Replace standard headlight bulbs with LEDs

[BrianStanier]

And the head wind adds an extra 10-15mph effective to the speed.

 

[ChrisRayner]

63 miles isn't encouraging but I presume that's due to the lack of heat pump. I thought BMW were quoting realistic figures (that supposedly Nissan didn't to begin with)?

I suppose if you have the HV battery pre-heat (which I do) then that's required for the "cold weather cabin preparation"? Or does it just revert to the standard heater if not?

I'd say that the force 5-6 headwinds would be at least as significant as the lack of heat pump. Leaving the rolling resistance of the tyres and any changes in elevation/corners etc, air resistance is a major aspect of the power consumption of the car. The winds quoted are equivalent to adding 19-30mph to speed, so if the trip was made at a speed of, say, 30mph, which is not quick, then you're talking about a total effective airspeed of 50-60mph. Air resistance increases with the square of the speed. And it gets more as the temperature falls.

'Course, if you're making a round trip you could poke a mast and sail out of the sunroof, if you've got one, and charge your battery up on the way back. It's a thought.

 

[jamie94bc]

Do BMW share how they managed to get to the 80-100 mile figure? With a significant tailwind? :lol:

 

[i3me]

63 miles isn't encouraging but I presume that's due to the lack of heat pump. I thought BMW were quoting realistic figures (that supposedly Nissan didn't to begin with)?

I suppose if you have the HV battery pre-heat (which I do) then that's required for the "cold weather cabin preparation"? Or does it just revert to the standard heater if not?

I'm not exactly clear on what the "Cold Weather Cabin Preparation" Pack was in the UK, as it has not been touted as such, here in NL. The options on our list were the Heat Pump (option 4T9) and Seat Heaters (option 494). The last included the Battery Pre-Heater, but BMW have decided to make that standard equipment because otherwise the battery would wear down too fast. So even in the UK, the Battery Pre-Heater is part of the standard equipment, but the cabin Heat Pump is not and I would absolutely recommend you order that option (4T9) for comfort and economy's sake!

 

[jamie94bc]

Seems the same as here, perhaps just different or misguided marketing for the heat pump!

Either way I'm glad I ordered it, I probably wouldn't have if I knew you could pre-heat without the heat pump (before I learnt about the efficiency gains...)!

My spec is listed here http://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=436

 

[i3me]

Seems the same as here, perhaps just different or misguided marketing for the heat pump!

Either way I'm glad I ordered it, I probably wouldn't have if I knew you could pre-heat without the heat pump (before I learnt about the efficiency gains...)!

My spec is listed here http://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=436

Well actually you can pre-heat without the pump (see discussion elsewhere on this blog), but in the BEV it only works when plugged in!

 

[LMOR]

All cars have the pre-heating option, and it can be used also when unplugged.

The heat-pump does not heat by itself, it only makes more efficient use of the energy, so that you gain some more range miles.
It is important to make sure that there will be less range difference between warm and cold weather, as you see from its name "cold weather cabin preparation".

You can use it to increase range in cold weather, or keep the cabin warm, without loosing to much range

 

[i3cam]

In my opinion, "Cold weather cabin preparation" is a terrible option name, and BMW don't seem to provide any proper description of what difference selecting it makes. "Heat pump" or "High efficiency heater" would be better.

I would love to hear from anyone with a REx or non-"Cold weather cabin preparation" model owner on exactly what preheating/deicing is possible. e.g. i3me, can you double check your comment about only working when plugged in? The lack of clarity from BMW is quite disappointing, it's not clear if they are trying to hide something.

 

[jamie94bc]

i3me, can you double check your comment about only working when plugged in? The lack of clarity from BMW is quite disappointing, it's not clear if they are trying to hide something.

