Jim Moran said:
>If you have any experience with or advice about any of these chips...

My 88 M5 already had a Dinan Revision 3 when I purchased the car, so I can't comment on the difference from stock. Dinan upgraded my chip to the latest Revision 4 for $50 plus the old Revision 3 chip. The change from Revision 3 to Revision 4 doesn't increase HP, but is supposed to smooth out part throttle transitions. Power seemed a little smoother and stronger down low - but maybe that's just because I spent the $50. Overall, I'm pleased, no complaints about driveability.

>1. Dinan....
>In talking to others, however, they maybe don't do the absolute best
> job, like not tweaking part throttle maps, if this is indeed
>necessary.

I also heard this Autothority "part throttle" versus Dinan "full throttle only" mapping story. Jeff Hecox at Dinan says the early chips (Revision 1?) only had full throttle mapping changes to be conservative with emissions - which are tested at part throttle. All the later chips are tweaked throughout the throttle range.

>2. Autothority...
>they will upgrade their software (at a price) to fully maximize
>any future modifications, like intake, exhaust, etc.
>However, they are very expensive.

Pretty tempting to go with Autothority. They're close to you (and me) in Northern VA, so it's easy to work with them. Their recent BMW CCA sponsored Tech Session certainly impressed me.

Either Dinan or Autothority has to be a pretty safe bet. I'd be surprised if there is much difference between the two on an otherwise stock car. Dinan is cheap ($211 from BMP). Not sure if anyone discounts Autothority.

Maybe it comes down to how many changes you're planning. Autothority may be more willing to custom design for unusual changes.

Why don't you add to Evan Evans' chip research? Both Dinan and Autothority have 30 day guarantees, so try them both and report the results to the list. I'll drive your car while you hold the stopwatch. ;-)

Pete Read
88 M5