DINAN Pulley install and evaluation

[Draff1]

I finally pulled the trigger on some mods this week including RPi exhaust, RPi scoops, Dinan tune and the aforementioned DINAN PULLEY. I decided to the install on the pulley myself to save some dough and always like a good project. I don't see a lot of definitive info on the Dinan stuff (besides the exhaust) so I figured I would post some objective thoughts for the forum. Pics below show dual circumference Dinan pulley in black and the stock BMW part for comparison.

1. CUSTOMER SUPPORT: Ordered directly from Dinan and spoke with a pretty eager, helpful and knowledgeable individual. I specified overnight shipping but for some reason it took 2 days. ALSO, DESPITE MY TRIPLE CONFIRMATION, there were no instructions included. Only a single sheet of paper directing the user to refer to the BMW manual for belt installation tips. Seriously? Pretty weak IMO. Also, pulley was wrapped for protection during shipping in a paper towel.
GRADE C-

2. INSTRUCTIONS: I used the Youtube video posted by Macht Schnell (sp?) for the main guide and it worked well with ONE MAJOR hiccup. The video must be based on 6/08 cars and earlier because the belt pattern is wrong for my 2009. With no instructions from Dinan (thanks!) it took me some time to figure out the problem. Luckily, Active Autowerks posts useful information on its site and this forum helped me find it. Again, Dinan offers no such support and since I was doing this at midnight on Friday, I would have had to wait until Monday for phone support.
GRADE F--

3. QUALITY / DESIGN / INSTALLATION: As is usually the case, Dinan hardware is well engineered, tested and proven. Their stuff seems to be engineered to support their mission of "performance without compromise" which I appreciate. Maybe not as esoteric or vogue as some smaller tuners but they market totally legit products. Also as noted on this forum by Tom at EAS, the PS and AC belt Dinan supplies is about 2mm too short. FACT: you cannot get this belt on without heating and stretching it or you could sustain damage to the tensioner. My tensioner was bottomed out when I finally got it on. Yes it will stretch, but I see no need to undersize this belt because the tensioner has so much travel. If not for the lack of directions and short belt, this is a 60 to 75 minute install. A piece of cake really so hopefully this thread will help many avoid the same mistakes.
GRADE C+

4. DRIVING IMPRESSION: It's hard to say because I had the tune done on Thursday and installed the pulley the next day but the combination of the 2 products produced a noticeable but not radical improvement. I feel the car more eager the break the tires loose and free revving to redline. I still think that a pulley is maybe the best bang for the buck and produces real HP/TQ across the entire band. Don't expect miracles but it was worth the $$ and the time.
GRADE B+

As I said earlier, I like the Dinan philosophy and maybe I am in their core demographic. I like their operational professionalism and warranty but I have to believe that Steve Dinan does not see the backend of the business or he really doesn't get it. Car guys want the personal service and personal relationships. Good customer service isn't optional and Dinan's brand doesn't let them off the hook.

In summary, I would say it is a solid product backed by a real legit warranty but maybe not worth the extra money or installation time. Many companies offer similar products with similar results for less money and better after-the-sale support.

[Kartelli]

great review! Would you buy the dinan pulley again if you had a choice?

[Draff1]

I went with Dinan based on reputation and post-sale support. Based on my experience I would say no if you plan to do the install yourself. In fairness, I haven't done or witnessed installs for other pulley systems but forum members have indicated that the belt issue may be a Dinan exclusive. Rogue, AA, Gintani etc. all make good products for less money. I would want to deal with a company that was going to be around to supply the belts if needed down the road. So maybe not Dinan but I would definitely do a pulley again.