Drive an i3 with REX for 700+ Miles?

[Fisher99]

Thinking of buying an i3 with REX from a friend who lives about 700 miles away. Looks like a U-Haul car trailer will run about $650 and I can buy a 1 way airline ticket for far less than that. Is the REX capable of keeping you running at, say 70 mph once the battery runs out? I don't mind the thought of stopping for gas every 70 or so miles but wouldn't want to be stuck driving at 40 mph (or whatever) when the battery runs out of juice. Is it feasible to make a trip of this distance without stopping to re-charge? It has the 120v charger so no quick charge capability.

 

[N41EF]

Assuming it's coded for SOC, and you drive 70 not 75, and you aren't going over the Rocky mountains, yes it'll be fine.You could also look for chargers along the way and add a little juice during lunch stops.

You might also look for a route on highways not interstates I tend to do that for longer motorcycle rides, not a fan of blasting down the interstate in traffic.

 

[jadnashuanh]

It all depends on how fast you go and the grades. The REx engine is only around 34Hp. The motor can draw at max 170Hp (but not for extended periods). It doesn't take a huge amount to maintain a steady speed, but the power required goes up at the cube of the speed. A little difference makes a much bigger difference.

FWIW, while this is only true on a serial hybrid versus a parallel one, the vehicle ALWAYS runs off of the batteries. The REx just is putting some power either directly into them, or it's going to the electric motor if there's not enough. If you let the batteries get quite low, you will then be running directly off of whatever the engine can produce...think 1960's, early VW bug...not very fast! The battery, when it has enough charge, can sustain much higher outputs, but not forever, letting the 170Hp electric motor reach its full potential...exceed that with a low battery, and it's only whatever is being produced as the battery can no longer act as a momentary storage/augmentation for that power draw.

You may need to plan to stop more often than 70-miles if you let the SOC drop quite a ways. FWIW, people have taken the i3 on much longer trips, but it can take some planning and restraint. It is designed as a city/commute car, not a long-distance cruiser.

SOme parts of the country, especially at certain hours of the day, may not have fueling opportunities every 70-miles, so if one is unexpectedly closed, your choices drop radically. On cruise, my ICE can go over 500-miles, giving you lots more opportunities, but it does use more energy in the process. I use the i3 most of the time, since I don't need that range. But, I don't take mine on longer trips.

 

[Fisher99]

Good info. Thanks. He says that it is "coded" to allow starting the gas engine early, although I'm not sure what that actually means. The first have of the drive is on the I5 freeway (coming out of Sacramento, heading North) and the second half of the drive is on 2 lane (highway 97). You do have to climb over the Shasta mountain pass on I5.

In any case, it sounds doable, so I'll weigh the trailer vs drive option and see what I decide. IF I decide to buy the car, that is. Actually I've decided that I want it, but my wife is still thinking about it. We'll make a final decision this week.

 

[Srivenkat]

This post has some tips: https://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5182#p43436

 

[jfran2]

FWIW, I just drove my I3 Rex for about 50 miles with no extra juice in the moderately hilly Ozarks. (My planned charging stop was non-functional). Somewhat to my surprise, I was able to maintain 70 mph with no problem! I suspect you'll be fine as well.

 

[jfran2]

BTW, coding means changing the car`s programming. In America, they are programmed to use up the battery first, then kick on the gas motor. In Europe, you can start the Rex anytime below 75% charge. Coding just means changing the programming to allow that. Google it and you'll find lots of info. It's not difficult.

 

[Fisher99]

Thanks again for the great info. I checked with my friend and the car is coded so can start the generator early, and has also been modified to allow full use of the 2.3 gallons of gas. Not sure the .3 is that big a deal, but I suppose every little bit helps.

I have decided to go ahead with the purchase of the car and your posts have given me the courage to drive it the 700+ miles home rather than going down with a trailer and dragging it back.

Thanks again!

