DINAN front springs

[motorade1]

Anybody ever used the Dinan front springs? I was looking on their site and noticed you can buy the front springs separately from the rear, for those of us with SLS.

Heres a link (http://www.dinancars.com/shop/index.aspx?series=5-Series&model=540i-Sport-Wagon#page=1)

[jaym540i]

Yes I have these on my touring. The previous owner replaced the defective sachs strut with some cheap Monroe struts so while I was in there to install the dinan springs I replaced the Monroes with bilstein sports. My touring drives like it is on rails but the ride characteristic is not harsh at all. I love the balance of the vehicle. After proper settling the car dropped about an inch over OEM ride height. At the back of the car I put a set of the adjustable links with the sport air bags and bilstein sports.

Jay

[motorade1]

Exactly what I want to do, can you post some pics of your car please?!

[Reefin Dude]

yep, i have the Dinan Stage 1 suspension on my touring.

i have ordered individual springs from Dinan.

G~

[motorade1]

yep, i have the Dinan Stage 1 suspension on my touring.

i have ordered individual springs from Dinan.

G~

Pics of your car please!

[wheelgarage]

Yeah pics....

I had no ideal that Dinan had just the front springs available.

Reminds of the conversation I had recently about Steve's work that was done to his home, the cost of running his business, and development of the racing engines. I say get what you can from Dinan before they shut their doors....LOL...

[motorade1]

Reminds of the conversation I had recently about Steve's work that was done to his home, the cost of running his business, and development of the racing engines. I say get what you can from Dinan before they shut their doors....LOL...
What conversation was that? on BF? Are you saying that he is getting out of BMW performance to focus on making racing engines or something?

[jaym540i]

Exactly what I want to do, can you post some pics of your car please?!


Okay Sorry for the delay but see the link below for my car with Dinan front springs.
:buttrockhttp://s1189.beta.photobucket.com/user/jayfhoto/library/

[jaym540i]

Okay this should do the trick. See my touring below with Dinan springs

432870

432868

432869

[kognac]

I have the Dinan front springs and bilsteins as well, love the setup

[motorade1]

Okay this should do the trick. See my touring below with Dinan springs

432870

432868

432869

Are those 17s or 18s? Will these springs lower my car from the stock sport suspension?

[Reefin Dude]

sorry for the delay. busy weekend.

here is a picture of my touring.

http://forums.***************************************?att achmentid=433107&d=1362425375

ok, i give up. not sure why i can not get the attachment to show as a full size pic in the body of the post on this forum.

the front setup is Dinan Stage 1. that is the Dinan springs with Koni struts. the rear is standard, but ride height is electronically set using INPA. i am still playing with it.

the front wheels and tires are 245/35-19. the rear is quite a bit larger. 255/40-19. i am still playing around with the look. i prefer a tighter fitting wheel well with the tire. after rolling the fenders. i rub only on large bumps and very aggressive turning. though if i drop the rear a bit more (which i am probably going to do) i may rub more. i will probably roll the finders a bit more to keep this from happening. i had to change the speedometer value in order to to match the much larger tire size in the rear. MPG has gone up by 1MPG, but of course acceleration has gone down.

G~

[jaym540i]

Are those 17s or 18s? Will these springs lower my car from the stock sport suspension?

yes those are 17 and yes it will lower it from stock sport. My 540i M-sport sedan sits a between 3/4 inch - 1 inch higher than my wagon. I will be changing my springs on the sedan shortly. I love the ride height with the Dinans.

[wheelgarage]

What conversation was that? on BF? Are you saying that he is getting out of BMW performance to focus on making racing engines or something?

No. A friend who lives near him, knows him personally. He owns a construction company and works on his home often.

Yeah, the engine development costs and racing is eating him alive.

[motorade1]

sorry for the delay. busy weekend.

here is a picture of my touring.

http://forums.***************************************?att achmentid=433107&d=1362425375

ok, i give up. not sure why i can not get the attachment to show as a full size pic in the body of the post on this forum.

the front setup is Dinan Stage 1. that is the Dinan springs with Koni struts. the rear is standard, but ride height is electronically set using INPA. i am still playing with it.

the front wheels and tires are 245/35-19. the rear is quite a bit larger. 255/40-19. i am still playing around with the look. i prefer a tighter fitting wheel well with the tire. after rolling the fenders. i rub only on large bumps and very aggressive turning. though if i drop the rear a bit more (which i am probably going to do) i may rub more. i will probably roll the finders a bit more to keep this from happening. i had to change the speedometer value in order to to match the much larger tire size in the rear. MPG has gone up by 1MPG, but of course acceleration has gone down.

