Make the regen intensity a user adjustable item in i-drive

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jadnashuanh

Well-known member
Joined
May 22, 2014
Messages
5,192
Location
Nashua, NH USA
BMW had the maximum regen set higher when the car was introduced, but lowered it to complaints that people couldn't drive it smoothly. Personally, I think that was entirely a personal problem mostly the result of poor coaching by the delivering salesman and people's resistance to actually reading the manual to understand their new, expensive vehicle.

People that live in hilly areas might want it to be higher. If you understand how it works, it's no big deal, and being able to adjust it to your preferences should be an easy tweak to the menus.
 
Certainly agree about the regen as I never had a problem with it at the beginning but now it is too ‘soft’ and sometime does not even bring the car to a halt.
Never had a problem with the steering so not sure why I would want to adjust it.
 
Spent the last two days driving the loan car. As has been mentioned by others on the forum, there is a noticeable difference in the regeneration intensity depending on the SoC. Much stronger once the regeneration can actually store power somewhere quickly.

That said, a competent driver should be able to learn to feel what the car is doing and anticipate and respond accordingly. It may take a bit of time but I think most people will naturally learn this new skill. Man (+woman) and machine in perfect harmony and all that if I am allowed to borrow a Ford saying to use with a BMW.
 
MikeS said:
Certainly agree about the regen as I never had a problem with it at the beginning but now it is too ‘soft’ and sometime does not even bring the car to a halt.
Never had a problem with the steering so not sure why I would want to adjust it.
It has always been overly hyper, and it's sensitivity curve from speed is wrong. I find it reasonable at low speed but it is way hypersensitive at higher speeds, specially at start of maneuver. Most "sporty" cars I've driven curve the response based of how fast and how far you turn the wheel, the i3 seems incredibly hyper at start of turn of wheel.

In addition a lot of curves offer response curves for steering that match driving style.

What I'm reading here about loss of regent is one of the main reasons I am holding off on update. Ideally for me I'd like the same amount of maximum regen available when foot is off, but it would be nice to have an option for a gentler start curve as accelerated is released initially. But it seems new upgrade does that in expense of max regen. Like others I like being able to stop quickly with just regen.
 
at 100% soc the regen is different for the first mile or so because there's no place for the energy to go and the brakes do not exactly simulate the regen feel


no difference here in regen strength after software updates


no problem with the steering


I do not like how the regen cuts out on hard turns or when the pavement has a slight bump or rut
 
My i3 was built in April 2014...at new, the regen was higher. That fall (I think it was then), they dropped the regen during one of the s/w updates. Someone said the index value changed from 27 to 24 (range and amounts unknown). It's obviously a s/w controlled item. One of the s/w updates this spring (if I remember correctly), changed the characteristics of how the regen is initiated after fully pulling your foot off the go pedal (and, when you or the car disengages the CC) to ramp rather than being so abrupt. Like many things in a modern BMW, most functions are controlled via software, not hardwired or directly controlled. A few of them are easily user adjustable via idrive, but many others via hacking. I'm not planning to hack my car, although many people do. I'd like an approved, tested means of adjusting a few more things from the factory.
 
After 6 weeks of ownership I hardly use the brakes anymore. It took a week or two to get fairly good at stopping without braking. Now, it's an afterthought.
 
If you just touch the brakes then it applies more regen before the mechanical braking begins, useful when going downhill
 
Lincsat said:
If you just touch the brakes then it applies more regen before the mechanical braking begins, useful when going downhill
Defeats the 'one pedal' driving experience! Feathering the pedal is easier, at least to me...just wish it had a bit more range.
 
+1 vote for an easy way to adjust while driving. In most situations I think the more aggressive the better. I can also understand why it wouldn't be as strong when hitting bumps too but this has caused me to use the break pedal at the end of my road on several occasions since I live on a bumpy dirt road.

Another time I think this would be useful is in icy driving conditions. It took me a while to get used to driving the i3 on icy roads because of the aggressive regen. In some situations the rear end would kick out when slowing down or stopping. Would be nice to be able to turn it down in these conditions.
 
San Francisco has many streets that are too steep for the recently enfeebled regen to slow the i3 down, plus the fact that there are so many potholes that disengage the regen anyway, so efficiency takes quite a hit here.
A variant of user-controlled regen would be user-controlled max charge, so that if you live up a hill and work down below you could set an overnight max charge of, say, 90-95%, and arrive at work with closer to 100% without having to ride the brakes.
 
geoheath said:
I like the regen and the one pedal driving. The more regen, the better! I think that those who complain about it don't know how to control it - it's easy and smooth.

I am not sure why there is this sentiment that if people point out preferences it equates to "they don't know how to control it." I have had strong regen since my Tesla Roadster, way before the i3. On the Roadster it makes perfect sense, it is a sport car. Rough suspension, very responsive throttle and very strong regen. This all comes together and works.

The i3 is not a sports car. I love having strong regen for certain driving conditions, but I DO NOT want the hyperactive throttle response and strong regen in others. Also some people want to drive an electric car, but don't want to constantly "adjust" to their car to drive it.

This is a non-issue if the OP's suggestion was implemented. It would clearly allow for drivers who want the strong response, and for drivers who want a more tame response. It would also allow for driving in different conditions. In stop/go traffic I want strong everything, on highways last thing I want is strong regen.
 
geoheath said:
I like the regen and the one pedal driving. The more regen, the better! I think that those who complain about it don't know how to control it - it's easy and smooth.

i agree, my route is full of hills and when downhill the regen is sometimes not enough so i brake the pedal... regen is sometimes kicky when you dont use it soft.. i like one pedal driving...
 
mine just had a new software upgrade and Regen is now far better "pedal-controlable". You can play with the pedal up and down without the regen kicking in strong or accellerate fast...... makes driving in traffic easier. Go of a bit and it will glide, a bit more it will brake a bit more, full off it will "softly"engage full regen. Not that sensitive anymore.

Way better......

And the more Regen the better..... not really (i now have more range, last 2 days, same route, same temp...at least 10km more, 22kw model !).

I can see on the dash the actual kw/100km i use driving and how much regen it generates.
FULL regen is about 50kw/100km...... cold battery, it will not be able to put it in that easily that fast (it is like fastcharging).
Having less aggresive regen and more gliding will charge the battery better and uses less to drive i guess.
 
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