[janten]

Hey guys, I just recently picked up my QX30 Sport and the first thing I did was try on my Dinan Piggyback that I had for my C300.

The controller is compatible with most if not all MBenz turbo'd cars, including the GLA250 which shares the chassis and engine with the QX30. I decided to give it a shot and plugged in the piggyback, everything works perfectly fine, takes care of any acceleration lag and adds a little boost. Though my buttdyno doesn't share the same sentiment as their 30hp/40tq claims, there are noticeable power increases for me using sport+

I won't link directly to the site, but you may google Dinan D440-0034.

If you guys end up getting it and need a howto feel free to PM me and I'll post up some pictures, I just have trouble finding somewhere to zip tie it down to.

 

[tt6]

I've always been a Japanese car enthusiast so I love posts like these that introduce MB mods for these cars!

Any idea how much it increases the turbo pressure? Where is the increase felt, lower or higher RPM's? Does Infiniti have a way of reading the ECU and seeing that this has been installed/removed in the event of any warranty claims?

 

[janten]

I've always been a Japanese car enthusiast so I love posts like these that introduce MB mods for these cars!

Any idea how much it increases the turbo pressure? Where is the increase felt, lower or higher RPM's? Does Infiniti have a way of reading the ECU and seeing that this has been installed/removed in the event of any warranty claims?

I'm unsure about the increase in turbo pressure, but I'm going to assume it falls in line with most dinan piggybacks increasing boost by 3 to 6 psi. The increase is definitely felt more in the lower RPMs, tends to fall off at the high end, similar to my c300.
I'm assuming like MB, Infiniti doesn't have a way of reading the ECU for modification since this doesn't deal with changing the mapping on the actual ECU, I took my c300 for a few maintenance and warranty issues without them ever mentioning it, and at one point I even forgot to take it off before I took it in to the dealership haha

 

[tt6]

Thanks for the info!

I'm hesitant to do this without knowing what the afr and timing are doing with the increase in airflow, any idea? What sensor is the module actually getting plugged into?

 

[janten]

Yeah I don't think you'll get to know the AFRs without going to an actual tuner, or at least I don't have the ECU plug in to detect the AFRs. The sensor is plugged into the pressure sensor! If you're around NorCal I'm sure you could take it into Dinan to get them to check your AFRs on the QX30, or RRE if you're in SoCal.

 

[tt6]

Thanks for the info!

 

[fastrack]

I have a Dinan ECU piggyback on E91 335xi and R56 MCS, but didn't know we could use MB's Dinan tune on QX30.
This is a good info. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Smittylit]

I'm interested in doing some performance tuning. Aside from a piggyback, are there any other reputable companies that specialize in Infiniti cars? I mean, this thing is a Mercedes, so I'm confused about which way to go, but I'd like to go the most legit way since the car is so new and I don't want to ruin the engine and void the warranty. Dinan specializes in Euro cars, but is there one for Nissan/Infiniti?

 

[Smittylit]

So, I emailed Dinan to see what there thoughts are on using their Mercedes piggyback on the QX30. Their response:

"Couldn’t say for sure if it is compatible with the QX30 as we have never tested it. Even though they may be the same engine that does not mean that they use the same turbo sensor plugs which is where the potential problem lies. As an example the MINI B48 engine in a MINI Cooper S is the same as the one in the BMW 330i however they use 2 different receptacles for the sensor plug itself so 2 different products are needed.

"The warranty statement blurb you referenced is just noting that the SPORT units only carry a 1 year Dinan product only warranty (essentially a defect warranty). Outside of SPORT our tunes our warrantied for the full new car warranty period (4YR/50k mile in BMW land) which covers not only the Dinan product but any consequential damages to BMW parts as well in addition to covering the labor involved. That warranty is what most think of when Dinan is involved but it is not financially viable to offer such a warranty on a simple $300 boost controller."

 

[EMS.Cotto]

This is basically the same reply I received from Vivid about there ECU tuner. They told me just because the cars share the same platform does not mean they have the same fuel maps sensors etc. Personally its not a risk I would be willing to take, the tune that may be applied to the car could potentially make the car run lean or to rich causing some real damage. Fuel maps are really nothing to take lightly. I would like to see what a wideband shows after adding this tuner on the car.

