Some observations from my extended test drive

[rabenoja]

So I just turned in the car after having it for a few days. Overall it was a pretty good experience and I'm working on some numbers with my dealer.

So a few questions for you guys:

1. In eco pro plus, I wasn't able to engage the heated seats. Is this possible or do I have to revert to Eco pro and just turn off the hvac?

2. Are there any differences in regen from Eco pro vs Eco pro plus?

3. Why isn't there a light for the frunk? Or is it just that I had a mega base model for a tester?

4. On a downward incline (while stopped), is the car suppose to hold without using the brakes? I had to resort to using the brake pedal otherwise the car would slowly creep forward. On an upward incline, the car would hold automatically.

5. I was only able to connect to a level 2 charger once during my test period. It seems like I was able to get a few more miles on a full charge versus using the OUC. Will charging from a level 2 yield more range?

6. Has anyone added more speakers/amps to the base system yet? Just curious if there are speaker cutouts/wiring already in place even with the base sound system.

Thanks all!

 

[m3lover1]

1. Not possible. Only thing possible in eco pro+ is the windshield defroster. If you want heated seats need to revert back to eco pro.

2. Hm I don't seem to think so, I drive primarily in either eco pro or pro+ depending on freeway vs city, but it feels the same to me. Will check tmr again.

3. No light for the frunk for me or my mom. I have Giga and she has Tera.

4. No hill hold assist for downhill, just uphill.

5. Nope it doesn't yield more range, just faster and more efficient charging. The GOC (guess-o-meter) takes into account your previous 18 miles of driving habit among other things, so it will vary everytime you come to full charge. I usually start with about 78-80 miles after full charge in comfort, up to 95+ after I switch to eco pro+. The highest I have seen in eco pro+ for me was 102 miles.

 

[jadnashuanh]

The auto hold function prevents you from rolling the opposite direction of where the transmission is in; i.e., when it drive, it won't roll back; when in reverse, it won't roll forward. My other BMW has an auto hold function that will hold the car from rolling in either direction when engaged, which I prefer. But, it takes power to activate the actual brakes verses doing it in a clutch (I think that's how it is done) in the transmission.

 

[DJCeeJay]

6. Has anyone added more speakers/amps to the base system yet? Just curious if there are speaker cutouts/wiring already in place even with the base sound system.

I have the Harman Kardon system so cannot check the base spec but would be very surprised if the standard car was prepared with wires and cutouts.

If you look at the HK website, they have done an extensive job to design and install a bespoke system, which I am sure they won't just install as standard with "hidden" wires.

http://www.harmankardon.com/estore/hk/us/about/content3.jsp?id=bmw-i3-us

Everyone to their own but I would not consider tinkering with a sophisticated, well designed, and expensive car such as the i3 with after market sound system anyway.

 

[rabster]

6. Has anyone added more speakers/amps to the base system yet? Just curious if there are speaker cutouts/wiring already in place even with the base sound system.

I have the Harman Kardon system so cannot check the base spec but would be very surprised if the standard car was prepared with wires and cutouts.

If you look at the HK website, they have done an extensive job to design and install a bespoke system, which I am sure they won't just install as standard with "hidden" wires.

http://www.harmankardon.com/estore/hk/us/about/content3.jsp?id=bmw-i3-us

Everyone to their own but I would not consider tinkering with a sophisticated, well designed, and expensive car such as the i3 with after market sound system anyway.

I'm not so sure. Most BMW's I've owned have a generic wiring loom regardless of the options specified when ordering. So retro-fitting items is usually quite easy and at worse require a tweak to the ECU in order to enable the feature such as cruise-control, for example.

In this case, I'd really be surprised if BMW didn't have cables for the additional rear speakers regardless of whether the HK option was specified or not. The only way to find out is to pull a panel and check, I guess.

I personally didn't specify HK as it seemed like an expensive option for what is nothing more than a few extra speakers and an amp. I'm sure that HK did indeed spend copious hours testing the setup BUT bottom line is that they're just better speakers and maybe a better amplifier. For 1/4 of the price of the HK option, you could probably achieve 80% of the sound quality.

