Ordered Winter Tires

BMW i3 Forum

Help Support BMW i3 Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

RExingIT

Well-known member
Joined
May 11, 2015
Messages
49
Location
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Last week I ordered a set of the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 for my REx. The are supposed to arrive this week and I should have them on the car by Friday. I got them on the recommendation I saw from BMWBLOG.com. As there is a $20 rebate per tire, they will be around $20 or so more than the Blizzaks.

On a side note, we've already gotten an 8 inch snow in the Chicago suburbs. I've got the 19"s and it handled fairly well in the slush, snow and ice.

I will keep you posted. If we get any more snow this winter, I will include photographs.
 
One of the car magazines did a winter tire review recently, and those came out on top...one of the Blizzaks came out fourth. Retail price on them is quite a bit higher, though, but street prices can vary a lot.
 
Well I just got them installed. So far the ride is good, but I've got a big problem.

The regen braking is now half as effective as it should be above 10 mph. This is not just a gut feel thing, the marker only goes halfway into the charge bar. I called the iGenius line and they said they'd never heard of that before.

Anyone else had this happen?

Thanks,

P.
 
RExingIT said:
Well I just got them installed. So far the ride is good, but I've got a big problem.

The regen braking is now half as effective as it should be above 10 mph. This is not just a gut feel thing, the marker only goes halfway into the charge bar. I called the iGenius line and they said they'd never heard of that before.

Anyone else had this happen?

Thanks,

P.

I think you're experiencing the cold weather regen, if the battery isn't up to operating temp the system limits how much regen can be dumped into it.
 
SSi3 said:
RExingIT said:
Well I just got them installed. So far the ride is good, but I've got a big problem.

The regen braking is now half as effective as it should be above 10 mph. This is not just a gut feel thing, the marker only goes halfway into the charge bar. I called the iGenius line and they said they'd never heard of that before.

Anyone else had this happen?

Thanks,

P.

I think you're experiencing the cold weather regen, if the battery isn't up to operating temp the system limits how much regen can be dumped into it.


Nope, Was working fine 1 hr before. To be precise, it was working fine until I swapped tires.
 
Do you have TPMS in the new set? Had you registered them in the car? I think it uses the anti-lock brake sensors for some of the input logic, but it might be that it avoids max regen until it can read the tire pressure as well. Just guessing here.
 
Regen can vary based on the battery charge, whether bumps are being detected, your current speed, and how much the steering wheel is being turned. Throw in the possibility of going uphill verses down, or being level, and the perceived braking power during regen can vary quite a bit. If the vehicle detects a wheel slipping, it can adjust, too.
 
I'd love to put winters on (soon to be) mine as well. Blizzaks are WAY overrated. Those Hakkas are awesome!!

With such a skinny tire this thing should do quite well in snow. Well for a rear drive car.
 
jadnashuanh said:
Regen can vary based on the battery charge, whether bumps are being detected, your current speed, and how much the steering wheel is being turned. Throw in the possibility of going uphill verses down, or being level, and the perceived braking power during regen can vary quite a bit. If the vehicle detects a wheel slipping, it can adjust, too.

Yes, I under stand all that. I've had the car for over half a year under a wide variety of driving circumstances. This happens whether the battery is completely full or partly empty, on flat or hilly ground, fast or slow, straight or turning. I.E. It's happening all the time. I'ts not a matter of my perception, it's a matter of looking at the power bar and seeing that it's only going back half way into charge.

This morning it was even worse, It only functioned at 10%. I'm going to be scheduling a service appointment.
 
lucycan said:
I'd love to put winters on (soon to be) mine as well. Blizzaks are WAY overrated. Those Hakkas are awesome!!
I've run Blizzaks on 4 different vehicles and they performed great on all of them, I always felt confident no matter how deep and/or heavy the snow and I had a grin on my face when I left people behind me at green lights. They wear well too so they last longer. They may not be "the best" winter tire but they are definitely not "WAY overrated".
 
I think it was C&D that just published a winter tire comparison of 7 different tires...only two of them are available for the i3...the Blizzak came in fourth, the Hakkas came in first.
 
I just installed my winter wheel and tire set this weekend. I ordered them online. Sadly, they did really jack up the prices this summer. I ended up paying just over $1700 shipped for the BMW/Blizzak set. The tires are more noisy compared to the 20" set I have, but the ride is softer and more comfortable.

A couple of notes on install. The manual cautions users to seek expert installation. However, I had no difficulties with installing the set. My standard low profile jack worked great. Also, the light weight of the skinny wheels made install a snap. Resetting the TPMS monitor was also no trouble. I haven't had a chance to trial them in the snow, but will keep you posted.
 
FWIW, the plastic jack insert (used on most BMW's) can be cracked if you do not take care when jacking up the car. Even the dealers aren't immune to abuse of the things. Luckily, they are quick and easy to replace, should you wish. Safest to use a jack pad adapter or use the BMW jack which fits into that jack point by design. Other than that, changing a wheel on the i3 isn't any different than any other BMW.

Someone told me that the TPMS system actually talks to the keyfob, and the fob talks to the car, acting like a relay from the wheels. This saves a bit of weight since they don't have to include the more typical receiver in the car, they can double-up on the fob interface. It does seem to take longer on the i3 to reset the TPMS than with other BMW models I've experience with, but it does show you a progress bar, which is nice.
 
RexingIT, did you ever resolve the issue? I had the Nokia's installed on our i3 REx last week, and am observing the same behavior.

btw, check out my posting under troubleshooting (Winter Tires, Caution...). I'm wondering if putting the Nokia's onto 175 rims in the back has something to do with it.

Did you ever resolve?

Thanks.

Syd

'14 Giga Rex, all options except for 20" wheels.
 
The rolling diameter of the tires WILL be different when using different width wheels. This could be enough of a speed difference to trigger the car to think say that you are turning or some are slipping, and thus reduce the regen. There's a reason why the stock tires are different widths on the cars with staggered width wheels on the i3 or any car.
 
Roger that. However the reason I went with the same size tire for all four wheels (regardless of wheel size) was pretty simple: the Blizzaks and Nokians are only available in one size. If the resulting smaller turning diameter in the rear is responsible for a change in regen behavior, the conclusion is that a person with a Rex that wants snow tires has to purchase a new wheel set as well (or at least a two new wheels for the rear). The reason I didn't get a new set of wheels for the snow tires is because my wife simply doesn't like the avail aftermarket wheels nor does she care for the Mega wheels that BMW offers with their snow package. (and its her car....). Sigh.

For others on this thread that may not be aware, Rex i3's have a wider wheel/tire combination in the rear than in the front. Bev's are the same all around.
 
stormsaw said:
RexingIT, did you ever resolve the issue? I had the Nokia's installed on our i3 REx last week, and am observing the same behavior.

btw, check out my posting under troubleshooting (Winter Tires, Caution...). I'm wondering if putting the Nokia's onto 175 rims in the back has something to do with it.

Did you ever resolve?

Thanks.

Syd

'14 Giga Rex, all options except for 20" wheels.

Its still in the shop. They've not been able to diagnose it. It could be the differing diameter issue. That really shouldn't cause and issue with the re-gen though, or atleast I'd hope not. Unless the wheels are actually slipping, it shouldn't reduce the braking power.
 
Back
Top