 

[Fisher99]

Well, this coming Thursday I make the trip to pick up the i3. I will drive a little over 300 miles to where I will spend the night and then a little over 400 miles the next day. There appears to be a L2 charger in the town where I will overnight, though, unfortunately, not at my motel. But my plan is to hit the charging station for an hour or two before I turn in for the night. More if I have to. We'll see what the SOC looks like when I get there.

Looking forward to this adventure and having the i3 as my daily driver!

 

[Fisher99]

Ok, so I was just looking at my overnight location on PlugShare a bit more closely and I see that there is a SuperCharger station in that town as well. PlugShare shows it as only having a Tesla style plug. But I see that a Chevy Bolt and a Nissan Leaf have checked in there. I'm pretty sure that both of those cars have the same J-1772 plug that the i3 has. Is there an adapter that I can get that would let me charge at a Tesla SuperCharging station?

 

[Fisher99]

So I just did a search and see that you can indeed buy a Tesla-to-J-1771 adapter. But at $240, I'm not likely to do that

 

[jadnashuanh]

A Tesla supercharger is a DC, fast charging station. That particular device is not compatible with the i3. Now, if they also have some level 2 EVSEs there, those might be. Tesla has an adapter that lets them use a standard EVSE (J1772 in the USA), but their super chargers only work with Tesla vehicles...the communications between the two devices look at things like the VIN, and an i3 certainly won't report it's a Tesla, nor is the protocol the same.

If your motel has an external 120vac plug they'll let you use, overnight, depending on when you plug it in and the SOC when you get there, might get it back to full. From empty, it would take much longer than overnight, but if you've been keeping it up to 75% or so, that should get you back to 100% overnight and would probably do it as well from maybe 50%. Depends on which battery is in the thing and your SOC when you start.

 

[Fisher99]

The window sticker for the i3 that I am buying lists $700 for "[4U7] DC Fast Charging". Does that make a difference?

 

[vreihen]

Are you sure that it was a Tesla Supercharger (L3), and not a Tesla destination charger (L2)? I have read that some Tesla destination charger installs include J1772 courtesy plugs for non-Tesla users, but AFAIK the L3 Supercharger network is a Tesla vehicle owners' private sandbox.

You can pick up a TeslaTap on Amazon for $240 that will let you use Tesla destination chargers (not Superchargers) with J1772 cars, but that's a mighty expensive charging stop for a single use of an L2 charger.....

 

[vreihen]

The window sticker for the i3 that I am buying lists $700 for "[4U7] DC Fast Charging". Does that make a difference?

That lets you use CCS combo (L3) fast DC chargers, in addition to J1772 L2 chargers. Tesla's Superchargers are not usable by any other cars, and the TeslaTap will only let you use one of Tesla's destination chargers...think bed & breakfast or restaurant L2 (or one of Tesla's home garage chargers).....

 

[Fisher99]

Ok. That all makes sense. I guess I'm still on the learning curve here.

The charging station that I am referring to is in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and is llisted in PlugSyare as "Klamath Falls Supercharger" and shows 8 stations next to the Fred Meyer store. I just drilled down in the "details" link and it does indeed say "Tesla's Supercharger network is for Tesla vehicles only". But I'm still curious that a Bolt owner and a Leaf owner show as "checked in" at that station. Maybe they were just checking it out and not actually charging.

 

[vreihen]

But I'm still curious that a Bolt owner and a Leaf owner show as "checked in" at that station. Maybe they were just checking it out and not actually charging.

More likely that they recently picked up Teslas, and didn't change their car settings in the PlugShare app.

I have been facing a similar issue since yesterday, when my DW picked up her new Kia Niro EV as our second electric. The PlugShare iOS app only allows one car to be configured! I had plugged in to grab some free electrons from the Kia dealership in the i3 while she signed the paperwork for her new car inside, and wanted to check in both cars on PlugShare since her new car was on the dealer's second EVSE topping off before delivery. It also only allows one check-in at a time per user, so the only way to check in both cars would be to install PlugShare on DW's phone and create an account for her. I don't think that either of us will ever be charging the other's car away from home, but I can see it happening in other multi-EV households.

