Dinan ECU upgrade information

[NSXCessive]

In taking apart my rear pannels I discoverd something very interesting about what I thought was an stock NSX. I've got a Dinan ECU kinda hard to miss since there is a big 'Dinan' sticker on the the thing, added bonus for me I guess!

This is what I'd like to know for my 91:

1) Does anyone know anything about this ECU upgrade?
It doens't say much on the ECU just 'Dinan Engineering' ECU 010.

2)What is the stock reline supposed to be?

3) Dinan Engineering has a web site but looks like only BMW upgrades now located here http://www.dinanbmw.com

I didn't noticed until now, as I've only had the car 6 months and did not abuse the car into redline I usually shift around 7600RPM... I did notice now that my rev limiter is cutting out at 8400~8600 RPM and I've always had a bit of rough idle at cold start. The dealer claimed that this might be normal and that my car probably needed a tune up since I'm nearing the 12 year old mark!

Anyone that can shed some light on this would be great!

Thanks!

 

[BadCarma]

the dinan chip probably relines higher then stock so be careful
the chip probably has nothing to do with your rough idle when cold but am not sure on that for fact.
I suggest you do a search of forum members and email tampabaynsx-r, scott ran one for sometime and I bet he can tell you all about it. hope that helps
best regards David
ps Scott is a great guy and I dont believe he will mind at all. good luck!

 

[nsxtasy]

The Dinan chip was available in the early days of the NSX and was then discontinued.

I don't believe it changes the redline. However, one caveat - a stock NSX can use regular fuel instead of premium (as noted in the manual, performance will be degraded but it won't hurt the car), but regular fuel is a strict no-no

with the Dinan chip.

 

[NoClgDeg]

Well at least I'm not alone. I thought I got a stock 91 NSX until one day I was cleaning and I removed the real panel to discover a big DINAN sticker on my ECU. I opened it up and there was the Dinan chip.

At least you now know that your ECU is socketed. Time to get the DALI chip. It really makes a difference going from DINAN to Dali.

 

[nsxtasy]

It really makes a difference going from DINAN to Dali.

Not much...

Try the chip from Placebo Racing and I'm sure you'll say that one makes a huge difference too.

 

[NSXCessive]

Thanks guys for all your info I did find some info looks like there is slight improments over stock nothing special, a little more midrange torque fuel map, higher rev limit, speed over 290Km/h, and possible timing retard and advance. I'm not too sure about the speed over 290Km/h?

My baby is gone for a week at my mechanics shop for timing belt H20 pump, various gaskets, sparkplugs etc... I'll miss her while its gone... God I love this CAR!

Any suggestions on upgrading my oil pump gears, since I've got a slight chance I may rev up near 8000RPM I heard that the gears can expand and break at higher RPM?

 

[nsxtasy]

Any suggestions on upgrading my oil pump gears, since I've got a slight chance I may rev up near 8000RPM I heard that the gears can expand and break at higher RPM?

If you're not exceeding the stock redline and you haven't added forced induction, there's no need to upgrade oil pump gears. You can rev it close to redline all day long.

 

[Russ]

worse than stock

According to this graph the Dinan chip is actually worse than the stock one.

 

[wilsonp]

My baby is gone for a week at my mechanics shop for timing belt H20 pump, various gaskets, sparkplugs etc... I'll miss her while its gone... God I love this CAR!

A week! Why so long? A lot of gaskets?

I had 60K + timing belt/water pump in two days.

 

[NoClgDeg]

Try the chip from Placebo Racing and I'm sure you'll say that one makes a huge difference too.

Why don't you send me the chip so I can try it?

 

[NoClgDeg]

I don't believe it changes the redline.

You are wrong jack. It does raise the redline.

 

[NSXCessive]

I'm waiting for parts, spark plug won't be in until later in the week. The Dealer wanted $81.50 CND for 1 plug!@#!

So I had a friend source some out he works for AC Delco he can get me each plug for $16.00 CND go figure same damn NGK Platium PFR6G-11 .

My Mechanic/Friend could probably have the job in less than a day. He works at another job during the day, and mechanic by night. He is taking his time to make sure everything is done right! No rush when working on my baby! He also started to remove the rear glass and engine cover to make more room to work.