Agreed. I've read (on this forum somewhere) that you can pre-heat BEVs when they're not plugged in but only if you have the heat pump. Very confusing! :x

 

[LMOR]

Probably depends where you read, but in the UK description it says:

Cold weather cabin preparation
Comprising:
- Heat pump for pre-heating the cabin temperature for improved comfort when entering the cabin in cold conditions. This ensures that less battery energy is required to achieve the desired cabin temperature as this can be activated while the vehicle is on charge. This results in improved range performance as well as the optimum cabin temperature before you enter the vehicle.

- ZHV, Pre-heating of HV battery with Active air flap control: pre-heating the HV battery ensures that the battery is operating at the optimal temperature which further improves the range and performance of the battery. Additional active control of air flaps to assist in achieving optimum operating temperature.

None of these are the pre-heating of the cabin itself. Thats standard, and included in the Remote Services.

I think the misunderstanding come from the the description. I think this only refers to the fact that doing it while on charge, you will start it warm, and save energy. But it is misleading, and this is a better description:

Wie die Klimaanlage im Sommer nutzt das innovative Wärmepumpensystem zusätzlich auch im Winter die Energie der Umgebungsluft. Gegenüber einer herkömmlichen Heizung wird eine bis zu 50 % höhere Energieeffizienz bei gleichbleibendem Heizungskomfort erreicht. Reichweitensteigerungen von über 30 % sind damit möglich. Die gewählte Innenraumtemperatur wird zwischen der elektrischen Heizung und dem Wärmepumpensystem vollautomatisch geregelt.

Google translated:

As the air conditioning in summer uses innovative heat pump system in addition also in winter, the energy of the ambient air. Compared with a conventional heating up to 50% higher energy efficiency is achieved at constant heating comfort. Range increases of over 30% are possible. The selected interior temperature is regulated automatically between the electric heater and the heat pump system.

-----

So even if the UK description i not wrong, it has nothing to do about the heat-pump itself, and only describes one possible use, but is very misleading. The heat-pump just makes sure that you use less energy to heat, like any other heat-pump.

 

[jamie94bc]

That is indeed very misleading. Do you reckon BMW would take the cost of the option off if you argued it was miss sold?

 

[LMOR]

Miss sold?

You get functionality worth more than the description says, so if you complain you have to pay more


It is more the other way around. When you buy without the REX, you are not informed about how important this option is. What then?

 

[jamie94bc]

Miss sold?

You get functionality worth more than the description says, so if you complain you have to pay more


It is more the other way around. When you buy without the REX, you are not informed about how important this option is. What then?

Yeah I ordered without the REX - I was talking about the "Cold weather cabin preparation" being miss-sold because the option implies you need it to pre-heat the car - which isn't true. I could argue that my commute is only 11 miles so I don't care about the possible 30% range gain

 

[LMOR]

OK, I understand. You can give it a try. Then it depends on what they seller told you. The text in the price list indicates the opposite, that it is not possible even with this option.

 

[i3me]

i3me, can you double check your comment about only working when plugged in? The lack of clarity from BMW is quite disappointing, it's not clear if they are trying to hide something.

Agreed. I've read (on this forum somewhere) that you can pre-heat BEVs when they're not plugged in but only if you have the heat pump. Very confusing! :x

OK fellow bloggers, this morning I've done some n=1 research on pre-heating my BEV i3 cabin and this is what I came up with:
- Had the batteries fully charged and disconnected the plug
- Started the car in stand-by mode by pressing the start button (behind the steering wheel) without applying the brakes
- Activated Cabin Pre-Heating in the <Settings> menu

Low and behold, both the Battery and Cabin Pre-Heating started up! I stand corrected (again ) om my previous assumption that you would not be able to Pre-Heat without a Heat-Pump! But doing this comes with a price.
After making the interior roasty toasty warm, it ate up 7% of my charge! A Heat Pump is an essential option: BMW, do something about it!!



PS: we've managed to drift off the subject here in a major way, unless someone can figure out a quick link back to standard headlight bulbs!