On a side note, Google Maps provides the "ground truth" that the Oregon Tesla site in question is indeed a Tesla Supercharger with no non-Tesla ports:

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.216...4!1sm9jBkBR70N3SD6GXpSzagg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

A habit that I've picked up from years of towing an enclosed race car hauler on trips is to scout out potential food/fuel/hotel stops using Google Maps street images. (It's no fun having to squirm a large trailer out of a tight parking lot with lots of cars moving around, and no way would I want to be "that person" for parking across 1/3 of the spaces in a hotel's too small parking lot.) Out of habit, I did the same thing without even thinking about it when planning the trip home with my new-to-me i3 last month, to verify that the EVgo station I found on PlugShare and planned to stop at was actually there and to see what the probability is that it would be ICEd by non-electric cars.....

 

[Fisher99]

Well, heck, if that Diesel Ram truck can use those Supercharger stations, then my i3 should be able to!

Good idea about using Google Maps to scope things out. Hadn't thought about that. And you could certainly be right about the Bolt and Leaf guys now having Teslas. Strange that Plugshare won't allow configuration of 2 vehicles, but that probably won't be a problem for me. My wife is skeptical of this electric car stuff and says she won't be giving up her 535i anytime soon. But the friend that I'm buying the i3 from (who just bought a Tesla Model 3) says that's what his wife said too, but she ended up loving the i3. We'll see.

 

[bwilson4web]

So I just did a search and see that you can indeed buy a Tesla-to-J-1771 adapter. But at $240, I'm not likely to do that

If you have a computer with a 1,200 pixel wide screen, www,plugshare.com has an excellent trip planning tool:

• create a free account and identify your car
• set the connector filter for J1772 and CCS
• scroll down to "Trip Planner" and "Create New"
• enter your starting and ending destination
• turn off "Show Along Route Only" so you'll see all of the charging options near the route
• click on any of the charging options and you'll get details including recent charging experience
• if you choose a hotel/motel, be sure to ask if the charger is ON as some turn them off to avoid locals getting a free charge and parking place
• if you choose a CCS charger, a typical fee will be ~$12 and take ~1/2 hour
• not universal, Whole Foods has food court and often free L2 charging

My delivery drive home was 463 miles on gas with only one free charging session at supper while the sun went down. Otherwise, I just drove the car monitoring the SOC. If running low, drive a little slower. If going up a hill, remember the other side will regain charge on the down slope. I climbed a 2,800 ft pass.

I with my wife and her dogs drove 600 miles each way between Stillwater OK and Huntsville AL on gas without a problem. I looked for semi trailer trucks running 65-70 mph and followed using dynamic cruise control. You cover a lot of distance without a problem; fill-up when on the last 1/4 tank, and; get on the road again. Piece of cake.

I included a spare gas can and only used it once in western Arkansas when a truck stop was shutdown. WalMart carried a 2 gal, Briggs and Stratton can that fits in the frunk. Some consider that to be a safety hazard but I've only used it for long cross country trips.

Your battery state of charge (SOC) is your ultimate reserve but can only be refilled at a charger. The engine will not add charge on its own, just sustain the charge level. I've never charged on long trips except when eating (Whole Food preferred.)

Fill your tires to 50 psi to reduce rolling drag. It will be a harder ride, steer around potholes, but the car will be more responsive. You can adjust the tire pressure down after you get home.

Plan on ~40 MPG to estimate how far each tank can take you. The car calls for Premium but the octane rating can also be met by Plus and saves a few cents at the pump.

Bob Wilson

 

[Fisher99]

Excellent recommendations!

I'm thinking about purchasing two 2 gallon cans and filling them before I leave, and carrying one in front and one in the back. That way I only have to find a gas station every third fill-up. I know there is some risk about having gas cans in the car, but there would only be a full 4 gallons inside the car for the first 70-80 miles, then 2 gallons for the next 70-80, and then none for the third 70-80 miles. Maybe I'm being crazy, but it doesn't seem like this would be too risky.