So I've decided time to change :

1) Timing Belt 12years old?
2) Water pump -Apparently Acura claims new updated part over original 12 years old?
3) Tune Up -Spark Plugs / Fuel Filter / Air Filter etc
4) Spool Valve Gaskets / Valve Cover / Cam Ends etc
5) Comptech Springs and Blistein Shocks -Maybe?

And whatever else I find on the way... I know I've only had the car 6months I'm willing to spend alot now so hopefully I'll have a very reliable car in the long run... You gotta do the maintenance, there is a local horror story of a Guy who didn't change the timing belt in time... guess I could buy his car cheap with blown motor! hehe

 

[NSXCessive]

Re: worse than stock

According to this graph the Dinan chip is actually worse than the stock one.

Do You really believe that? Didn't you notice Dali's #'s are higher than everyone else's #'s... I never believe those #'s specially seeing how its been tested by Dali... can you say BIASED!

I would call on independant testing, anyone out there have their own private dyno results stock vs chip? There are a few located in the FAQ

 

[Russ]

Re: Re: worse than stock

Do You really believe that? Didn't you notice Dali's #'s are higher than everyone else's #'s

My understanding is those are independent test results which happen to be presented by Dali. Since Dali's chip fared so well in the test, it's not surprising that website is touting these results. Whether the results are believable or not is another question. However, IMO it's not at all surprising that an aftermarket chip could be worse than OEM.

 

[gheba_nsx]

Honestly, it is not that uncommon: recently a friend with a Celica TS (190PS at the engine) installed a chip and the PS went down of about 7 at the rear wheel. That was not only in peak power... it was less through the whole rpm range (from 1PS to 7PS).

Many tuners do not have the dyno time to make the chip actually better than the OEM. They simply change some "common" parameter in the ECU and that's all. Specially those "tuner" that advertise chips for some hundreds different vehicle... from a Miata to a F360...

 

[erobbins]

back to the subject....

Does anyone have technical info on the Dinan chip? Were there different "stages" available? Was there any documentation supplied with the chip? I have looked for info, but couldn't find any.

EDR

 

[NSXCessive]

Re: back to the subject....

Does anyone have technical info on the Dinan chip? Were there different "stages" available? Was there any documentation supplied with the chip? I have looked for info, but couldn't find any.

EDR

Yes, back on topic! I don't care if the car is loosing power right now that is not a priority! I want to know what this chip is doing, ie is it Advace/Retart timing, fuel pump on high, fuel map, RPM remap, etc? All I know is that my car passed emissions with flying colours here in Canada, so it can't be really that harsh on changes vs OEM? I don't even know what version is in my car I think it says Version 010 is this stage 1? Or stage 2? Does anyone have some info on these chips?

The new Dinan site and tech help is useless all they want to do is talk BMW. Looks like the original company was sold a few years back! I was thinking of dynoing my car with stock ECU and Dinan to see the difference for myself!

I've got a socketed ECU all I need now is to get my hands on the orginal stock ECU program because I no longer have one, and make a copy to my blank 2K PROM chip? Anyone know where I can get the HEX/BINARY file(s)? Does anyone have the OEM program in file format?

Thanks,

 

[ChopsJazz]

I had the Dinan chip installed in my car as one of my first mods. My brain tricked me into thinking that I had spent $450 on more power, but the truth was in the dyno.

I wanted to upgrade from the Dinan Stage I to the Stage III chip so I ran them at the dyno. In back-to-back runs on the dyno, same day about 20 mins. apart, the Dinan chips both turned out worse numbers than the stock chip. (I tested another chip that day too, but I forget which one it was.) I reinstalled the OEM chip and, with headers and exhaust, I make 271 rwhp. The dyno graph that Dinan gave me when I purchased their chip turned out to be pretty optimistic, if not totally fabricated.

I have some technical paperwork on the chip, I'll try to scan it if you're interested.

BTW, the rev limiter was not altered with the Dinan chip.

 

[5inchfatlip]

So who has "DYNO" proven increases from any chip?

 

[erobbins]

please do

I have some technical paperwork on the chip, I'll try to scan it if you're interested.

Please do. Private me a msg with your email address and I'll explain why I want it. It's actually somewhat important that I get my hands on it.

EDR

 

[NSXCessive]

Re: please do

Please do. Private me a msg with your email address and I'll explain why I want it. It's actually somewhat important that I get my hands on it.

EDR

Yeah I'm interested as well you can send msg to [email protected]

Thanks!