Recent content by surfingslovak

Yes, I was hoping for that also. I have the latest KLE and I'm helping Beta test the upcoming firmware, but not everything has been resolved. My i3 was at 5% when I rolled in yesterday evening, and it proceeded to charge to full even though low-cost charging was specified, and the TOU schedule...

Yes, I have observed this behavior as well. The rationale is that when the battery is at 6%, leaving it at that low state of charge for a prolonged period could be harmful, and ultimately lead to shorter battery life. I believe that the desired behavior is to give the battery a quick boost...

Would a level 2 charging station be an option for you? If cost was an issue, I might be able to get you into a CPUC trial, which would result in either a free or at least subsidized station. Would that be potentially a solution for the main issue you have experienced? Just out of curiosity, it...

Good to hear that. The entire point of the SOC gauge discussion was to provide drivers with enough information so that they can come to their own conclusion. In the end, we all know our cars, our driving style and trip routes the best. The technology, as manifested in the various gauges, is...

I will watch it more closely then. I was under the impression that it was factoring in a bit more than just previous average energy economy. Many consumers new to EVs have the expectation that the range estimate is going to be accurate. Down to the last mile. The clever stuff will be...

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I paid MSRP as well, but BMW NA has arranged for a slight discount for those that helped conduct the ActiveE field trial over the past two years. Based on what I've heard in the i3 Facebook group, I think that anything upward of a $1K discount is a pretty good deal!

That depends on your point of view. Compared to lead-acid battery performance, it's low. Compared to a more ideal case, it's not. The total heat losses are about 10% of the power output generated by the motor. This is supported by empirical observation at electric car races as well. While the...

If the algorithm was indeed this simple, and it only multiplied the remaining battery charge with the average energy economy, I would be very happy. This is unfortunately not the case. Virtually every automaker includes some type of "heuristics", or secret sauce, to determine the magic number of...

Yes, certainly, but these are best guesses and estimates. It's tough to get reliable data. For me, this means even more reason to get the REx. Interesting, that's a fair point. I'm not sure how much I would trust an opaque algorithm, such as the guessometer.

It won't be an issue in Toronto due to the cold climate. I would budget about 5% a year with average annual kilometers. More if driven excessively. Degradation will slow a little bit over time.

I hope that I'm not spoiling the fun, but since this has come up before, I think it's necessary to point out internal losses in the battery. The battery pack has an internal resistance of about 100 to 200 Milliohm. If you assume an average power-output of about 100 kW during acceleration and a...

The question of "mountain mode" is addressed on pages 52 and 53 in the 2012 AMENDMENTS TO THE ZERO EMISSION VEHICLE REGULATIONS. It might be a worthwhile read. I personally believe that these rules might be revised based on the learnings from the i3. In their present form, the only permissible...

I would not automatically assume that. I would ask the OP to consume 25% or 50% of usable battery capacity, as measured by the four large bars on the dash, and record the distance driven since last full charge via the trip meter. It should be easier to extrapolate the total range of the vehicle...

There are more than two CCS fast chargers in the US. The total count now likely exceeds a dozen or so, if you include some of the R&D sites, such as BMW NA in Woodcliff Lake or GM's R&D office in LA. We tracked this on several sites separately, but now PlugShare is taking over as the reference...