With regard to the Z8 screwup, here is what's been posted on "the other forum" Z8 board:
<Steve (Dinan) explained what happened a long time ago. His chief engineer, who's been with him since the company started, approved the denting of what he believed was a footwell panel, to accomodate the S2 headers. As it turned out, that panel was part of the Z8's subframe. Plain and simple, he made a mistake.
Steve offered each owner involved 3 options: Dinan would buy their car at replacement cost, Dinan would buy a new sub-chassis and rebuild their car, or Dinan would repair the dent with a BMW approved bonded/riveted heat-treated aluminum patch which would make the sub-chassis even stronger than the original. In addition, Dinan would pay to have the car shipped to and from their facility, install new headers, and provide a substantial gift of Dinan products to each owner.
Every owner involved, exept for one, is completely satisfied with the way in which this was handled. In my experience, no other company would have gone as far to make sure everyone involved was happy with the results. They could easily (and far less expensively) have turned this over to their insurance company and let us negotiate with their adjusters. Guess how that would have turned out. Instead, Steve insisted on doing everything possible to make sure all involved were properly taken care of, at his expense. Finally, every time I speak with Steve, he apologizes again for the mistake. What more could you ask for? >
The response from Z8 owners is that they appear to be *satisfy* with Dinan products and its support. Then again, $8,000 for a set of Z8 headers is probably more than my 90 535i/5spd/95K is worth.....