 

[Smittylit]

My emails with Dinan have moved up the chain. One of their engineers reached out to me and said he's been trying to test Infiniti and Lexus turbos with their equipment. But alas, I'm not local (I'm in GA). Anyone here local to the Morgan Hill area of California? If so, Dinan would like to test your QX30 with their tuner. They said if I passed on a volunteer and the results check out, they'd send me a tuner gratis. I suspect they'd most definitely give another tuner to the person who volunteered their QX30 (I said as much in my response). Just passing on the word... Let me know if you're in their area and would be up for it, and I'll put you in contact. If you want to map it:

Dinan Corporation
865 Jarvis Drive
Morgan Hill, CA 95037

 

[Infiniti_Guy]

My emails with Dinan have moved up the chain. One of their engineers reached out to me and said he's been trying to test Infiniti and Lexus turbos with their equipment. But alas, I'm not local (I'm in GA). Anyone here local to the Morgan Hill area of California? If so, Dinan would like to test your QX30 with their tuner. They said if I passed on a volunteer and the results check out, they'd send me a tuner gratis. I suspect they'd most definitely give another tuner to the person who volunteered their QX30 (I said as much in my response). Just passing on the word... Let me know if you're in their area and would be up for it, and I'll put you in contact. If you want to map it:

Dinan Corporation
865 Jarvis Drive
Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Nice!

Hopefully someone here will take up the opportunity. But being a vehicle you can likely find as a rental, that might be something they can do aside from waiting for an owner. Hertz should be one of them.

 

[Smittylit]

I will add that the engineer did confirm and agrees to give the customer who volunteers their car a free tuner as well.

 

[Smittylit]

Funny you say that, Infiniti_Guy. I suggested the same thing to them. Just go rent one. Or, if they know anyone with an Infiniti, next time they get it serviced and get a loaner, get a QX30 and just test it.

 

[Smittylit]

Janten, could I forward your info to Dinan? Would you be interested in working with them to verify that the piggyback works correctly with the QX30. They are willing to work with me remotely, but since you've already installed it, you might be able to offer immediate results?

Thanks

 

[Smittylit]

I have another question about this piggyback. Does it interfere with the built-in driving modes on the QX30? The QX30 has eco, sport, and manual. As I understand it, the piggyback has a Dinan app you use to control it by setting the piggyback to different modes, similar to the built-in ones (I believe the piggyback has a sport mode too?). So... are there conflicts? If you set the QX30 in eco mode but the piggyback is in sport mode, who wins? Do you need to set the piggyback to sport AND the QX30 to sport mode? And are there other modes on the piggyback that aren't one of the QX30 modes?

 

[Smittylit]

Alright, y'all, this thread has been dead for a bit, but Dinan sent me the tuner. I may chicken out. I'm really nervous to be their beta tester. They've been really cool to me though. If I tap out of this, is there anyone in the Atlanta area that's interested? I can pass on the tuner and put you in contact with the Dinan engineer. I know, I know... it's just this is the first new car I've had since 2004 and I'm not sure I want to risk it. Though, if this is truly the same motor as the GLA, then there shouldn't been an issue. Plus, it sounds like, worst case scenario, the ECU will through a warning that the tuner is too aggressive and put the car in safe mode.

 

[Smittylit]

Another thought... the GLA AMG is 375 HP and 26.1 (!) psi for the turbo boost. If that is the same 2.0 liter turbo and can handle that much stress, can the QX30 2.0 not handle the boost pressure increase from the Dinan tuner that doesn't even come close to 26.1 psi?

 

[Smittylit]

Hi, Janteen, still have tuner on the car? How's it going with it so far? I've still got mine and about 92% sure I'm putting it on (even service manager at dealership said he'd do it). Just curious...

Perhaps you could post pic of where it actually goes? Were you able to zip tie it to keep it in place?

 

[p07r0457]

Another thought... the GLA AMG is 375 HP and 26.1 (!) psi for the turbo boost. If that is the same 2.0 liter turbo and can handle that much stress, can the QX30 2.0 not handle the boost pressure increase from the Dinan tuner that doesn't even come close to 26.1 psi?

Are we sure the AMG is just a different tune? I always assumed there were different parts -- possibly a different turbo, or engine internals -- to reliably support more power.