[e92ben]

Originally Posted by MilehighM3

This is not true. They same company that purchased Dinan also acquired APR last year. Dinan is actually looking to develop the F series flash tuning which is part of the move and business acquisition with APR. they're more up to date on the newer ECM variants and flashing so look for something to replace the piggyback offerings in the next ~6 months.

Audi s3 exhaust already available. You'll see it coming soon.

[MilehighM3]

Originally Posted by e92ben

Audi s3 exhaust already available. You'll see it coming soon.

As previously stated they acquired an existing company specializing in those products, so of course they're already available.

[CoffeeBean]

Originally Posted by MilehighM3

This is not true. They same company that purchased Dinan also acquired APR last year.

Right. Dinan is now in-house with APR in Opelika, AL.

[CarBahn Autoworks]

Originally Posted by mvigod

Is it going to be a Dinan Authorized shop?

Already at it! We've been installing Dinan parts since opening up shop.

Originally Posted by romemmy

Carbahn rebuilt my S65 engine bottom end for me, and inspected/rebuilt the heads for me too (I did the final assembly mating the heads to the block, but they did all the work on the bottom end - bored/honed the the cylinders, installed pistons, rods, crank, bearings, etc). They also disassembled and rebuilt my heads with new seals, 5-angle valve job, pressure checks, etc. They even balanced my crank for me (they measured it without me even asking and found it was way out of balance, so they are very thorough!).

Drew (shop manager) handled my needs perfectly, and when I did the final assembly there were absolutely no issues (they also did the work very quickly). The engine fired up first time after I installed it, and has been going strong ever since. Did a full day at Laguna pushing it pretty hard, and it performed perfectly. Mine is supercharged so pushing 600HP at the crank (510HP at the wheels), and I went with CP Carillo rods, CP Carillo coated pistons, stock crank, BE bearings, VAC coated mains, and more. They sealed the bedplate for me too, with zero leaks.

I would highly recommend them for engine building. I haven't had the chance to use them for anything else, but if their care and precision in engine building is anything to go by, then their other shop services should be equally impressive.

Robert @ BE Bearings also helped me immensely with the build, and he was the one that actually arranged for Carbahn to work on my build, so many thanks (and my recommendation) to him too.

Thanks!

S.

We appreciate the support! Have to say, we're proud of the team we've been able to build. Many of the best in the business.

[Dinan_Engineering]

Originally Posted by F32Fleet

Dinan being absorbed and moved to Opelika Alabama? Good god. What sad news.

Originally Posted by e92ben

Dinan moving focus to Audi/vag cars. Interested to see what or when carbahn will be releasing parts wise. Not the catchiest name but sure is exciting.

Originally Posted by F32Fleet

I wonder what it is about BMW that is causing them to move away? Funny if it were warranty claims.

Originally Posted by MilehighM3

This is not true. They same company that purchased Dinan also acquired APR last year. Dinan is actually looking to develop the F series flash tuning which is part of the move and business acquisition with APR. they're more up to date on the newer ECM variants and flashing so look for something to replace the piggyback offerings in the next ~6 months.

Originally Posted by e92ben

Audi s3 exhaust already available. You'll see it coming soon.

Dont want to take away from Carbahn here but felt the need to chime in seeing all the misinformed posts.

MilehighM3 is about as close to factual as it goes but still not the whole story. Dinan is not shifting focus to VAG cars. We are a BMW/MINI and now, MB based outfit. About a year ago we started going down the VAG route and were well on our way to releasing a full lineup of parts for the late model Audi and VW's when our parent organization bought APR, of VW/Audi tuning fame. At that point it didn't make sense to release a bunch of products that would compete with a sister company so all of those products are being sucked into the APR brand (albeit slowly) so the R&D wouldn't be for naught. A couple items that were already finished goods and didn't make sense to relabel due to costs (suspensions and exhausts namely) we opted to just list on eBay at a massive discount to get it out of the building. Fast forward a few months and Dinan has moved from California and into the APR facility in Alabama (2nd day here). While its still a bit chaotic with the transition going on it is readily apparent that both companies will benefit from the shared space even though the companies are still independent from one another in R&D, productions, etc. Hard not to benefit with 2 great knowledgeable groups of individuals being around one another. Lots of shared ideas to come I am sure.

But anyway--- back to Carbahn. Steve and team are some of the best out there and for those that want to go the extra mile for their vehicles they are the folks to go to. We send countless amounts of folks over that want to do custom work or just want a high powered motor over to them that is now beyond our scope (a bit more mainstream). Never have I heard of a disappointed customer yet from those referrals.

[bmwstephen]

Originally Posted by TRZ06

Yep. Basically off loading a business in the red heading for bankruptcy.

Restarting with no debt.

Shitty practices and I have no respect for it

As Commercial Finance guy and Dinan enthusiast, let me set the record straight before you guys tarnish an established and reputable tuner without facts.

Dinan was not headed to bankruptcy. Did they have financial challenges like every other business? Yes! but was it enough to head them towards bankruptcy? far from it! In fact, they have more cash now and support from institutional investors than ever.

In 2013, A private Equity (ever heard of it?) firm called Dublin Clark originally acquired them and made them a subsidiary of their automotive aftermarket chain, Driven Performance. They grew the business even further and in 2015, the Company sold them to another PE firm called Sentential Partners for even more money.

https://www.dpbrands.com/
http://dubinclark.com/milo-portfolio/dpb/
http://www.sentinelpartners.com/secondary.asp?pageID=7

Now the thing with Private Equity Firms, is that their goal is to not buy money losing businesses. Those companies have to have the cash flow to support the returns of the investments made by their limited partners. In addition, when times are rough, they do not tend to cut and run on their investment.

So the fact that it sold twice to two private equity firms is pretty telling. I would know because I worked for one of the various financial institutions who tried to bid twice unsuccessfully to help finance those buyout. But it was super competitive opportunity.

Dinan has always come through and stuck by their guns. Ever recall the whole z8 chassis fiasco? Steve Dinan himself personally paid for new chassis and compensated owners accordingly at the expense of the company. I have yet to see anyone else do the same. I also finance many of Dinan's suppliers in the area and they always get paid on time.

For obvious reasons, because Steve sold the rights and trademarks of his original Company to DublinClark it is obvious why he can't use the Dinan house hold brand (ever watch the movie The Founder about McDonalds? a lot like that) but at least there was a graceful path to exit for him. It is mutually agreed upon in the transaction otherwise, he could never retire from the business. It is a common in the business world but you probably will never get a lot of publicity about this for PR reasons.

Carbanh and Dinan Engineering have a strong partnership and its evidence by their support of each other so I suggest people stop jumping into negative conclusions.

[TomHudson]

On my second Dinan car.

Couldn’t be happier with the engineering and peace of mind that comes from a top notch company.

[FSociety]

Welcome back!
Looking forward on seeing you part of the proTUNING Freaks Bootmod3 Tuner List

[jgoens]

I was at the Mountain view facility today getting Shockware--nice place and cool people. Giving a plug and props here. Erin was very helpful and efficient and the tech was great. If anybody is in the area stop by and check it out.

[addy27]

Have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed my trips to Carbahn in San Jose. Their facility is awesome and they are very professional about the quality of their work. Yes they maybe expensive than other Indy dealers but they tend to provide the same 2yr parts/labor warranty as the dealer. Also, talking to Steve in person a few times has been great. He’s a walking encyclopedia on BMWs and has stories to share so feel free to swing by and you might catch Steve in his shop apron working on a classic or one of the racing R8s.

[TTony]

In for a dyno day...