I learnt this when I went through my Audi-phase and noticed that in most cases, the BOSE setup was awful. Sure, the bass was better but the sound-staging was shocking. Of course, BOSE claimed to have spend hundreds of hours perfecting the setup specifically to the car... it's all marketing tosh to a large extent.

So when I 'finally' receive my i3, i'll be checking to see if/how i can add some rear speakers to the standard front-only setup. Would be interested to know if anyone has done similar.

 

[jadnashuanh]

When BMW was engineering for saving grams, extra wires and connectors would seem to be the first things to go! It's been my (limited) experience that the newer cars do NOT have generic wiring harnesses, and there are no extra bits included unless indicated (satellite ready is one exception, and the fin on the roof probably also has a gps antenna in it along with a cellphone one as well).

 

[rabenoja]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll be sure to find out about the audio stuff when I pick up the car, which should be Monday or Tuesday.

I didn't get was the Fast charge option, is this something that can be retrofitted? I am fortunate enough to live pretty close to BMW headquarters so I have access to the DCFC.

 

[jadnashuanh]

I didn't get was the Fast charge option, is this something that can be retrofitted? I am fortunate enough to live pretty close to BMW headquarters so I have access to the DCFC.

This cannot be economically retrofitted. The 2015 MY i3s will come with this standard (with a price increase to cover it).

 

[psquare]

I didn't get was the Fast charge option, is this something that can be retrofitted? I am fortunate enough to live pretty close to BMW headquarters so I have access to the DCFC.

This cannot be economically retrofitted. The 2015 MY i3s will come with this standard (with a price increase to cover it).

I checked this with my UK BMW i dealer after ordering and Dc fast charge only comes as standard in 2015 US models.

 

[RRi3]

4. On a downward incline (while stopped), is the car suppose to hold without using the brakes? I had to resort to using the brake pedal otherwise the car would slowly creep forward. On an upward incline, the car would hold automatically.

On a downward slope (or upward, for that matter), you can just set the emergency brake and take your foot off of the brake. The Emergency brake will automatically release when you press the accelerator to go.

-RR

 

[jadnashuanh]

YEs, you can always use the emergency brake, and I do...I do much prefer my other car where you can hit a switch and each time you come to a full stop, it applies the brakes so the car won't go either direction. But, as I said, it takes some power to activate the brakes, whereas, (assuming it is a clutch), that could be totally mechanical.

 

[Technicks]

So when I 'finally' receive my i3, i'll be checking to see if/how i can add some rear speakers to the standard front-only setup. Would be interested to know if anyone has done similar.

Rabster, have you done anything with this yet?

 

[Technicks]

I didn't get was the Fast charge option, is this something that can be retrofitted? I am fortunate enough to live pretty close to BMW headquarters so I have access to the DCFC.

This cannot be economically retrofitted. The 2015 MY i3s will come with this standard (with a price increase to cover it).

jadnashuanh, if i'm willing to spend the time and money on it, do you have any suggestions as to who may be able to provide drawings / schematics / parts?

 

[jadnashuanh]

I didn't get was the Fast charge option, is this something that can be retrofitted? I am fortunate enough to live pretty close to BMW headquarters so I have access to the DCFC.

This cannot be economically retrofitted. The 2015 MY i3s will come with this standard (with a price increase to cover it).

jadnashuanh, if i'm willing to spend the time and money on it, do you have any suggestions as to who may be able to provide drawings / schematics / parts?

Sorry, I have no further information. There are some BMW University files floating around that discuss some of the details of the i3, and they may have some details. I'm not sure even with the appropriate parts, that you'd get it to work without software changes. Note, there are some things that you can do to most BMW's, but on none of them can you actually change the firmware - you can only change switches for the options that your vehicle had programmed by the factory. So, the DC fast charging functionality may require both hardware AND firmware, not programming of available switches to make it all work. Sorry...I just do not know.