 

[LMOR]

Yes, replace the halogen bulbs with LEDs, and you have more juice to pre-heat with

(or not, since it uses the other battery...)

 

[Plug]

OK fellow bloggers, this morning I've done some n=1 research on pre-heating my BEV i3 cabin and this is what I came up with:
- Had the batteries fully charged and disconnected the plug
- Started the car in stand-by mode by pressing the start button (behind the steering wheel) without applying the brakes
- Activated Cabin Pre-Heating in the <Settings> menu

Low and behold, both the Battery and Cabin Pre-Heating started up! I stand corrected (again ) om my previous assumption that you would not be able to Pre-Heat without a Heat-Pump! But doing this comes with a price.
After making the interior roasty toasty warm, it ate up 7% of my charge! A Heat Pump is an essential option: BMW, do something about it!!



PS: we've managed to drift off the subject here in a major way, unless someone can figure out a quick link back to standard headlight bulbs!

I never mind when a thread drifts off topic so long as it's useful info (which this definitely is). It's only grumpy people who complain about that

Thanks for testing this i3me. On another forum, someone was saying that it is possible to pre-heat the cabin when not connected to the charger so long as the battery charge is above 50%. Maybe if you get a chance you could try it again when your battery charge is below 50% sometime ?

 

[neilmac]

OK fellow bloggers, this morning I've done some n=1 research

That's the best kind! Personal experience! :-D

OK fellow bloggers, this morning I've done some n=1 research on pre-heating my BEV i3 cabin and this is what I came up with:
- Had the batteries fully charged and disconnected the plug
- Started the car in stand-by mode by pressing the start button (behind the steering wheel) without applying the brakes
- Activated Cabin Pre-Heating in the <Settings> menu

Forgive me for being naïve here, but I can currently step into my own (ICE-hybrid) car, turn on the auxiliary ignition, turn on the heating and then go back into the house (with my key) for coffee. When I come to leave a little later I have one toasty "pre-heated" car.

For me, cabin pre-heating in conjunction with the Remote App implies that I can turn on the heating in the car *without* stepping outside to the car and manually turning it on. Can this happen? [Aside]Whether or not that can happen without being plugged-in is a separate experiment :idea: [/Aside]

Clearly there are security / safety implications of leaving a 'live' ICE vehicle unattended whilst I have breakfast. Is that, in fact, the primary feature that the i3 offers here: that you can turn on the heating safely whilst leaving your vehicle unattended?

 

[LMOR]

If you have remote services, you can activate pre-heating anytime from anywhere. I got someone to test this earlier, but I am also happy if someone can reconfirm this.

It has been noted that you need a minimum level left on the battery to be allowed to do this, so that you do not find a warm but useless car
This needs also to be confirmed.

 

[i3me]

If you have remote services, you can activate pre-heating anytime from anywhere. I got someone to test this earlier, but I am also happy if someone can reconfirm this.

It has been noted that you need a minimum level left on the battery to be allowed to do this, so that you do not find a warm but useless car
This needs also to be confirmed.

Elsewhere on this blog I wrote about the slow startup of my Remote Services connection. After doing my research yesterday morning I realized that I could not pre-heat the cabin, lock and unlock the doors, etc from my i Remote app. My i Remote app just didn't give me the possibility to do that! The solution to this "mystery" is fairly simple and thereby elusive!

I logged into my ConnectedDrive account for the first time after the startup of my Remote Services and for the first time could activate the interactive services needed for cabin pre-heating etc. Yippy, I thought, but unfortunately that wasn't enough. :-(

The i Remote app didn't work correctly anymore and I also could not connect with my i3!
Computer wisdom always says to shut down a system after software upgrades and I guess this was sort of an upgrade, so I logged out of the app and re-entered my name and password. After an hour the i Remote app could connect with the car again and low and behold, all of the touted remote possibilities were present! What a gift!!
But: I still have to confirm that it all works as I am now away from home without the i3!

Keep you guys posted on the developments!