was smoothly linear. It has all the trappings of a real car and much of the character of a track-day demon.
Now I'd like to try a Dinan BMW 3-series, please.
Dinan
The 2014 Dinan S3-R BMW 1M Coup is equipped with a 3.0-liter turbocharged straight six.
ASSOCIATE WEST COAST EDITOR BLAKE Z. RONG: A few things happen
when you step on the throttle of the 445-hp, Dinan-tuned BMW 1M. At
first, nothing. For the first few milliseconds the car blinks and
shuffles about a bit as if to ask, “You sure about this, pal?” Then it
spits forth a devastating crackle and revs to redline so quickly and so
ferociously that the driver barely has time to keep up or shift -- the
rear end squirms and immediately gets whipped back into place as if the
traction control was a Catholic school nun,its error light blinking on the dash like the lights at the Riviera. Wild cackling, this time from the driver, inevitably ensues. By then you're already five, seven bus lengths ahead, halfway down the dragstrip, flying up that on-ramp onto the 710 Freeway, whatever fulfills your personal performance metric…
To induce this level of antisocial, maniacal laughter, Dinan took the already prized BMW 1M and upfitted larger turbochargers to it. Larger compressor wheels and upgraded wastegates produce 14 psi of boost at 6,300 rpm, according to the fact sheet. Dinan employs an army of hackers to dig into the BMW ECU, recalibrating over 2,000 lines of convoluted, nearly impenetrable engine management data. A cold-air intake, oil cooler, intercooler, and stainless-steel exhaust are also included. The suspension is a Dinan coilover setup, and everything is fully adjustable: collars, end links, camber plates, ride height, and bump-stop clearance. Dinan supplies its own rear toe links, front sway bar, and bearings. One-piece, 19-inch BBS wheels proudly bear Dinan center caps, wrapped as they are with Michelin Pilot Super Sports. There is a four-year, 50,000-mile warranty. The Dinan badge is free and carefully applied as it has on every Dinan-tuned vehicle for the past 23 years. If you ask nicely, Steve Dinan might supply you with the same checkered-flag graphics as our test car.
And yet, the Dinan-tuned 1M doesn't feel like a tuner car. It is quiet and well-insulated from the road. It doesn't deafen like so many Akrapovic-armed M3s at Targa Trophy; its exhaust doesn't bleat or fart constantly. The turbos kick in at around 3,000 rpm, and there's so much torque through the entire range that you can jump into sixth gear at any time and chug around. The clutch is light and springy, and the shifter feel is typical BMW; that is to say equally springy, unchanged from time eternal, and worthy of its decades of praise from manual-transmission enthusiasts who haven't driven a Mazda MX-5 Miata. Its incredibly firm ride is the only evidence of tuner silliness we could find. We were told that the dampers were set to medium stiffness.
But the ride forces you to readjust your priorities and live like an ascetic, foregoing creature comforts for enlightenment. I have never driven a car more agile than this. Where on most sporty cars you can ascertain a specific point of rotation, this car turns instantly with the accuracy and fervor of a homing missile. Move your hands an inch to the left or right and bang, the car has already finished changing direction. Throttle responses are equally sharp. Dinan wisely chose to leave the 1M's stock Brembo braking system alone, probably because it's smooth and reassuring, confident at panic stops and controllable at any speeds. Push it on a canyon road and the car just gives and gives and gives, asking the driver, “Come on. Is that it?”
So much power is inherently dangerous. I'm surprised that my time with the car didn't result in a police standoff. What Dinan has produced here is an absolutely brilliant destroyer of tires and driver's licenses, and it's up to the 740 lucky 1M owners (and 220 Canadian folks, let's not forget about them) who can pony up $12,194 for the engine upgrades and $4,296 for the suspension to determine their own levels of responsibility. Because it's not as much fun if the cops do that for you.
As-Tested Price: $63,729
Drivetrain: 3.0-liter turbocharged I6; RWD, six-speed manual
Output: 444 hp @ 6,350 rpm, 450 lb-ft @ 3,300 rpm
Curb Weight: 3,340 lb
Fuel Economy (EPA City/Highway/Combined): 19/26/22 mpg
AW Observed Fuel Economy: 19.6 mpg
Options: 19-inch Dinan Performance CH-R wheels ($2,800); BMW Performance carbon fiber spoiler ($613); BMW carbon mirror caps ($700)
source: autoweek.com
The short wheelbase and relatively short suspension travel meant a stiff ride. Stiff, not jarring. While there is little room for the even the stock BMW suspension to move up and down, what movement there is here is tightly controlled. The car never bottomed out when I had it, despite heavy inputs, and never felt like it was transferring shock loads directly into the chassis. It never felt like it was reaching the bump stops, though with progressive bump stops, it might have been doing it and it was so smooth it didn't feel like it.
While more suspension travel would have been preferred, the size and shape of the car prohibited it. The Dinan springs were matched to the shocks perfectly. This was nothing at all like some other aftermarket setups that just cut the springs for that lowered boy-racer look without bothering to match the shocks and bushings to the new ride height, leaving the poor dope who has to drive it to bounce along on the bump stops.
Also, the wheels at full crank didn't ever scrape the wheel wells, another typical shortfall of aftermarket chop shops.
It had piles of power and torque. Dinan now has five guys who do nothing but dig through BMW chips to find where they can tweak them. Software tuning is where the extra boost comes from. They not only got the wastegate to clamp shut a little longer, but retuned the fuel mixture and ignition timing so it doesn't all go kablooie under load. Engine hardware includes larger compressor wheels for the turbos, a Dinan intercooler and Dinan intake and exhaust. A bigger oil cooler helps ensure engine longevity. The result is 444 hp at 6,350 rpm and 450 lb-ft of torque at 3,300 rpm. They're so confident in their work that Dinan matches BMW's four-year, 50,000-mile warranty.
