 » Site Navigation | | | | » Recent Threads | | | 1999 M3 Swap 09-07-2023 10:10 PM 05-02-2024 08:18 PM 6 Replies, 405,147 Views | |  |  |  | |  12-30-2003, 08:42 PM | #1 | | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: cary, nc Posts: 2,259 | 
i have a 1995 e36 ti sport and was looking for a performance chip for it. anyway from what i understand dinan makes the chip/software.
ive been looking around trying to do some research and ive been reading on different websites and im not quite sure how all this works...ive read some places that the chip exists in the car and you just have to pay for the software to be downloaded to it... and ive also read that you buy the chip with software on it and sodder it on...neither of the places i read this at was specific to my car so i dont know how this works...then i also read that i would need to get a whole new exhaust system because the added horsepower from the chip would burn up the stock exhaust...
anyway so i guess im just trying to get this straight and figure out how i would do this...i located the nearest dinan dealer and the dealer i take my car to normally happens to be a dealer.
my guess would be that id get the chip soddered on because getting just the software seems like upgrading an existing chip, and i dont have a chip.
and if i did get it, would it kill the stock exhaust?
yeah as you can tell ive never done this before...im stuipd but im gradually learning about my car...which is why i came here because all of you people know what you are talking about...
also random question...what is the correct pronounciation of "dinan"
die-nan...din-in...die-nin???
just wondering because if i call up the dealer i want to at least sound semi-inteligent.... __________________ 1995 318ti Active
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As far as I know a new chip does not require a new exhaust. I bought a chip for mine, it is not soldered in you just swap it out with your old chip. | | | | | 12-30-2003, 10:36 PM | #3 | | Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 290 |
well since its a '95 it could be soldered in or it may not be depending on the month of production. you cannot, as far as i believe, flash the ECU in a '95 since it is OBD-I. you must replace the chip. the chip wont do anything to your exhaust and your exhaust wont do anything to a chip. a chip will help whether you have a stock or aftermarket although performance aftermarket would show even more imporvement (most likely)
i say die-nin because thats how i heard it but maybe others say it differently. __________________
Vince Carknard
1995 318ti Active
Hellrot, 16" 5 spoke, "Fogged" airbox mod, Stromung exhaust, Bilstein Sports, BMW sport springs, 3.73lsd,
others... | | | | | 12-30-2003, 11:53 PM | #4 | | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: cary, nc Posts: 2,259 |
alright thanks for the info...and to further jump into my adventure of figuring things out...
my car was made in october 1995...so would that be soldered in or not...if not, what is the alternitive?
what is ECU...
so my car is OBD-I...that would mean that id have to replace the whole chip...so does that mean if my car was OBD II, i would only have to upgrade the software?
so im looking on the dinan website and it says that for a 1995 318ti (e36), an engine chip is $199...so that 200 dollar chip is what i need to replace my stock chip with?
so would i just stroll up to the local bmw/dinan dealer and get them to replace the chip with the 200 dollar dinan chip...and everything should be all good? that $200 chip would already have the upgraded software on it correct? __________________ 1995 318ti Active
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well since yours was built later in 1995 i THINK it is a removable chip so installation would be much easier. mine is an early 1995 (I forgot exactly what month was the cutoff) which means the chip is soldered in and i would have to send the whole ECU in to get it upgraded. unless i wanted to risk desoldering and soldering a chip myself...shudder...
OBD-II starts in 1996 i think and those can be upgraded using a tool that flashes the EPROM (Electronicaly Programmable Read Only Memory) in the ECU which is the computer for the car (Engine Control Unit). ECU's are called PCM's sometimes (Powertrain Control Module) but i usually just call it the "computer" although new cars have many seperate computers so ECU would probably be the most appropriate.
