New i3 Owner (yet another range question)

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jack1024

Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2018
Messages
8
Hi All,

First time i3, but 3rd BMW. I love my shiny new black BEV! Between tax breaks, USAA and dealer discounts i'm driving BMW for less than the cost of a low content prius! (and I like the car MUCH better!)

So I realize that it is probably the perfect time of year, but I'm finding the range to be MUCH better than advertised. I'm running 140-145 miles per charge over a 50/50 mix of city & highway driving (roughly 5 m/kwh).

I read many discussions about 27.2 vs 30 kw of actually available capacity, I'd say I definitely have 30kw available.

Is this everybody else's experience?

Jack
 
jack1024 said:
Hi All,

First time i3, but 3rd BMW. I love my shiny new black BEV! Between tax breaks, USAA and dealer discounts i'm driving BMW for less than the cost of a low content prius! (and I like the car MUCH better!)

So I realize that it is probably the perfect time of year, but I'm finding the range to be MUCH better than advertised. I'm running 140-145 miles per charge over a 50/50 mix of city & highway driving (roughly 5 m/kwh).

I read many discussions about 27.2 vs 30 kw of actually available capacity, I'd say I definitely have 30kw available.

Is this everybody else's experience?

Jack

That's awesome. What's the rated range?
 
jack1024 said:
I read many discussions about 27.2 vs 30 kw of actually available capacity, I'd say I definitely have 30kw available.
The i3 motor outputs a maximum of 125 kW of power. The nominal available energy capacity of the i3's 94 Ah battery pack is 27.2 kWh, but some i3 drivers feel that as much as 30 kWh of energy capacity might be available under ideal conditions.

Units are important. Using the wrong units can be confusing. kW is a power unit like horsepower whereas kWh is an energy unit like the energy contained in a tank of gasoline.
 
The three biggest things that affect your maximum range are:
1. how you drive...just like in an ICE, well, almost (accelerating isn't that bad compared to an ICE), if you do not take advantage of regeneration by anticipating a need to slow down and slam on the actual brakes, your maximum range in stop and go traffic can be bad. The motor is about as efficient accelerating fast as it is slower, unlike an ICE.
2. where you drive. Hilly country and/or high speeds do not play well on an EV with range
3. temperature. The BEV is better at this than the REx since it has a heat pump for heating, but if it's REALLY cold, it will still use the resistance heater, and that sucks power lots faster. Colder temperatures really will have an impact on your overall range, but setting a departure time long enough in advance while plugged in will help mitigate that to a degree (no pun intended).

All that being said, it takes a bit of time for the car to 'learn' your driving style, and then the estimates will improve.

If you use the navigation system and put in a destination, your range estimate will be better than just winging it since it now knows the terrain and speed limits involved...otherwise, it's used past history, which may not represent you next trip at all.
 
I'm a new owner too! I've had my Protonic Blue i3s for a month and about 1000 miles and I'm getting 135-140 miles in Comfort no problem. Only charging every few days. Truth be told I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with perfect weather. My commute is mixed city/highway but the highway is frequently stop and go which is right in the i3 wheelhouse. Love the car and my Alaskan Malamute fits.
 
alohart said:
jack1024 said:
I read many discussions about 27.2 vs 30 kw of actually available capacity, I'd say I definitely have 30kw available.
The i3 motor outputs a maximum of 125 kW of power. The nominal available energy capacity of the i3's 94 Ah battery pack is 27.2 kWh, but some i3 drivers feel that as much as 30 kWh of energy capacity might be available under ideal conditions.

Units are important. Using the wrong units can be confusing. kW is a power unit like horsepower whereas kWh is an energy unit like the energy contained in a tank of gasoline.

I understand the difference. When referring to capacity (versus output) the "h" is implied.
 
turtle1437 said:
I'm a new owner too! I've had my Protonic Blue i3s for a month and about 1000 miles and I'm getting 135-140 miles in Comfort no problem. Only charging every few days. Truth be told I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with perfect weather. My commute is mixed city/highway but the highway is frequently stop and go which is right in the i3 wheelhouse. Love the car and my Alaskan Malamute fits.

It is also pretty perfect this time of year in Maryland - I do wonder what it will be like in a few months though.
 
jack1024 said:
When referring to capacity (versus output) the "h" is implied.
That's like saying that "m/h" is speed whereas "m" is distance, but when referring to speed, it's OK to use "m" as the speed unit because the "h" is implied. It doesn't work that way. A battery pack has both an output power in kW and an energy capacity in kWh, very different units. Assuming that part of the unit is implied can lead to confusion, so why do it?
 
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