To get that power to the ground and make it useable, Dinan also went through the suspension and changed almost everything except the links (most of the links, anyway). A complete, adjustable coilover kit can lower the car by as much as an inch without making it unpleasant in commutes. A front sway bar, spherical monoball front bearing kit and rear toe links round out the package.
On regular roads at regular speeds, it is entirely livable as a daily driver. It's even fun. Clutch pedal is typically BMW easy, with smooth engagement available to even the clumsiest left foot. Likewise throttle feel was linear. Los Angeles freeway hop was not a problem in this car, either, despite the relatively short wheelbase of the stock BMW.
Ideally you'd want to take this to a racetrack, one with a lot of short, tight turns. Unfortunately, the Autoweek West Coast private test facility is still in construction … in my mind. So I did the next best thing and took it to a deserted mountain road. Said road has a lot of second- and third-gear turns, so many in fact that I wished for a shorter third or taller second gear. If I was setting the car up for a hill climb here, I'd have asked for a ratio change. That's not Dinan's problem, though.
On heavy acceleration, torque steer from the rear wheels reminded me of the Beach Boys line about getting pushed out of shape and being hard to steer. This one swayed a little from side to side under full launch and you did have to correct that with some steering input, but it wasn't what you could call “hard to steer.” You just have to pay attention.
The tires are massive-wide for a car this small. Only a couple times did the rears break loose exiting tight corners, and then the stability control grabbed them.
Most of the time I complain about sporty GT cars being too long to really fit around tight corners, while this one might be a little too short for these conditions. Maybe 6 inches of wheelbase would even the car out. Or maybe more seat time would do it. Regardless, the car is a blast on a mountain road. You can enter any corner with confidence and power out of it with glee.
Surely this is the most performance anybody's ever going to get out of a BMW 1-series and still be able to drive to the grocery store without being arrested. The four real seats and trunk make this a fully practical, useable daily driver. The clutch was BMW-easy to operate, the shifter was precise and smooth, and the throttle was smoothly linear. It has all the trappings of a real car and much of the character of a track-day demon.
Now I'd like to try a Dinan BMW 3-series, please.
Dinan
The 2014 Dinan S3-R BMW 1M Coup is equipped with a 3.0-liter turbocharged straight six.
To induce this level of antisocial, maniacal laughter, Dinan took the already prized BMW 1M and upfitted larger turbochargers to it. Larger compressor wheels and upgraded wastegates produce 14 psi of boost at 6,300 rpm, according to the fact sheet. Dinan employs an army of hackers to dig into the BMW ECU, recalibrating over 2,000 lines of convoluted, nearly impenetrable engine management data. A cold-air intake, oil cooler, intercooler, and stainless-steel exhaust are also included. The suspension is a Dinan coilover setup, and everything is fully adjustable: collars, end links, camber plates, ride height, and bump-stop clearance. Dinan supplies its own rear toe links, front sway bar, and bearings. One-piece, 19-inch BBS wheels proudly bear Dinan center caps, wrapped as they are with Michelin Pilot Super Sports. There is a four-year, 50,000-mile warranty. The Dinan badge is free and carefully applied as it has on every Dinan-tuned vehicle for the past 23 years. If you ask nicely, Steve Dinan might supply you with the same checkered-flag graphics as our test car.
And yet, the Dinan-tuned 1M doesn't feel like a tuner car. It is quiet and well-insulated from the road. It doesn't deafen like so many Akrapovic-armed M3s at Targa Trophy; its exhaust doesn't bleat or fart constantly. The turbos kick in at around 3,000 rpm, and there's so much torque through the entire range that you can jump into sixth gear at any time and chug around. The clutch is light and springy, and the shifter feel is typical BMW; that is to say equally springy, unchanged from time eternal, and worthy of its decades of praise from manual-transmission enthusiasts who haven't driven a Mazda MX-5 Miata. Its incredibly firm ride is the only evidence of tuner silliness we could find. We were told that the dampers were set to medium stiffness.
But the ride forces you to readjust your priorities and live like an ascetic, foregoing creature comforts for enlightenment. I have never driven a car more agile than this. Where on most sporty cars you can ascertain a specific point of rotation, this car turns instantly with the accuracy and fervor of a homing missile. Move your hands an inch to the left or right and bang, the car has already finished changing direction. Throttle responses are equally sharp. Dinan wisely chose to leave the 1M's stock Brembo braking system alone, probably because it's smooth and reassuring, confident at panic stops and controllable at any speeds. Push it on a canyon road and the car just gives and gives and gives, asking the driver, “Come on. Is that it?”
So much power is inherently dangerous. I'm surprised that my time with the car didn't result in a police standoff. What Dinan has produced here is an absolutely brilliant destroyer of tires and driver's licenses, and it's up to the 740 lucky 1M owners (and 220 Canadian folks, let's not forget about them) who can pony up $12,194 for the engine upgrades and $4,296 for the suspension to determine their own levels of responsibility. Because it's not as much fun if the cops do that for you.
2014 Dinan S3-R BMW 1M Coupe
Base Price: $47,010As-Tested Price: $63,729
Drivetrain: 3.0-liter turbocharged I6; RWD, six-speed manual
Output: 444 hp @ 6,350 rpm, 450 lb-ft @ 3,300 rpm
Curb Weight: 3,340 lb
Fuel Economy (EPA City/Highway/Combined): 19/26/22 mpg
AW Observed Fuel Economy: 19.6 mpg
Options: 19-inch Dinan Performance CH-R wheels ($2,800); BMW Performance carbon fiber spoiler ($613); BMW carbon mirror caps ($700)
source: autoweek.com