so in short your chip should be replacable if you want to dig in. but if you're not comfortable with it i'd have someone do it for you. __________________
Vince Carknard
1995 318ti Active
Hellrot, 16" 5 spoke, "Fogged" airbox mod, Stromung exhaust, Bilstein Sports, BMW sport springs, 3.73lsd,
others... | | | | | 12-31-2003, 07:45 AM | #6 | | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: cary, nc Posts: 2,259 |
thanks for the info... my pops said he didnt think it was worth it but i could spend my money on it if i wanted to...but sadly my mother vetoed this idea and said i couldnt buy it...so now i have to figure out something else to spend christmas money on...maybe ill save all my money so i can retire by the age of 35...wow wouldnt that be nice  __________________ 1995 318ti Active
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I have a 95 ti that I am beginning a M50 motor swap today actually. I bought a Bavarian Autosport chip for my car a while ago, and obviously I won't be needing it anymore. My car's production date was 9/95. Check out www.bavauto.com to see if our cars are compatible. You can also look on the body if you open the driver's door where the VIN is located to find the production date. I paid $250 for it, make me a resonable offer. Thanks, Ryan Wish me luck on the swap too! | | | | | 12-31-2003, 08:39 PM | #8 | | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: cary, nc Posts: 2,259 |
good luck on the swap... mine was made in 10/95, so it sounds like our cars are capatible...but if i have to send the whole ECU in for the upgrade it doesnt seem worth it... from the bavauto website... "For BMWs made after January 1995 the ECU will have to be removed and sent directly to Bavarian Autosport for your performance chip installation." if i have to remove the ecu...seems rather difficult...would my chip be soldered in...is that why id have to send the whole ecu in? if it is removable like bimmerboi predicted...why would i have to send the whole ecu in? "For most owners of BMWs from 1984 thru January 1995 the performance chip is a direct "plug-in" replacement " so does "plug in" mean the removable chips....thats what i interpreted it as...because i thought the newer models were "plug in" chips... so it sounds like my car is not a "plug-in" chip...whatever "plug in" means... so im trying to figure out if my chip is removable or soldered...if it is a removable chip then im sure with my dads help we could go under the hood and pop the chip in because he knows a good bit about cars...but if its soldered id have to send the ECU in, i dont think id be doing that. and bavauto said id have to send the ecu in for any car after january 1995...why would i need to send it in if it is a removable chip? wow i am thinking to hard...i love my quest for knowledge __________________ 1995 318ti Active
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im pretty sure your chip is a "plug in". there is no need to send in the ECU to bavauto. halfway (thereabout) through 1995 the chips went from soldered to removable. since yours is a late 1995 im pretty sure its easily removable. it only needs to be sent in if it was soldered.
i guess the best, simplest way to look at it is like this:
-early 1995: soldered in. old chip must be desoldered, new chip soldered
-late 1995: removable "plug in" chip. can be replaced easily
-1996 on: software upgradable.
this is how the dates are I believe. Bavauto.com should be able to confirm it with the specific months the cutoffs are. __________________
Vince Carknard
1995 318ti Active
Hellrot, 16" 5 spoke, "Fogged" airbox mod, Stromung exhaust, Bilstein Sports, BMW sport springs, 3.73lsd,
others... | | | | | 01-01-2004, 06:39 PM | #10 | | Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Asheville, NC Posts: 59 |
I removed the chip from the DME. It was not very difficult. It was not soldered in. If you want the chip, make me an offer. I can elaborate more on the procedure if you need me too. | | | | | 01-01-2004, 07:10 PM | #11 | | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: cary, nc Posts: 2,259 |
yeah thats what i thought...just bavauto was confusing me when they said you had to send in the whole ecu for any car after january 1995...
i thought my chip was a removable socketed chip...but if it was then i couldnt think of any reason at all that id have to send the whole ecu in...
from my vast amounts of research...it seems like our cars are compatible...but unfortuanly my mother just vetoed any option of me getting a computer chip because she says the car is fast enough and she said people with fast cars die. and my pops also pointed out that it only gives you 150 hp and thas only 12 more...and it probaly wouldnt be noticed...oh well __________________ 1995 318ti Active
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No problem.
I'm not trying to sell this to you anymore, but I will state that 12 hp is definitely noticeable. You won't get that from an intake or a free flowing muffler, and you can notice those. I noticed the chip in my car. Unless you're drag racing (which I don't particularly care for), the best investment would be in some decent suspension parts; Bilstein's, Koni's,H&R springs, x-brace... that sort of stuff...The handling of these cars is one of their strongest points, why not emphasize that? | | | | | 01-01-2004, 09:43 PM | #13 | | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: cary, nc Posts: 2,259 |
i think i have convinced my dad...i sent you a private message regarding price etc...he said we just wont tell my mommy.  __________________ 1995 318ti Active
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hmm.....from bavauto.com.... Quote: | EWS-II is a security feature on all BMW automobiles manufactured from January 1, 1995 to present. Basically, the E-Prom in every ECU has its own security start code. If this code is not overlayed onto your new chip, your vehicle will not start | im thinking this could cause some problems....? so im guessing this would be why id have to send the whole ecu in to bavauto? saxman...did you have to send yours in? __________________ 1995 318ti Active
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ok...so i cant buy saxmans chip...
quick question...does anyone have the dinan chip...and is it worth 200 dollars...because the dinan chip only has 145 hp compared to BavAuto having 150hp...200 dollars seems like a waste for only 7 hp...but i dont know how noticeable 7 hp would be... __________________ 1995 318ti Active
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