G~

thx Dude


yes those are 17 and yes it will lower it from stock sport. My 540i M-sport sedan sits a between 3/4 inch - 1 inch higher than my wagon. I will be changing my springs on the sedan shortly. I love the ride height with the Dinans.

great, thx Jay Are those 17x9 and 10 Rondell 58s?


No. A friend who lives near him, knows him personally. He owns a construction company and works on his home often.

Yeah, the engine development costs and racing is eating him alive.

Gotcha

[jaym540i]

thx Dude







Gotcha

great, thx Jay Are those 17x9 and 10 Rondell 58s?

Yes those are my 17X8.5 F and 17X10R Rondell 58s on my wagon. I get a lot of compliments on the Rondells. One of the better wheels for these vehicles. Just love the deep dish aspect

Regards,

J

[yersole]

Did everyone who put on the Dinan front springs also lower the rear SLS?
I feel like my rear is low enough for me already with sport SLS and just want to lower the front a tad.
I purchased the springs with the assumption that they are designed to work with factory SLS height.

[Reefin Dude]

you can set the height of the rear electronically to whatever height you want. i use INPA.

G~

[Mless5]

Has anyone installed front springs only from Dinan on mtech?

[geargrinder]

you can set the height of the rear electronically to whatever height you want. i use INPA.

G~

yeah i was thinking of adding a teeny eeny bit more rake in by bumping the rear up, however the car is handling so outstandingly well now with the solid-rubber rear subframe bushings in, I kinda don't want to mess with it. a billionz of timez better than before...

[yersole]

Yes I am aware you can set the rear SLS height electronically or by means of adjustable links.
What I really wanted to know is if anyone just installed the front springs and leave the rear as is. How it looks and performs.

* If anyone local interested in my new pair for Dinan front springs, PM me. I'm probably just going to leave my T stock sport.

[geargrinder]

Yes I am aware you can set the rear SLS height electronically or by means of adjustable links.
What I really wanted to know is if anyone just installed the front springs and leave the rear as is. How it looks and performs.

* If anyone local interested in my new pair for Dinan front springs, PM me. I'm probably just going to leave my T stock sport.

Well. Its gonna look a bit odd w big fender gaps in rear vs front. How much is a good question. Thats not how its supposed to be setup but you could do it. Rear is prob not going to be as planted as if you lower the rear as its supposed to but you could certainly do it if you wanted... And given the rear adjustment is software, you can look at it after whackin the fronts in, give it a quick drive, then play w it and set it wherever you like...

[yersole]

I am assuming that the front springs from -
http://dinancars.com/product/d100-0385-performance-spring-set-for-bmw-540i-and-sport-wagon-e39-2/?series=5-Series&mid=1048/

are the same ones used in -
http://dinancars.com/product/d190-5731k-stage-1-suspension-system-wagon-w-self-leveling-suspension-only/?series=5-Series&mid=1048/
which says - The Stage 1 System for 540 Wagons has been carefully calibrated to work in conjunction with the factory rear suspension system components.

If that is the case, then that sounds to me no modification is needed for the rear.
Which sounds about right to me (I think) given my rear fender gap is roughly 1.5 fingers while my front is 3.5 fingers.

Anyways, I guess all this speculation is pointless. I'll throw it on and go from there after winter. Need to replace my control arms anyways.

[geargrinder]

I am assuming that the front springs from -
http://dinancars.com/product/d100-0385-performance-spring-set-for-bmw-540i-and-sport-wagon-e39-2/?series=5-Series&mid=1048/

are the same ones used in -
http://dinancars.com/product/d190-5731k-stage-1-suspension-system-wagon-w-self-leveling-suspension-only/?series=5-Series&mid=1048/
which says - The Stage 1 System for 540 Wagons has been carefully calibrated to work in conjunction with the factory rear suspension system components.

If that is the case, then that sounds to me no modification is needed for the rear.
Which sounds about right to me (I think) given my rear fender gap is roughly 1.5 fingers while my front is 3.5 fingers.

