|
What are your goals for the car? Sound? Looks? Exclusivity? Performance?
Sound - Start with the sound generator mod if your car has the sound generator (I just learned some cars didn't come with it from the factory). Just take off the sound generator and pull out the foam. It's completely reversible and only takes a few minutes.
Looks/exclusivity - Dinan makes good products at an extremely high cost. A lot of what you pay for with the Dinan badge is R&D for a slightly better or finely-tuned product. I wouldn't say they're always the best, but they do their research and you're probably going to get a solid product in the end. And pay for it. Did I mention price? The Dinan products do look good and are probably nice bragging points. I've considered going with their suspension setup for my 3.0i, but I've talked with a few guys who have a lot of track time (and really know what they are talking about) that are on their fourth or fifth aftermarket setup, and can offer track-proven alternative recommendations that don't cost nearly as much.
Performance - Your best bang for the buck is going to be trading in your car for a faster one, either an SI or an M. I know some guys have tried to get the manifold from the SI and retune the ECU, but that's something you'll have to research to see if the gains justify the cost. Overall, expect to spend a lot of money for minimal gains.
Summary: If your goal is solely performance, look to get a new car. If it's anything else, Dinan sounds like a good choice. We drive Z4s, so we care more about the overall package than test numbers. Dinan packages will make your car more pleasurable to drive, slightly faster, and much more exclusive. If those are your goals, go for it!
|