Dinan Stage 3

[Drewe30e]

Are Dinan suspension kits any good? I know Koni adjustable shocks are a good product but what about the Dinan springs? It also comes with 19mm and 16mm sway bars front and rear respectively. Are these any good either? I doubt I would ever buy this package new but I've come across a 2-year old kit for cheap. I would use this as a daily driver with an occasional autocross.

[Jon325i]

You are likely to see a lot of flaming about Dinan on this board.....mainly because their prices are higher than other parts suppliers. However, what sets the folks at Dinan apart from the 'other' tuners is that they do all of their own R&D work in-house. What they sell is something they created......not merely packaged together from an assorment of aftermarket parts from 3rd party suppliers. The Stage 3 set up you might consider would be considered more aggressive, but not so much that you couldn't drive your car everyday.....that's been one of Dinan's key goals.....taking a good car and making it better while retaining some civility.

As for the Koni shocks.....they are a good product. Several guys here are running these on their cars, they can attest to them. The Bilstein Sports aren't bad either. I currently have a set of custom-valved Bilstein Sports on order from Turner Motorsport.....should be here next week.

Jon

[nando]

I just don't see the point on spending all that money for Dinan suspension. you could just as easily get H&R sports with bilstiens and have a comfortable ride with decent handling for a lot less.

there's nothing really special about Dinan. they're nice if you just bought a new BMW and want it tuned and keep your warranty, but on a 20 year old E30 it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

[AdironRider]

Id do it if you can get it for cheap, otherwise there are more economical options out there

[Drewe30e]

Id do it if you can get it for cheap, otherwise there are more economical options out there

If I got them for about $400, would that be a good deal? I may be able to do this. I would never pay the amount for a new set, seeing how I could put the same thing together for cheaper, but I don't want to miss a good deal.

[nando]

the whole state 3 setup for $400? yeah, that'd be a great deal. good luck.

[Drewe30e]

I also forgot to ask...With the set being 2 years old, will they be worn out. I doubt the shocks will be but what about the springs?

[Mystikal]

I also forgot to ask...With the set being 2 years old, will they be worn out. I doubt the shocks will be but what about the springs?

Actually, it's the shocks you should be worried about; spring don't really wear (unless they're Eibach Pro-Kits :P).

[nando]

they're probably fine, but it really depends on the mileage on them and how much use they have. my suspension is as tight as the day I put it in and it's been 2 years and 45,000 miles.

you should be able to tell though, blown shocks will have very little resistance to them. something like a new bilstien will be hard to compress by hand (konis are the opposite). you can also have them rebuilt if they are konis or bilsteins.

[EtaSport]

If thats the ebay kit, it looks like it might be well used. It was on an M3. I was looking at it, cause I would like to have konis. But it could also be in fine shape.

[Drewe30e]

Hopefully it has low mileage on it and the price stays down. I really need a cheap suspension.