Anyways, I guess all this speculation is pointless. I'll throw it on and go from there after winter. Need to replace my control arms anyways.

yeah, just do it! I bet Dinan still has you drop the rear but dont know for sure. A quick software tweak could still be considered "no modification". And the measured gap isnt always aligned to the true car level since fronts have to have more gap for turning and rear lines can be tighter, in other words with a lot of cars if you align fender heights the rear will be lower and look funny. Alignment guys measure ground to sill to check rake because fender lines cant be used...

[JT///M3]

Glad I found this thread. Will call them tomorrow to see if they have the 525iT front springs only. Don't see a listing on their site right now.

[doc540]

Dinan front and rear
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/doc540/Doc%20Cars/2000%20540iT%20Dinan%202/8028d14b-9f35-4817-8ea5-cf2ac5c9f0e0_zps5c1794c3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/doc540/Doc%20Cars/2000%20540iT%20Dinan%202/61d11519-f13d-4043-b8f4-4101fa37642b_zpsd6523017.jpg

[yersole]

hmm...that looks lower than I expected.

Anyone want my brand new front pair?! I still can't decide if I want to use them.

[Dcups]

hmm...that looks lower than I expected.

Anyone want my brand new front pair?! I still can't decide if I want to use them.
Only if they would fit my 525it.....

[JT///M3]

I called dinan yesterday and asked them to sell me just the front springs for my 525 and they said they'd have to look into it. Hopefully they call back today and agree to split their spring kit.

[Dcups]

I called dinan yesterday and asked them to sell me just the front springs for my 525 and they said they'd have to look into it. Hopefully they call back today and agree to split their spring kit.
Keep me posted on how much are they asking for them? Also how much of a drop does it get? ^^^same as doc540?^^^

[JT///M3]

They have not gotten back to me if they could even split the set yet. Hopefully its in the $130-150 range just like the front 540 set.

- - - Updated - - -

left them a message. hopefully they will call back with good news

[dunks318ti]

^^^you do know that $130 is for 1 single spring, right? $260 for the set...

Anywho, if anyone is interested I have a FRONT only set of B&G springs for the e39 i6 tourings brand new in box. ( b-gsuspension.com which are made in Germany )

Progressive spring rates and a 1.6 drop

$ALREADY SOLD to bfc'er: Dcups... for the set.

EDIT: Well that was fast...SOLD

[Dcups]

Ill take them Dunks

ill pm you

[JT///M3]

Dinan called back and they can split their kit for the 525i and sell us just the front spring for $240 plus shipping. If anyone is interested, call Jeff @ Dinan and tell him you heard about it from bimmerforums and he may give you 10% off your order.

[Dcups]

Honestly at that price I'd buy the Eibach or H&R kit and just sell the rears and recoup some of your cost

[whiteghost1]

In regards to the Dinan front Touring springs for the 540iT = I got off of the phone with them asking questions about drop, spring rates etc.....
I don't know why Dinan is so tight lipped about their products, and this is not the first time I've encountered difficulties getting specific details. It's not like I the consumer is asking for the engineering i.p., just asking for the raw specs as they are an aftermarket performance mfg afterall (end of rant).

Anyways, he wouldn't devulge the spring rates to me and would not confirm what the approx drop is either. The only thing he would confirm is that if your 540iT has the Sport package, you may not get a drop at all and the car may even raise slightly from the new springs.

[JT///M3]

In regards to the Dinan front Touring springs for the 540iT = I got off of the phone with them asking questions about drop, spring rates etc.....
I don't know why Dinan is so tight lipped about their products, and this is not the first time I've encountered difficulties getting specific details. It's not like I the consumer is asking for the engineering i.p., just asking for the raw specs as they are an aftermarket performance mfg afterall (end of rant).

Anyways, he wouldn't devulge the spring rates to me and would not confirm what the approx drop is either. The only thing he would confirm is that if your 540iT has the Sport package, you may not get a drop at all and the car may even raise slightly from the new springs.

Yeah, thats b/c he knows our cars are old now and most likely the stock sport springs have settled to a "dropped" level. I was told that they springs would only lower the car 0.6 inches. Which IMO is ok since the sport suspension isn't exactly lifted on my 525iT at this time. Hence I'm waiting to get the 19" rims on it before I decide if I want to drop it even further.

[yersole]

Some numbers for reference - http://www.bmwdiy.info/suspension-survey/

My 540iT sport front seems to be sitting higher than normal at 14 7/8" when I measured. A slight drop there would be perfect. My rears are at 13 1/2" which I am happy with.